By Sittercity.com
In today's competitive job market, babysitters and nannies know they need to do a little extra to stand out in the sea of resumes. Along those same lines, parents are starting to become a little pickier about who they choose to care for their kids -- especially when it comes to a caregiver's education.
We came across a recent article titled "Nanny positions requiring college degrees," which focused on this growing trend and argued against why an education is necessary when caring for children.
THE AUTHOR'S OPINION
Said the mom who wrote the article:
While earning a college degree is a major accomplishment it doesn't mean you know squat about parenting or caring for kids.
As a working single mom, I relied heavily on nannies and babysitters when my daughter was much younger.
The nanny my daughter loved the most was a high school dropout with three grown kids. She cared for my daughter for two straight years until it was time for her to start pre-school.
She was loving, playful and creative. But she was also stern, disciplined, and organized. She knew my daughter so well she called my attention to things her pediatrician missed.
When I panicked about certain behavior, she was able to tell me from her own parenting experience, not to worry, it was a phase. And she was flexible, which was a big plus in my line of work.
OTHER PARENTS' AND SITTERS' OPINIONS
When we asked Sittercity members what the most important caregiver quality was a while back, education never even came up.
Both parents and babysitters cited work ethic, flexibility, communication, patience -- never "a college degree." And that hasn't changed, for the most part.
The general consensus seems to be that experience matters more than a degree and that a degree alone won't land someone a nanny job. However, having a college degree IS a sign of a well-educated nanny, which many parents seem to prefer, especially in today's saturated child care market...
To read what parents and sitters are saying about caregivers and college degrees, click here.
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[image credit: nsaplayer]
