Nanny Versus Babysitter

People often wonder, "What is a nanny? Isn't she just the same as a babysitter?" This couldn't be further from the truth. While babysitters are qualified to supervise children for short periods of time, nannies are extremely skilled in providing long-term care for a child's intellectual, emotional, physical, and social development needs.


Babysitters are usually left with children on an occasional basis for a relatively short period of time with no special training or experience required. The term babysitter often applies to the neighborhood teenager or college student working for several hours on a Saturday night. While the children are safe they may not be engaged in enrichment and developmentally appropriate activities.

A nanny is more than just a childcare employee--she is a childcare expert! In addition to keeping children safe and leading activities, a nanny will partner closely with parents to work on skills such as school readiness, socializing, potty training, reading and language, and more. She is highly knowledgeable in areas such as child development, nutrition, and intellectual needs. Nannies can provide parents with valuable insight and advice.

While babysitters generally work on an occasional basis, nannies usually make a long-term commitment to serve a family on a weekly basis as a professional employee either part time or full time. Some nannies also perform additional housekeeping or household-management duties which can include errands, managing appointments and supervising repair or maintenance work. This is not to say that a short-term child care provider doesn't have these skills but a career nanny certainly does. 

What if a family needs someone for a day, weekend or overnight?  There is another type of nanny who covers these short term needs or on-call situations - the temporary nanny.  Temporary nannies, and agencies that provide these services, fill the gap for families who want an experienced, skilled child care provider for a short term need rather than a babysitter.