Early years practitioners train to cover at least up to middle childhood, yet most jobs they could consider will involve children who come only within part of that age range. Nannies (and childminders) have the only jobs where they could remain responsible for children from babyhood until well into primary school.
So what happens if a nanny prefers to specialise in a particular age range? Some nannies are fairly easy about what age they work with and are content to 'grow' with the family from whatever point they start a job with them.
Other nannies, it seems, have a clear preference for an age range and do not really want to work with children younger, or older, than their favourite span.
Let us take three possible examples:
* Donna really prefers to start with a family as soon as they need a nanny for their baby. In her career to date, Donna has always given in her notice with her current family as soon as there is no child younger than two years. She then finds another job and relishes starting afresh with another baby, ideally the first baby for the parents.
* Beverley has not pursued any job applications where she would be responsible for babies or toddlers and ideally likes the children in the family to be at least three years old. In her career to date, Beverley has been willing to see all the children of a family into primary school, but then looks for a suitable time to resign and move on.
* Ed will not take a job unless the children are over three years old. He is then happy to stay as long as the family wishes. Up to a point, Ed is willing to be flexible about changes in his role to fit the changed circumstances of school terms.
DOES IT MATTER?
You could take the view that it is entirely up to Donna, Beverley and Ed what they do in their professional careers. Nannies, like other early years practitioners, move on for a wide range of reasons. The era is long gone when Nanny joined a wealthy household and stayed forever, maybe even raising a second generation, before retiring to a nice little cottage on the big estate. Being a nanny is a job and, for many people, it is just one stage in a longer, varied career.
However, being a nanny is a professional option which involves an especially personal link with children and their parents. So it is appropriate to consider what matters in how you handle your age preference, if you have one. It is also good practice to reflect on the reasons underlying age preferences: some rationales are less positive than others.
Unless you are honest at the start, a family might fairly assume that you will stay for a long time. However, Donna's track record will be relatively obvious if potential employers look properly at her curriculum vitae. Some sensible questions at the interview stage should bring out that Donna does not stay with families beyond a given age of the youngest child. Honest professionalism will mean Donna finding a way to explain how she feels that her skills are best suited to supporting families through the baby and toddler years. It would be dishonest for her to imply there were other reasons for moving on from previous families, leaving the impression that under positive circumstances she might stay as long as this family wished.
Donna will need to make a properly managed exit from the family, as she should do no matter what her reason for leaving. She also needs to consider how she will answer questions from children who have by now learned to speak. An older two-year-old or young three-year-old is likely to ask, 'Why are you leaving?' Of course it would not be acceptable to say anything along the lines of, 'Because I prefer working with babies'. The children could only interpret that as personal rejection. Donna will need to explain, 'I've got a new job helping with a very little baby. But I won't forget our times together.'
Nannies like Ed or Beverley, who prefer working with slightly older children, will aim for jobs where they can join a family at that point. It may be wise at the interview to express an enthusiasm for working with over-threes. If Ed or Beverley face an obviously pregnant mother, that would be the point to say they preferred not to care for babies.
However, either nanny could become well established with a family, only to find later that there is a surprise pregnancy or the parents decide that, after all, their family does not feel complete. In that case Beverly or Ed will have months to manage a careful exit that enables the parents to find a replacement nanny. However, consideration for the children is just as important. They are not going to be happy losing their familiar nanny, getting used to a new one and dealing with the arrival of a baby sister or brother all in a matter of a few weeks.
A REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER
It is fair enough that nannies exercise their preferences for working within part of the age span for which they are trained. After all, early years practitioners in childcare or educational settings often express a wish to work with one age group rather than another. But just like practitioners working in the group settings, it is important that nannies on their own reflect on their reasons for an age preference. Some explanations are more professional than others.
Donna may be fascinated by all the early steps of learning. Perhaps she delights in supporting babies' and toddlers' first communication and motor skills, such as walking. If so, Donna will give babies and toddlers a grand start in childhood. But if she stays with a family through more than one baby, she will have to be prepared to give equal amounts of attention to children who are older siblings to a new sister or brother, but still young themselves. In family life, 'old babies' do not move on to another room, with other practitioners, as they do in most day nurseries.
However, it would be a different situation if Donna aimed for jobs with babies and very young toddlers simply because she thinks they are easier and less demanding. Her professional skill base will have a serious gap if she expects to have packed her bags before toddlers start giving backchat and saying 'No!', or she has to launch the toilet training process. Under those circumstances, Donna's preference looks more like a lack of confident skills or sound child development knowledge.
Beverley may prefer the slightly older age range because she feels most enthused about supporting all the exciting developments that can be seen between three to five or six years of age. Perhaps Beverley enjoys fielding the questions asked by curious four-year-olds and those magic moments when five-year-olds learn a brand new skill. She has nothing against over-sixes.
But her experience with families has been that, once children are in full- time school, time hangs heavy on her hands, and she has never relished the options requested by parents who are keen to get full value for her salary, namely housework.
Ed feels much the same way about children's development over these years.
But, in contrast with Beverley, Ed has been able to adjust his role to include domestic tasks that he enjoys, such as cooking for the family or gardening.
It would be a different professional stance if Beverley avoided the under-twos because she thought they were boring and they did not really do much that mattered until they were able to talk 'properly'. Or perhaps Ed's enthusiasm rests on the mistaken belief that early learning does not really start until three years of age. Such attitudes would show a significant lack of professional knowledge and understanding in either of them. The support they offer children, even of their favourite age, could be less effective as a result.
So, in a nutshell, if you can see yourself in Donna, Ed or Beverley, then be sure of your professionalism:
* Be honest with parents at the interview stage.
* Manage well how you leave the family - paying particular attention to the feelings of children who may have become very fond of you.
* Be sure that your child development knowledge is thorough and you are ready to keep it refreshed - and not just for your preferred age group, but for the ages that come before or after as well.
