What do you get when you combine Nanny duties with an interesting location?
A Travel Nanny!
Here I explain what a Travel Nanny is, job details, how you could become one, transitioning from Nanny to Travel Nanny and where it could potentially take you….
First off, what is a Travel Nanny?
A Travel Nanny is a childcare provider that is hired specifically to go on family holidays. They specialize in short-term trips which is the most common but can also be hired for longer trips, for families who decide to travel the world for longer periods of time. Travel Nannies are experts in adapting to new routines, new locations and other challenging situations that come with traveling with children. They are flexible and come with much knowledge, that they have gained through education or experience from similar scenarios.
What does the job entail?
Being a Travel Nanny requires a certain type of personality, you need to ask yourself if you have it. Families want Nannies to have the right attitude, they look for candidates who are enthusiastic, energetic and positive. The best Travel Nannies are the ones who use their initiative and create solutions without being asked. There can be many complications that come with travel, so you need to be flexible, be able to adapt quickly to change and not get overwhelmed by the details.
Travel Nanny positions are all different, depending on the family’s needs. In reality all Travel Nanny positions are 24/7, you have to be prepared and happy to be on the clock at all times. Yes, there may be times the families give you an hour or two off in the day or some evenings if they aren’t planning on going out for dinner, but realistically your always on call whether your off or on. Some positions, the Nanny will get one day off a week.
Before stepping on that plane, Travel Nannies already know how they are going to keep their Nanny kid entertained during the flight. Let’s face it, any flight time is a long time, for a child. Nannies will know how to research activities around the globe, be excellent suitcase packers, not get intimidated by other cultures and be extremely safety conscious.
Travel Nannies need to be organised ensuring their passport is in date and they have travel insurance to cover them for the duration they are away. If you have any food allergies or are afraid to fly these things need to be considered to ensure you are going to fit best in a role like this, as some countries may not be as accommodating as others. If you struggle with home-sickness then you don’t necessarily have to rule out being a Travel Nanny, you can do short term contracts, just bare in mind if you ever decide to apply for those long term roles, be sure you are fully committed and know you can do it. You can find my top tips on how to help with home-sickness when Nannying away, in my Suitcase Nanny E-book.
Loss of sleep shouldn’t bother you either as you will not have time to get over the jet lag, you are the Travel Nanny, you will be working. Some children may even be sleeping in your room, so making sure you get early nights so you don’t burn out, is important. Travel Nannies usually have some knowledge on how to deal with jet-lag in children and it will be your job, to help get the child back into a routine. See my other blog for advice on Jet lag from tots to teens.
Another thing to know is parents do get messy, it is their holiday after all and they will be relaxed, drinking and enjoying themselves. You have taken away all their stresses and they often like to chat. Some of the things mom’s have told me – about family life, their marriage, their parents and future, it can get quite personal, as a Nanny you just have to smile and nod while trying to maintain a professional relationship. You do become a close-knit family when working in and around each other so there are bound to be times where you step on each others toes, but in a roundabouts way you just have to go with the flow and remember the reason you are there – to work and provide the best care for their children.
Besides the job being hard work, there are many perks to the role. The money can be very good and you don’t have to spend a penny while you are away. There is no need to pay for accommodation, food, travel expenses and excursions you do with the children, so you are simply just saving money while getting paid to see and the world.
Not only that, but as a Travel Nanny you get to choose when you work and where you work, so if you have an important date coming up or a family party you can just ensure you don’t book a contract in for that time. Sound’s intriguing right? It’s like being your own boss! You can also decide where you want to go, so when positions get sent to you, you can decide if where that family are traveling too is where you’d be like to go. A one week family holiday in the Bahamas, or a 10 day ski trip in Switzerland are just some of the positions that come around each year and if your anything like me you’ll be dying to go on all of them.
Don’t forget the FUN! Children always want to do anything fun and if you have the personality of a Travel Nanny then you will have just as much fun as the kids. I’ve spoken to so many Travel Nannies and they all say ‘It just doesn’t feel like work, it’s the best job in the world’.
Is there anything better than seeing the world through children’s eyes?
How do you become a Travel Nanny?
Families look for Nannies that have done it all before, (both domestically and internationally) so gaining experience is key to nabbing those ‘dream’ jobs. If you have no experience that’s no problem, brainstorm ways to grow your resume. Talk to families you babysit or Nanny for, ask if they have any holidays coming up and if they’d like you to come. Offering a reduced rate might sweeten the deal and get you the credentials you need, even just short weekend trips away are great to get you introduced for a Travel Nanny life. This will also help you decide if it is something you’d like to continue.
References are most important, so any positions you take and finish, ensure you ask your Mom & Dad bosses for a written reference. Always ask if they will be happy to be contacted by Nanny agencies to confirm their referee for you because all professionally run agencies will check.
Once you have a resume that resembles your childcare skills and experience, you can start contacting Travel Nanny agencies. Send them the information they ask of you, they will do their background checks and either request a face to face interview, Skype or phone call and once all is clear, you will then start to receive Travel Nanny positions that are on offer with each agency you are registered with.
How do you transition from Nanny to Travel Nanny?
Okay so you’re already a Nanny but want more Travel? Amazing! The good news for you is that you probably already have a strong resume. You’ve got lots of experience in childcare, and have more than likely done some trips with the families you’ve worked for. With this in mind, a great way to make your resume stand out, is by putting a list of scenarios on there that you are familiar with when traveling with children. For example – If you’ve flown internationally and domestically, commercial or private then put that down, if you’ve done ski and summer holidays etc. There are so many scenarios I’m sure you could bullet point down if you thought about it. This helped me a lot, and families get a quick overview of what you’re capable of, making you look EXTRA.
If you’re a Nanny and ‘the traveling with children’ is completely new to you, then definitely use the techniques I’ve written about in the above paragraphs. But also remember you probably have done more traveling than you think, if you have moved to another country to work for your Nanny family, then that definitely counts for something. It means you have the capability of living away from home, the confidence and ability to travel worldwide, know some basic in’s and outs of what its like packing bags, moving in and around airports, flights, time change and more. You just need to get your first gig traveling with a family and you’ll be away!
Transitioning from Aupair to Nanny is a great step forward also, because not only would your pay increase dramatically but you’ve managed to experience so much already in a cultural exchange environment, giving you the best start of becoming a Travel Nanny. That looks good on your resume and you can only keep on growing from there. I always advise Nannies that once they’ve left the ‘Aupair’ stage to not return. If you’ve already bettered yourself in experience, pay increase and education why go backwards, you know your worth! Every year that you remain a full-time Nanny or Travel Nanny is another year of credentials for you, more recognition and more dream job opportunities.
Where could it take you?
For starters, becoming a Travel Nanny could take you all over the world, but so could being a Nanny in itself. Out of experience Nannying has been what I believe the best job for me, I love all things travel, adventure, freedom and snuggling with children. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had jobs that have gone flawlessly, some that made me question ‘what’s normal anymore’ and others where I barely made it out with my wits intact, many were a combination of all these, but each individual experience has been a credit to my resume and provided me with some incredible opportunities.
As a Nanny, if you can show you’re the best, you have the chance to be hired by Celebrities, VIP’S, Royals, and the upper class. Not all Nannies enjoy working for the upper class and that is okay too, there are many other factors Nannies have to consider when working in these types of roles and it isn’t for everyone but these are just some of the bigger opportunities out there for Travel Nannies and Nannies in general.
If you’ve made it this far then I’m assuming you enjoyed reading this blog and I hope it answered your questions, any other questions you have please email me and I’d be happy to answer them. Take a look at my other blogs for more inspiration on becoming a Traveling Nanny.
