Are you fit, friendly and keen on eating pasta? Then consider a job nannying in Italy, where a long, hot summer is already underway.
What's the country like?
Italy is a paradise for those who enjoy being outdoors, so come prepared for skiing, tennis, and, of course, watersports. Only the wealthiest families employ British nannies, whom they call 'babysitters', and parents like their children to be learning English while they're with you.
Where are the best places to work?
Some nannies choose Rome or Milan, Italy's busiest cities, but many go to the area around Lugano, a large town on the Swiss/Italian border, where parents can be of mixed Swiss/Italian nationality.
What about pay and conditions?
Salaries tend to be lower than they are in the UK, but are actually higher in real terms as the cost of living is considerably cheaper in Italy. For example, 200 to 250 a week would be a huge salary there, but certainly isn't an impossibility. As in the UK, live-in nannies can expect their own living area - a bedroom and private bathroom or separate flat - but the idea of 'sole charge' is a strange one to the Italians. Although the mother may be out at work, it's normal for the grandmother or aunt to be present with you while you care for the children, so come prepared to be flexible and to share care!
And the lifestyle?
Families often require their nanny to work weekends, although one to two days off a week is allowed. Many Italians leave the cities at weekends, and during the summer for three weeks or more, for a country house by the sea or in the mountains, so they'll expect to take their nanny with them. They'll probably be off skiing for a week in January or February as well, so brush up your technique! In general, the lifestyle is more relaxed than in Britain, with less emphasis on mealtime punctuality and children's after-school activities. Siestas are common during the summer, with children and adults both resting for two or more hours after lunch. The nanny will often be given her own scooter to get around.
Do I need to speak Italian?
No. Families want you for your English! However, in certain regions they also appreciate your interest in Italian, so sign up for language classes if you want to make a good impression.
Is this a job for a newly-qualified nanny?
Not really, unless you are very confident and have lived away from home before. A year's experience and even a post overseas would help anyone planning a year out in Italy.
Don't go if...
You're not a sporty person, or you didn't enjoy your last holiday in Italy. Italian families are sophisticated and chic, and they like their nannies to be too.
Real life stories
Jennifer Sykes, from Yeovil in Somerset, has been qualified for two years. She has two part-time nannying posts, one in Florence, where she lives, and one just outside the city. While her mornings are spent with Giovanni and Henrico aged three months and three years, every day at 4.30pm she also collects eight-year-old John from school, caring for him until his parents return from work.
'I spend every morning outside,' she says. 'The boys' parents run an hotel, a large villa with grounds and a swimming pool, and every day there is something different to do. We'll play football, walk, or swim, or sometimes visit the nearby monastery where the monks allow us to feed their chickens - the hotel buys all the eggs! The boys wake up late by UK standards, so I'll make breakfast for them at about 10am. The hotel chef will make their lunch, usually pasta followed by meat and vegetables. I try to fit in about an hour of English speaking with them - Henrico has already learned 'One, two, three, four five, Once I caught a fish alive...' and he can say 'Water, please'.
'After I've collected John we'll go to the park, swim or play badminton for an hour, then it's back home, where I'll help him with his homework, make tea and perhaps do some light housework. Then we play chess or boardgames until it's time for bed. I'll babysit at least once a week for this family. John is brilliant; he's half-American and half-Italian and is learning to speak both languages.
'The people here are so warm. I've lived in London before and found the atmosphere quite cold and unfriendly - you never get that feeling here. I was a quiet person when I started work here, but after a year I'm not that quiet any more!'
French-born Sandrine Deperrieux has worked as a nanny in both America and England, but feels she has found her niche in Italy. She works in Rome near the Basilica St Giovanni, a ten-minute walk from the Colosseum. A live-in nanny, she knows the family well, having worked for them four years ago, before taking a year's break. Her charges are Pietro, nearly six, and Vittorio, who's ten.
'We all have breakfast together, then I get the boys ready for school and nursery. Vittorio has to be there by 8.30 and Pietro by 9am. I have an Italian class in the morning and collect Pietro at 1pm, then we'll have lunch. During the afternoon he will have a siesta or we'll go to the park until it's time to pick up Vittorio at 4.30. When we get home I let the boys have half-an-hour of free time, and then I will try to teach them French for an hour - the parents want me to do that - in fact, we will often have an hour at home when everyone speaks French.
'That's not all we do, of course! The boys are very artistic - their mother is an interior designer - and they love art, painting, and dough and clay modelling.'
The family lives in a large apartment in Rome but also has a house in the mountains near Nabruzzo, two hours' drive away, and a summer house on the Adriatic coast at Pescara. 'They normally go to Nabruzzo for three weeks in July and two weeks in the winter. August they generally spend at Pescara. I went with them last year and it was beautiful.'
Sandrine has always felt more at home in Mediterranean countries - Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece - than she has in her home area of Rheims in northern France. 'I just love the weather here, and the food, especially the salads - my favourite is "caprese" with mozzarella, basil and tomatoes. We have pasta every day, with a different sauce. The family has a cook who comes three or four times a week and prepares meals in advance - her fresh pesto sauce is pretty good!
'Professionally, I enjoy nannying in Italy because there seems to be less stress in people's lives here than there is in America or the UK. There, parents can be so serious and busy all the time; there's pressure on the children to do well at school and quite a competitive atmosphere. In Italy it's much more laid back. It doesn't matter so much if a child has an occasional telling off from the teacher, or if the family doesn't sit down punctually at 8pm to eat every night (that's the time the children eat in Italy; the adults don't sit down until 10pm!). It's starting to get quite hot now, so we will normally sleep in the afternoon, and even if that means that I'm working longer hours, it never feels like work - it feels like a holiday.'
If a nanny goes to Italy with the right attitude, Sandrine feels, it doesn't matter how much overseas experience she may, or may not, bring with her. But she does have one warning. 'The shoes. They are so beautiful - and cheaper than Paris!'
