The scarcity of nannies in New York City led Sally Wilkinson, a transplanted London investment banker, to import a trained nanny from London to care for her young twins. Now she's started her own business, Urban Nature, where she brings British nannies to the states to help out well heeled families in need....
Mary Poppins is coming to town and, no, she's not part of the hit musical from London opening on Broadway.
An investment banker from London is importing a small team of well trained British nannies to help with Manhattan's most pesky child-rearing problems.
Instead of moving in with particular families, the nannies working for Urban Nurture will travel from home to home - likely by subway, rather than flying umbrella - consulting with parents on how to deal with colicky babies, petulant toddlers, and bed-wetting children.
The premise is a bit like Fox's popular reality television program "Nanny 911," on which nannies arrive in caps and capes to bully American children and their parents into shape. In this case, the nannies will forgo uniforms and avoid bullying in favor of "collaboration" to determine the best way to cure what ails families.
"It's not rocket science, it's just experience," the founder of the company, Sally Wilkinson, said. The investment banker moved to New York last year with her husband and now 13-month-old twins. She said she couldn't believe how difficult it was to find good nanny care in the city. She brought over a nanny from London, Julie, who has almost 18 years of experience, to care for her boys, Noah and Lucas.
In Britain, top nannies attend a special two-year degree program. The most sought after are graduates of the 114-year-old Norland College in Bath. Norland nannies sport fresh-pressed brown uniforms with white gloves and earn about $1,000 a week. Their training includes stints in schools and hospitals....
Nanny Trouble? Urban Nurture Is Importing Help From Britain - New York Sun
Please let me know where I can import a nanny. She should be whip smart, able to do all kinds of math yet not above picking up doodle dropping from my untrained dog. She should be able to work every night and she can't be fat because I hate the sounds that pants make when thighs brush together!!
Posted by: marge ingersol | August 21, 2006 at 08:48 AM