Imagine having the kids dropped off and picked up from school, the sick toddler babysat, the washing folded and put away and dinner cooked, in some cases for less than the cost of daycare and out of hours school care.
It sounds like every parent’s dream, and it is, it’s a Dream Nanny.
Vanessa Norman owns and runs two businesses and has four children 5, 9, 11 and 14 with two of them living with autism.
“My home was a disaster with piles of washing, too much screen time, too much takeaway because we were too exhausted to cook dinner and I was missing out on work during business hours taking the children to therapy appointments. My life was a shambles,” says Vanessa.
I was venting to a friend about how much I was struggling to juggle the kids, house and work, and she told me about Dream Nannies.
Dream Nannies is an Australian nanny recruitment agency, matching families with their perfect nanny depending on their care needs.
“We were paired with Sarah and she is like part of our family. She is amazing and I can’t put a price on the mental freedom I have now. She helps out with homework, cooks dinner, picks up the groceries, tidies the house, keeps on top of the washing and takes the children to appointments,” says Vanessa.
“With four children, having Sarah is much more affordable than paying for daycare, before and after school care and vacation care, and daycare can’t help you with cleaning the house.”
Dream Nannies Founder Jackie Rylance has a background in human resources and recruitment and is also a mother of two children so understands the constant juggle of working parents only too well.
I realised there was a real need in Australia for in-home childcare. There are many families who can’t access daycare because centres are full, too expensive or the hours don’t suit.
“I started a nanny recruitment business and it took off from day one. While some businesses will work with just nannies or au pairs, I recruit the right people for families whether they have babies, young children or teenagers. We recruit night nannies, professional nannies, nanny/housekeepers, after school nannies and live in au pairs.”
Dream Nannies does all the screening, interviews, checks and paperwork, saving parents the headache of trying to find a carer.
With more families struggling to get their children into daycare, and many expectant mothers putting their unborn children on waitlists only to still miss out on a spot when they return to work, nannies and au pairs are becoming increasingly popular.
“So many Mums come to me because they can’t get their child into daycare. The other thing I’m seeing is the constant barrage of sickness. Parents are having to take their kids out of daycare because they’re just getting so sick, then they can’t attend daycare anyway, and they need a nanny,” says Jackie.
Image: Jackie Rylance and her children
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