Mothers’ Help

Mother’s Help is an option for working with children, especially as a starting point. It is as the name suggest a help and support to the primary carer at home.

Traditionally, this was the mother hence the name sake.

Generally a Mother’s Help work alongside a stay-at-home parent rather than being in sole charge of the children. It may be in a part or full time capacity.

Mother’s Help is a little different than being a nanny or a babysitter.

Generally a Mother’s Help position is not a sole charge position rather a position where you are an additional set of hands and assist the parent at home.

You may find that a Mother’s Help is left alone with the children for small periods of time from time to time.

A Mother’s Help role often means that the carer holds no qualification and has no or limited experience.

A family usually employ a Mother’s Helper to do just that help the mother (or father). They are there primarily to aid the stay at home mum (or dad) in daily duties and you are often considered an assistant.

Typically a Mother’s Helper is younger, between 16-20 years old with little or no prior experience with childcare. Because of a Mother’s Helpers lack of experience you will tend to find that it is rare to be given sole responsibility of the care of the children, however, short periods of time in sole charge may be given as experience is gained and the family’s confidence grows as well.

A Mother’s Help position may work well for parents who work from home or work part-time; who have more than one child or multiple birth children.

The family will employ a Mother’s Help to help with housework and childcare combined as the role can include childcare as well as cleaning, cooking, doing the laundry, etc.

As your experience increases you may find that you are given and/or be able to take more responsibility and may ultimately lead to sole charge. Some start out as mother’s helps and gain enough experience to be considered for nannying posts in their next  or subsequent jobs. It can be seen as a stepping stone for those just starting out in this field. It may also be the employment option for those who are studying childcare to help gain extra experience.

The scope of a Mother’s Help position may vary greatly. It may be live in or live out. It may be paid by the hour or a salary position. It may be part time or full time.

You will generally find that there is no qualification pre-requisite to be a Mother’s Help.

This is partly what distinguishes a Mother’s Help role from that of a nanny, as well as the limited or lack of previous experience.

It is recommended that any position that involves children the carer should have First Aid training of some sort and the applicable checks but this is not a requirement of the position and is primarily at the family’s discretion.

• It can be a great way of starting your childcare career. If you want to become a nanny in the future, it can be a good stepping-stone.
• You might find working as a mother’s help role inspires you to complete a childcare qualification.
• Your wage reflects your experience, the number of children, etc.
• You do a bit of everything. You are helping the mother in her day-to-day life in every way.
• You can be indispensable to the household and to the children and as such be an integral part of the whole family.
• You are not a cleaner and you are not a nanny, nor are you a slave. You are exactly what your title implies, a great help. It’s important to remember that this is not slave labour, but rather, you are part of a team, helping to run a household more efficiently.
• Not all nanny agencies register or even place Mother’s Helps.