4.
“Obviously, the pay and benefits can be awesome, but I’ve noticed I’m expected to basically parent the child rather than being a supplemental caregiver. The family I work for is so wealthy that they can afford around-the-clock care, even when BOTH parents are home/not working. The mom does not work, and the dad has a very flexible schedule. They genuinely would just prefer to pay someone to be the primary caregiver. For that reason, it can be really emotionally draining. I’m expected to talk about body changes, needing deodorant, body confidence, etc. I think back on my own childhood, and having my mom talk to me about these life experiences was so impactful and strengthened our bond…”
“It’s a complicated issue because I love the family and the job. I know the parents are grateful for me, but I can’t help thinking the kids would be better off if they had a deeper, more connected relationship with their parents, even if that meant fewer hours and less money for me in the long run.
I have another family I work with who are more ‘upper middle class’ and both have full-time jobs. When they come home, they want nothing more than to spend time with their kids since they haven’t seen them all day. I cannot say the same is true for the ultra rich family I mentioned above.”
“I have found that working for the ultra wealthy is decidedly not for me. It seems great up front…Awesome pay! Benefits! Travel! But I found that the wealthier they are, the more out of touch they are. It made me realize how much normal stuff I took for granted working in middle-class homes, including how they relate to their children. The wealthy I worked for often seem to have families for appearances, but never want to develop relationships with them. We simply had different values. Sometimes it depends on how the wealth was acquired (for example, working for celebrities differs from finance). Once people haven’t heard ‘no’ for a while, have a full household staff, fly private, etc., they seem to have ridiculous expectations over the stupidest things.”
