Nannies for the rich and famous reveal the VERY luxurious perks of the job

Nannies employed by the rich and famous have revealed how their jobs afford them all the trappings of a luxury lifestyle – including jet-setting, expensive gifts and cash bonuses – and an annual salary of up to £120,000.  

The high-end child carers told FEMAIL that while there are generous perks of the job, there are also challenges that come with working for clients with high demands and big budgets – including one parent who insisted on a ‘frutarian’ children’s party. Often nannies must speak multiple languages and know skills such as skiing, self-defence and how to dodge the paparazzi. 

Running the UK’s first Mummy Concierge, Tiffany Norris, from London, says she has had celebrities, bankers, doctors and entrepreneurs on her books while, Shada, a high-end nanny who earns up to £110,000 a year told FEMAIL that the job lets her mingle with the rich and famous ‘whilst still living a humble life’.

Here, they share their experiences of what it’s like to work at the most exclusive end of the childcare business…

THE MUMMY CONCIERGE 

Tiffany Norris has been providing nannies and other professionals to households of high net worth individuals since 2016. The service, she says, is designed to make the lives of wealthy families as smooth and stress-free as possible…  

Speaking to Femail, Tiffany said: ‘I am often asked to find nannies for families including high-profile celebrities in London and LA. Often they want ‘numerous’ nannies – just one won’t cut it!.

‘I set up The Mummy Concierge in 2016 and have since worked with celebrities, lawyers, bankers, doctors and entrepreneurs to help them with everything from finding their ‘Mary Poppins’ to babyproofing holiday homes and kitting out hospital rooms for delivery.

She says she charges ‘between £120-300 an hour’ and has been flown all over the world in order to sort out client requests. 

‘I have been gifted a Cartier watch as a “thank you” and been offered exclusive use of a holiday home in South Africa, but that’s not the reason I do the job. The perks are wonderful but, whether they are VIP families or not, I treat everyone the same.’  

Clients come, Tiffany says, by word-of-mouth and she now has a waiting list. She adds that every nanny on her books has experience with high net worth or celebrity families. Prestigious Norland College is the best place for her to find good nannies.

‘They [the nannies] understand non-disclosures, will often have had training in self-defence and avoiding paparazzi and have “extra skills” such as speaking multiple languages, knowing how to ski, have done courses in potty training and weaning, have degrees from Oxford or Cambridge. 

‘I literally only work with the crème de la crème…because that’s what VIP families expect.’

Tiffany reveals one family wanted a ‘frutarian’ children’s party for their child with party bags filled with ‘fruit that fell from the trees.’ 

She said: ‘The challenge was making this party bag appealing to the children! Lets just say lots of cookie cutters were ordered in various shapes and the nanny had to spend hours turning bruised apples into works of art.

‘I have had a family who wanted me to find them a specific potty trainer who charged £500 an hour for her services, and also a family who wanted me to source an etiquette school for their four-year-old.

I also once got flown out to Ibiza to baby-proof a holiday home. I was given my own chef and butler whilst there and despite putting up numerous stairgates and high chairs and sorting out a ‘summer holiday appropriate wardrobe’ for the baby, it really didn’t feel like work.’

Tiffany said her role as a mummy concierge doesn’t allow for her to turn her phone off and it isn’t unusual to receive a call at 2am from a distraught parent.

Tiffany said: ‘I realised when I was pregnant with my first child that there is no one actually there to help with everything that comes with being a parent. I didn’t want to spend hours Google working out the best pram, best sleep trainer, best holiday with children. I needed someone who could do it all for me. Which is where the idea of The Mummy Concierge came about. I have now worked with over 5,000 mothers.

‘I love it when clients return to me when they are pregnant again. Being able to help parents from the moment that pregnancy test says ‘positive’ makes it a very rewarding job.’

NANNY & BUTLER 

Shada has been a nanny to high profile clients for 17 years. She started her career as a teenager working for rich families and later went on to work for public figures and celebrities. A potty-training specialist, she’s also an ambassador for the UK Nannies Matters Campaign…

Shada who currently on the books of London based company Nanny & Butler, revealed that she can earn up to £110,000 a year as a nanny, with perks including international travel and staying in mansions with celebrities. 

