Quick: what’s your least-favorite school-day task?
If you said, “Making my kids’ lunch,” you’ve got lots of company.
“My son’s lunchbox and I are enemies,” wrote one Scary Mommy columnist echoing what so many people feel about this dastardly task. “Just knowing that I will have to open it at some point in the afternoon and face it’s horror makes me want to cry.”
Amen.
But what if you didn’t have to face the lunchbox? What if every day, the lunchbox was magically emptied of its contents in the afternoon (Goodbye old banana! So long rotting corpse of sandwich!), and then just as magically refilled and popped into the refrigerator for the next morning? Say it with us – that would be amazing.
That is the magic of an after-school nanny – someone who can (literally) take things off your plate. “We ask parents to think about what they want after school to look like,” says Laura Davis, a concierge at Jovie, a company that helps people find those magical nannies. “Then we figure out how to help.”
What are eight things Laura says an after-school nanny can do?
1. Be a grownup in the house. Little kids can’t be alone. Older kids maybe shouldn’t be – at least if you want them to use their after-school time wisely. After-school nannies take care of both.
2. Get kids out of the house. A WFH meeting at 3 is not the time for the full, “We’re home!” cacophony at 3:15. “A nanny isn’t just for parents going to an office,” says Laura. “Sometimes parents need a nanny to take the kids somewhere else so the house is quiet.”
3. Drive the after-school-activity shuffle. Dance/soccer/gymnastics carpools can be like driving the Monaco Grand Prix. A nanny can take the wheel solo or divide and conquer with parents to get multiple athletes/ballerinas/thespians to multiple stops. “We see a lot of nannies doing the carpooling,” says Laura.
4. Help with homework. Family homework drama can be epic. Objective-third-party nannies can tame it. Extra bonus: many are college students who can relate to kids as fellow learners. “You can request someone with a specific academic specialty,” says Laura. “But we’d need to know that up front.”
5. Run errands. Baking-soda-volcano and potato-clock supplies don’t buy themselves. “The nanny can take the kids to the store for materials,” says Laura, “so you don’t have to turn around and go out again the minute you get home.”
6. Triage the backpack. You know those “Bring cupcakes” notices that get buried in the backpack – the ones that resurface later as DEFCON 1 crises the morning said cupcakes are expected? A nanny helps avoid that. “Whether it’s papers that need to be signed or notices that need to be read,” says Laura, “a nanny can make sure it’s plucked out and moved to the top of the pile so you’ll see it when you get home.”
7. Help kids decompress. The after-school zone is a big couple of hours that determines whether there’s chaos or calm when everyone heads to bed. “Kids need time to blow off steam,” says Laura. “A nanny can make sure they get it.”
8. Make life easier for you. Making lunch is just one task a nanny can take off your plate. They can also start dinner, throw in some laundry, do the grocery shopping. Some families even have the nanny start an hour before the kids come home. “Families with older kids find this kind of family assistant really helpful,” says Laura.
How can a nanny help you? The first step is to think about what you want. Consider your family. Think about what would make your life easier. Be as specific as possible.
“Whether you need a driver or someone well versed in a specific school subject, we need to know,” says Laura. “Then we can match you with someone who gives you exactly what you need.”
