Actions

Nanny shortage impacts working parents amid pandemic rebound

Work from home
Posted at 6:24 PM, Feb 26, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-26 22:07:11-05

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Parents are scrambling to find a nanny or child care as the community takes steps to rebound from the pandemic.

Before lunch, Katherine Kelly is able to hone in on her work. Her dining room has been converted into a design center for her company, Katherine Kelly Design. She creates stationary and invites. She says everything was fine and dandy until 11-month-old Mary Frances became mobile.

"When my daughter wakes up in the morning, I’m not very productive in the morning so I’m okay with that little window. She takes a nap, wakes up around noon and so from noon until about 4:30 p.m. is my most productive time. We definitely need help with her and then picking my son up from school," Kelly said.

Katherine's husband Brian can help as he works from home. However, he's preparing to go back to the office soon. Kelly said, "I’m able to find one sitter for this day, and one for this day, but finding that consistent person has really been the main problem."

As a Nashville native, Katherine is flustered she can't find a nanny. She only needs help for a few months until her daughter goes to daycare.

“In the creative world and a designer, it’s really hard for me to get in that zone, start the process, be interrupted because the child is waking up… or like maybe she crawled into the wrong area and I need to go get her. Any sort of interruption it’s really hard for me to get back into that flow," Kelly said.

The Kelly family wants a consistent nanny so 5-year-old Henry will know who's picking him up from school. As many college kids head back for in-person learning, that throws a wrench in things too. A lot of them took on babysitting jobs when college classes were virtual.