Blanca Yamira is 56 years old, works as a babysitter and earns around 260 euros a day. A good month sees more than 4,000 bills. It sounds strange, but Yamira is not one babysitter In fact, what he does doesn’t quite fit that label. She is not dedicated to taking care of children who are left alone at home. Her performance starts at nine in the evening and lasts until seven in the morning, a whole night in which she caters for parents who have just had a baby. In other words, when the newborn cries or wakes up, he takes care of it. Meanwhile, father and mother are sleeping peacefully in bed.
Yamira is known as ‘Night Nanny’.
One person, two jobs. Thanks to Yamira’s story we know (and experience). Corriere della Serawhich recently published a report on ‘night nannies’ operating in various Italian cities.
They do not all have the same charge or the same experience, but they generally share a series of characteristics: They are child care providers who play a dual role at night (usually between nine and six or seven in the morning) in their clients’ homes. They take care of children. And they allow parents to rest.
sleepless night. “I’m always there, ready to act,” jokes Yamira, who currently works for a family in Lugano, Ticino, in southeastern Switzerland. Her shift begins when most daytime nannies end: she arrives at her clients’ homes in the late afternoon, changes the baby’s diapers, bathes him, and watches over the rest of the night while the parents try to sleep.
If the child wakes up hungry, Yamira gives him the bottle. He turns to the mother only if he needs to breastfeed. “We night nannies don’t have our own lives. We give up everything to provide this service. For years I’ve woken up every two hours at night, even when I’m on vacation,” she admits. In return, he charges 260 euros per night, which explains why he is now earning more than he did working as a bank employee in Ecuador.
Is it a unique case? not at all Corriere della Sera She interviewed other night nannies, such as Renata Wetter, 61, who charges 180 euros a night. The first thing she makes clear is that she is not a babysitter, nor a typical caregiver. Like Yamira, she trained in child care, the discipline that focuses on the growth and development of children. Even if the two women work in the same region, the statistics are true night nanny It is widespread and found in other European countries.
It’s not exactly new either. British newspapers in 2018 guardian I was already talking about them after its premiere tullyA film starring Charlize Theron as an overwhelmed mother who eventually turns to a nighttime babysitter. By then (2018) it was relatively easy to find night nanny In the United Kingdom, where a company specializing in this service was established in the late 90s.
Its originator was a mother who could not find a special nanny for night care. Less than a decade later, she ran a network of 200 carers spread across England who cared for more than 10,000 families. And his rate wasn’t cheap: £155.
Bastien Jaillot (Unsplash).
On the company’s radar. The great attraction of Yamira or Waiter is that they are not only childcare workers who are in charge of taking care of children. Conventional babysitters can do that too. They are in charge of making sure the rest of the kids are… and their parents, who are spending sleepless nights between diapers and bottles. This promise is attractive enough that there are already companies that fund night babysitters for their employees.
I said a few years ago Financial Times Citing the specific case of a London startup that reached an interesting conclusion: night nanny They may not be cheap, but they make it easier for employees who just had a baby to relax at the office and, therefore, get more done. The company maintains paid maternity leave, but additionally offers a “night nanny” service.
A business that grows. The truth is that caring for newborns and (especially) their parents is fueling a booming business. We saw this recently in China, with “luxury hotels” for mothers. And it’s also seen in Europe, where experts are already working to help families with babies having trouble falling asleep. It’s not so strange when you consider that rest is a coveted commodity: It’s estimated that the average American will pay $290 for a “perfect” night’s rest.
“A Gift for the Family”. Who uses night babysitters? Is this a service only available to wealthy families? Although Yamira’s rates may not be affordable for everyone, Corriere della Sera suggests that night nanny They are more widespread than they might seem. Of course, not all families rent them for long periods of time. Some are happy to have them in the baby’s early days.
Italian newspapers shared, for example, the case of a 38-year-old Milanese lawyer who hired two nannies before even giving birth. Idea: Help him during the first week, when he needs to rest the most.
“With our first child, my partner gave me a beautiful ring. This time I asked him to give us a gift for the whole family: hire a childcare worker. I’ve already made it clear to him: ‘He doesn’t want to destroy me as a person or force me to stay up all night even once,’ she admits. Despite her mother’s objections, the 38-year-old woman “didn’t feel comfortable handing over part of her son’s upbringing to a night babysitter” for me. It’s a mental health issue, a positive environment is beneficial for the child.”
A profound change. Its occurrence night nanny It’s interesting because it connects to something much bigger: changes in motherhood and the configuration of the home. Statistics have long shown that motherhood is being delayed in Europe and that more and more women are taking the step to become mothers after the age of 35. This means that it is more common to find first-timers who have already established professional careers and a good level of income that allows them to access new services.
It’s more common that they’ve moved because of work, so they live far away from their parents. This is not a phenomenon exclusive to Spain or Europe. Something similar is happening in China, where a thriving business is developing dedicated to the care of women in the postpartum period, the weeks after giving birth. There are even luxury resorts that offer luxury accommodations for over 10,000 euros per month… or even over 50,000.
Picture | Frankie (Unsplash) and Bastien Zelot (Unsplash)
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