The rise of German grandmothers going abroad to work as nannies

Foreign young people can work as "live-in nannies" in exchange for free room and board and the opportunity to learn a certain language while traveling or studying abroad for a short period of time. Today, more and more grandmother-level live-in nannies are emerging in Germany.

Good reputation

Michaela Hansen, 50, runs an agency called "Grandma Live-in Nanny" in the northern German city of Hamburg. Agence France-Presse quoted her as saying on the 15th: "Older women aged between 50 and 70 are usually more popular than young people because they have richer life experience."

Hansen said , German nannies have a high reputation around the world and are known as Germany's "Mary Poppins". Mary Poppins comes from a series of fairy tales by British female writer Pamela Lyndon Travers. She is a magical nanny. She is well-educated, has an independent and unique personality, has a noble demeanor, is unsmiling, has strict requirements for her children, is a bit eccentric, but is also mysterious and fashionable, and her magical power makes her full of charm.

"Foreign families are looking for nannies who are serious and trustworthy women who know how to take care of their children and when to be strict with them," Hansen said.

Make the most of your remaining energy

Anke Fente is 61 years old. He worked in a shipbuilding company before retiring and has a deep affection for the seaport. After hearing that a German family living in southern Spain was looking for a live-in nanny, she immediately agreed.

Her main task was to take care of her two children for a period of one year. After her contract expired, she returned home to Hamburg. Recalling that experience, she said: "My days were great. I was mainly responsible for taking care of two boys, one 13 years old and one 16 years old. I sent them to school in the morning and picked them up after school."

Fendt got along well with the family, and now that her contract has expired, she often flies to Spain to help look after the children while the adults there are away on business.

Ambj?rg Elster lives in southern Bavaria and retired from his job as a flight attendant at the age of 55. Elster's two daughters were raised by her, but they have long since left home to live alone.

Elster likes to watch snow scenes, but there is less snow in Bavaria in the winter, so she applied for a job as a nanny for a family in Hamburg, taking care of four children.

"Initially, it was a bit difficult to adapt to the noise made by four children," she said with a smile, "However, what I value is the feeling that 'I am still useful.'"

There is a market

You need to pay 35 euros to register with Hansen's agency, and the agency charges 250 euros for each nanny you introduce. The length of service and service content are decided by the nanny and the employing family.

In addition to using his spare energy, Fent also regards being a nanny as another form of broadening his horizons. "This is another form of tourism, a way to explore a country," she said, "avoiding the tiring conventional tourist routes and getting to know the locals." To this end, she also works hard to teach herself Spanish.

Today, the demand for grandma nannies is higher than that of young nannies. In German newspapers, you can often see job advertisements like this: "An Australian family with two children, aged 4 and 2, is looking for a German nanny who can stay for 3 to 6 months." < /p>

Hansen said: "Compared with the cost of living abroad for three months, being a live-in nanny can provide free food and accommodation and only cost you a little money. It is worth trying."

(Study abroad liuxue86.com)