It is important to understand the difference between a Nanny and a Housekeeper when looking for a new member of staff to care for your children.
To help you better understand the difference between a Nanny and a Housekeeper, we have teamed up with SILKS International in order to clearly explain the difference.
So, why did we choose them? Well, to put it plainly, SILKS are luxury lifestyle specialists. They have cemented their reputation as being experts in supporting their clients to enable them to fulfil their high-end lifestyle. Whether a client is looking to recruit private household staff, need support relocating to the UK, or are planning an exclusive event, SILKS are the perfect partner.
When they are working with clients to recruit their household staff, they always try to discuss and identify their immediate and mid to long-term needs. For instance, if a client is looking to recruit a Nanny to help look after a young family, they often ask them to consider a hybrid role of a Nanny and Housekeeper combined.

Engaging an experienced individual who can multi-task is a great option and one that is becoming more popular than ever. It provides the family with the best of both worlds as they can care for the children as well as assist with some light household duties or cooking within the home. Then when the children start school, the candidate can then take on more housekeeping chores as well as looking after the children after school and during the holidays. This provides the client with staff longevity and consistency of care for their children.
The Nanny/Housekeeper role has become extremely popular over the past few years, especially as more and more parents work full time. It is a simple solution that ticks the boxes for busy families who require help in all areas of home life.

As a leading recruitment specialist for private household staff, SILKS attracts the very best private staff from all over the country. Placing cooks, drivers and housekeepers are all in a day’s work for them, however, finding the perfect combination of a housekeeper who has vast experience with children is a more complex pairing that requires more specialized placement practices.
Duties Both A Nanny And A Housekeeper Share

- Children’s care in general
- Running errands for the children
- Take the children to after school activities such as sports clubs and music lessons
- Laundry and ironing for the whole family
- Organise activities for the children
- Ensure the children have what they need for school or nursery the next day, uniform and kit is ready
The Difference Between A Nanny And A Housekeeper

Households with small children should consider whether a nanny housekeeper can realistically care for the entire home and an infant at the same time. It may be a good idea for families with young children to hire a part-time housekeeper who supports the nanny housekeeper once or twice per week and concentrates on deep cleaning.
Families hire nannies to take care of their children in an attentive, personalized manner. A nanny is responsible not only for the physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and social health of the children but for all tasks related to that care as well. The term “light housekeeping” refers to these tasks, and many people have misconceptions regarding the typical nanny’s responsibilities in the housekeeping department.

There are some nannies who won’t take on additional housekeeping responsibilities, but there are others who will do anything a family asks of them to secure the position.
It is best for nannies to work as nannies/housekeepers if their children attend school or if their schedule requires them to do housekeeping duties. Caregivers in these situations have dual responsibilities, never putting them in a position of having to sacrifice the needs of the children or the upkeep of the home.

We hope that this article was informative in helping you understand the difference between a nanny and a housekeeper, keeping in mind that it is important to find a staff member that will fit into your family and most important, someone, with who your kids will get along with and will be comfortable around.
Moreover, we understand that the task of finding a new staff member can be daunting, but agencies such as SILKS who strive to provide for their clientele’s diverse requirements from private travel to lifestyle recommendations will be sure to find the perfect fit for you and your family.