Male Babysitters: Time to Stop the Stigma?

When the words ‘babysitter’ or ‘nanny’ are spoken, people automatically think of some warm, motherly, Mary Poppins type figure. Not that there is anything wrong with that, after all, we as a generation have been raised to relate that particular stereotype to the care needs of our children. We tend to trust this type of figure with our children.

What happens, however, when we come across a male babysitter or nanny? Do we automatically have the same level of trust?

Unfortunately, the answer to that question is a resounding no to a lot of parents and families. The reason for this is there is a certain level of stigma attached to the idea of men wanting to be involved in the care of children that are not in their family unit. Suspicion is high in these situations.

Let’s discuss the most uncomfortable bit first. Some people, whether consciously or not, automatically assume that the reasons are sinister, that the man in question must have a hidden sexual agenda. This is both an unfair and untrue assumption, especially in this day and age. Most men are infinitely capable of looking after the young and vulnerable without unleashing their inner sexual predator. In fact, one could even argue, most men would find the idea of anything sexual or inappropriate with a minor in their care completely abhorrent, so why don’t we just put that to bed now (no pun intended).

Another general assumption is that men simply do not have what it takes to babysit children. They are perceived, again incorrectly, as strong, hard, masculine types with a penchant for physically demanding, or boardroom type careers. It is believed by many, that all women are hard-wired to be motherly, soft and caring and therefore they should be the only ones in charge of childcare, familial or career-wise. Some people may even assume that if a male were to take up childcare as a career, they might be more feminine, or even, homosexual. Again, all of this is simply not true. Plenty of heterosexual men are more than capable of care, whether it be for young children in their homes, schoolchildren in a teaching setting, the disabled and elderly, or even as a nurse or doctor in a hospital. It would be difficult to discriminate against a medical professional, just because you were suspicious of their gender, true?

We have, quite rightly, become more of an equal rights generation, with women, in particular, being given more equal opportunities for physically demanding jobs, higher managerial roles in business and equal pay rates. All of this is such a positive development, compared to years and decades before, but why does equality have to stop there? If women can be given the same high powered career choices as men, why can’t men be given the same opportunity to pursue careers involving the care of the young and vulnerable? In addition, be free to do so without suspicion or unfair misgivings?

Consider the following. There may be occasions where a male sitter could be a bigger success for your children. Without stereotyping, men may be more likely to encourage your children to do more physical activities, walks and sports, playing outdoors. “For little boys, they might have a total blast playing in the sandbox with trucks. Wrestling, building forts, playing sports; sometimes all of these stereotypes are very true!” (Taylor, 2018)

We at Cambridgeshire Babysitters do not discriminate on any grounds. We have both male and female sitters, all of who are strictly monitored. Each babysitter has a full and up to date DBS and various qualifications in childcare. We take the care and needs of our charges very seriously.

Resource; Taylor, M., (2018), Can Men Babysit? Why Aren’t There Many Male Babysitters? [https://kidsit.com/can-men-babysit]