Contrary to the popular movie Nanny Diaries, it does not take just “the nanny” to raise a child.
Nannies usually are employed to raise other people’s children, but Sarah Kapcsos, 33, a former teacher, au pair and now nanny, says she’s there to help the parents raise their own children.
Travelling back to the beginning of her career, Kapcsos remembers being a year out of high school when she decided to make the big move to Washington, D.C. to attend an exchange program to become an Au Pair.
“It was a totally new world,” remembers Kapcsos. “I was in a different country, on the east coast in a big city, living in a home I’d never been in before.”
As an Au Pair, Kapcsos was a live-in aid for different families throughout her career. It was nerve-racking but eventually it became a lifestyle, providing little perks such as spending Thanksgiving in Philadelphia, and flying to L.A. “They bought me a train ticket and told me to go into town to see the city and the sights,” says Kapcsos.
Sarah Kapcsos is a long-time childcare professional at the age of 33, who lives in Calgary Alta. with her roommates and Penelope, her little Maltese friend.
Photo by Justine Deardoff While she lived with families that slowly started to become like her own, Kapcsos also attended university and got her early childhood degree.
This opened up the door to her ultimate love: teaching kindergarten. But, after years of nourishing her passion for teaching, Kapcsos was carried away from her longtime home and now resides back where it all began, here in Calgary.
Kapcsos, who says her pay rate is confidential, is now working for one family that consists of three children between the ages of six and 10. She spends her evenings helping them with homework, doing crafts and carrying out the daily nighttime routine.
“I’ve found a family that is thankful and is appreciative of what I do. I get along with the children really well, we clicked right away, which is super exciting,” says Kapcsos, about returning back to being a nanny.
Being a nanny, Kapcsos knows that there is a certain social idea of why nannies are employed, but says that this is a complete false view of the profession.
“I never go into any nanny situation thinking that I’m going to raise these children,” clarifies Kapcsos. ” I don’t want to raise people’s children. I want to be that person that they can count on to help. Mom and Dad are Mom and Dad. I’m nanny.”
“I don’t want to raise people’s children; I want to be that person that they can count on to help. Mom and Dad are Mom and Dad. I’m nanny.”
– Sarah Kapcsos, Nanny
Despite being “just nanny,” Kapcsos is just as content helping the parents to raise their own children. She says no day goes by the same and there is always light bulb moments that makes everyday situations worth living for.
“There’s not a day that I don’t just burst out laughing, or leave work smiling,” explains Kapcsos. “I think that I’ve found that place where you’re working and you feel fulfiled. I found that in teaching. I found that in nannying. You can’t go away from that. Once you’ve found that happy spot, you stay in that happy spot.”
It’s in this happy spot that Kapcsos says “The most rewarding part is seeing the difference you make, but also the difference they make, for you,” as she continues to aid, not raise, future generations.