She said: ‘Before I became a nanny I was working as a part time babysitter and assistant freelance dance and drama teacher for three years. 

‘Prior to becoming a Nanny I made sure I enrolled in childcare courses to help gain further childcare training and knowledge, such as paediatric first aid, early childhood development and child nutrition.’

Her role pays Shada a salary from £65,000 to more than £110,000 a year.   

‘The perks of being an international career nanny is that I am blessed to do a job I genuinely love,’ she said. ‘I get to experience the life of the rich and famous whilst still living a humble life. 

‘Perks include flying First and Business Class, travelling to more than nine countries a year, living in Mansions, learning on the job, meeting new people from all walks of life and being a focal point of childcare support for high profile families. 

‘With my last nanny family I was very blessed to be gifted a gym membership with access to a pool as part of my pay package. When I worked overseas in the Middle East my room overlooked the beach and I was gifted a Range Rover as my work car as well as a huge bedroom with an ensuite bathroom.’

Shada said although the role of a nanny can be ‘very demanding’, it’s equally rewarding.

She continued: ‘If you do not love working with children then being a nanny is not for you. You cannot be in it for the money, you will not survive. My experience as a nanny has been amazing and I have had good and bad days, but overall I have met some amazing people, children and families. 

‘Many of my past nanny families have become like family members and I stay in touch with a lot of them. The children usually call me Nanny Sharz or Auntie Shada and my positive influence is still very much present even years after leaving their family. 

Shada admitted she’s had some strange and extravagant requests from families, however she’s unable to speak about it because of non-disclosure agreements.

She revealed her clients have made their wealth in various ways, with entrepreneurs, actors and surgeons among past clients.   

‘I do not have set hours and it can range from six hours a day to 16 hours a day. Normally Nannies work long hours and it is common for Nannies to work 10-12 hours a day. It could be anything from 7am-7pm or 8am-6pm, it really depends on the job role and the families childcare needs,’ Shada said.  

Shada said she has many memories including seeing children achieve milestones but ‘nothing beats hearing your nanny child tell you that they love you for the first time’.   

Shada added that anyone who wants to become a nanny should invest in a mentor who has a wealth of experience and childcare knowledge.

She said: ‘I mentor many Nannies all over the world and I have seen the huge impact it has on their careers whether they have been in the industry for 15years or new to the profession.  

MyTamarin 

Two nannies who work for MyTamarin explained that they’re unable to reveal their identity because they work with royal families.

Having studied Early Childhood Education, one nanny revealed she now earns 30,000aed per month with perks including car, cash tips, holidays paid for, gifts such as jewellery and concert tickets.

She told Femail, she has worked for a royal family for just over three years, saying: ‘It can be exhausting but it is very rewarding, rewarding in the way of seeing how far the children have grown and developed and the special bonds that you made with them.’

She added that it’s important to be one step ahead of any requests from the family and ready for any possibility.    

‘My working hours are 12 hours a day but this can often go over depending on the families plans. Days are often 14, 16 or even sometimes 19+ hours.

‘This role has so many good memories. I can’t pin point just one. My employer has given me so many amazing and unbelievable experiences and opportunities that I wouldn’t have had without working here. Alongside that I get to work alongside an amazing family and group of children.’ 

The other nanny who has 14 years worth of experience, said she was a mother and a registered child minder before working with royals, lawyers, authors and CEOs.

She revealed her current rate is £250 per day gross as post natal maternity nurse, with perks including large cash bonuses, designer watches, handbags and jewellery.   

The nanny said: ‘I love my work as I also get to travel a lot and experience and see a side of life most people never will, living in palaces travelling on private planes stays in the worlds best hotels, holidays on super yachts are very much the norm but after the initial excitement I now just see them as a place of work and not phased by any of it now. 

‘In one positions I had to do all the shopping and buy literally every thing, was asked to put together a nursery and the cost was £165,000. In the same position I had top designer stores on WhatsApp, and when any new collections came in I would show the client and they would choose the clothes they wanted for their child. A spend of £10,000 up wasn’t unusual.’

She revealed her current position requires being on call 24/6, but she wanted to become a nanny to combine her love of children and travel.  

‘My craziest memory is having dinner in the middle of a pen in a families private zoo with some kind of antelope and zebras running around the perimeter,’ she said.