A nanny license is a certification that allows a person to care for other people’s children for extended periods of time. It is usually required for people who run nanny businesses or who regularly babysit for multiple families. Requirements vary by location, and training includes management skills, safety and health of children, and first aid. Teen nannies often advertise themselves as licensed, but they are usually certified through babysitting courses.
A nanny license is a certification, usually issued by a local government agency, that allows a person to care for other people’s children for extended periods of time. In most places, a nanny license is only required for people who run nanny businesses or who regularly babysit for multiple families at the same time. Licenses are generally not required for casual neighborhood babysitters. Many nannies take training courses at local hospitals or community centers, but this is rarely seen as true licensure.
Nanny license programs often have a lot in common with childcare licensing programs. The main difference is that nannies generally do not maintain childcare facilities – they often work as low-level staff at existing daycare centers or work outside the home. Licensing programs require nannies to demonstrate management skills when dealing with multiple children at once, understand the safety and health of children and infants, and know general first aid, among other things.
Local government entities are primarily responsible for implementing and overseeing nanny license requirements. As such, requirements can vary, sometimes quite dramatically, from place to place. Regional jurisdictions often set the framework for when a nanny license is required, and city or other local offices help implement the rules and provide training. Training almost always includes several days of instruction, usually on weekends; some hands-on demonstrations, particularly of life-saving health techniques; and a final written exam. There is almost always a fee involved, both for the course and the exam.
Rules are different in different places regarding who is required to hold a nanny license, but it is almost always limited to adult professionals who regularly monitor children as a career or as a regular part-time job. Babysitting jobs performed for a family are almost always exempt, as are situations in which a babysitter watches her own children and those of another family. Licensing is more geared towards commercial situations, not neighborhood arrangements.
Many teen nannies advertise themselves as licensed, which in most cases is inappropriate – what most of them mean is that they are certified. Community health clinics, hospitals, and first aid centers often offer babysitting courses for teens that help them prepare to care for young children. This type of babysitting training usually includes basic first aid; caring for babies, including changing diapers; and tips on how to be an effective and respected authority figure. Many teens use babysitting training and certification courses as that starting point for becoming a babysitter.
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