On the fifth floor of 274 Madison Avenue is a door adorned with simple lettering: “Absolute Best Care.” Behind it is a bustling office where staff and caregivers strive to make those words come true each day. Questions on child development are answered, tutorials in household management are given, and the ins and outs of nutrition are learned. Here, nannies learn the art of taking care of modern New York City families.
Absolute Best Care (ABC) is a well-regarded nanny staffing agency that has long been a trusted resource for families looking to hire nannies as well as babysitters, housekeepers, and baby nurses in New York City and around the country. But the company’s founders, Saul and Monique Moskowitz and Douglas Kozinn, wanted to go one step further. This fall they opened a New York State Education Department-certified nanny learning center—the first of its kind in New York.
“The whole industry has evolved. In London, you can go to college and get a degree in nanny management— you can be a career nanny, not just be a nanny until you can find a ‘real’ job. Now, we have a certified education component that really gives nannies the confidence to say, ‘This is my real job,’” explains Kozinn.
Using guidelines from Mary Louise Starkey, author and founder of The Starkey International Institute for Household Management and known as the First Lady of Service, Kozinn and the Moskowitzes developed a 50-hour, seven-day curriculum that underwent a rigorous three-year approval process by the New York State Education Department. Topics covered in their course range from safety, green alternatives, and nutrition to managing a household, communicating with parents and children, and age-specific approaches for caring for infants, preschool, kindergarten, and school-aged children.
“It’s different than [a nanny] just doing whatever they did at their last job, because there’s no real training in that,” explains Monique. “Every family is different, so we’re [teaching nannies to] learn [their] family’s background to understand how they do things.”
Through the class, nannies not only learn the nuts and bolts of caring for a family, but also have the opportunity to assess what kind of work they’re best suited for. “Part of the class is asking the nanny to define for themselves what kind of nanny they are,” explains Kozinn. “Perhaps they are really excellent with newborns, or really embrace a household with two, three, or more
children.” By knowing this, nannies ensure that both they and the
families who come to ABC can find the perfect match.
With
the economy in the state that it’s in, one might not think now is the
best time to open a school where a seven-day certification costs
$1,995. However, the founders of ABC say that the demand for a higher
quality of nannies is growing, especially among upper middle class
families who value private care. Some families have enrolled their
current nannies in the class, while other nannies have enrolled
themselves in hopes of increasing their employability.
Saul
Moskowitz refers to the learning center as a “game-changer” for the
nanny professional. “When students graduate from the nanny management
system, it’s allowing them to spend the rest of their careers at a
different level,” he says.
Though
the learning center is unique to the New York office of ABC, the
staffing agency itself has franchises in regions beyond the New York
metro area, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania—even Las
Vegas— and as of now has plans to serve as many as 274 territories.
When
families are ready to find a nanny, ABC provides parents with
one-on-one consultation. The staff works with families to help them
define what kind of nanny will work best in their household—reviewing
everything from the family’s schedule to the ages of their children to
the type of foods they may or may not eat. ABC also offers interview
tips for when families are ready to meet with a potential nanny, as
well as suggested questions.
When
it comes to choosing the nannies they work with, ABC uses an intensive,
five-step screening process. Caregivers must submit an extensive
written application, have a face-to-face interview, submit solid
references, have their references checked, and go through a background
check.
“It’s so
important to find the right nanny for your family,” sums up Kozinn.
“When you hire the wrong person, it is a constant struggle. When you
hire the right nanny, you get a whole symbiotic relationship—the nanny,
the kids and the parents are happy. Those are the jobs that last five,
10 and 15 years—and the relationship goes above and beyond what anyone
would have imagined.”
Absolute Best Care, 274 Madison Avenue, Suite 503, 212-481- 5705, absolutebestcare.com.
