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Houston New Moms Blog: Nanny School is changing the face of in-home childcare

Earlier this summer, the Houston New Moms blog interviewed Motherhood Center founder, Gabriela Gerhart.

Gabriela founded Motherhood Center 18 years ago. Her passion for families, moms, and littles have made Motherhood Center Houston’s premier nanny and doula agency.

Mother Center recently opened the Nanny School — a two-day jam-packed course in all things nanny. Unlike online programs, Motherhood Center’s Nanny School provides in-person training, networking, and is hosted and taught by Houston’s best.

Houston New Moms blogger Amanda sat down with Gabriela to chat about Motherhood Center’s Nanny School and why continuing education is essential for success in the childcare industry.

Nanny School is changing the face of in-home childcare

Gabriela Gerhart is the Founder at Motherhood Center, located in River Oaks. Since 2000, Gabriela and her team have been supporting moms across the Greater Houston area with pregnancy, parenting and children’s classes, as well as placement services for baby doulas, lactation consultants, sleep coaches, babysitters and nannies. She recently opened a Professional Nanny School to encourage professionalism and excellence in the field of in-home child care.

We sat down with Gabriela recently to talk about the changing face of in-home child care, and the role of nannies in today’s society.

Houston New Moms (HNM)

Talk a little about your history and passion as they relate to supporting mothers through in-home child care, and the focus/mission of The Motherhood Center in this specific area. Where did it come from, how has it manifested itself over the years?

Gabriela Gerhart (GG)

I have always enjoyed working with children (hence my pursued pediatric nursing background), but when I came to the USA in my early twenties as an Au pair, I was taking care of 4 boys (ages 6 weeks, 5, 7, and 9 years old), and realized the serious need for quality childcare.

I was responsible for taking care of the boys Monday-Friday, from 7:00 am- 7:00 pm. I would wake the boys, feed them breakfast, drop them off at school, take care of their baby brother along with engaging in play/learning activities, fix snacks while the baby slept, pick up the older boys from school, help with homework, monitor/engage in playtime for the older boys, and then finish the day by feeding them all dinner. With both parents being busy professionals, I was such an important part of the family dynamic.

Later on, when I created the Motherhood Center in 2000, I knew there was a need for professional child caregivers. Once I developed the program for pregnancy and parenting education, and our postpartum doula/newborn care specialist program, we quickly transitioned and added nanny and babysitting services to our offerings. In a way, it was due to a demand from our clients — they wanted a trusted resource to help them find the perfect nanny/babysitter/postpartum/labor doula.

HNM: The nomenclature can be a bit confusing when it comes to nannies — au pair, night nurse, child care specialist, in-home child care provider, night nanny, day nanny, live-in vs live-out, summer nanny, domestic help, governess, household manager, specialty nanny.

What in-home child care services does the Motherhood Center provide? What is the most popular option you see in your clients? Has that changed over time?

GG: Some of the terms are a little more traditional or were used years ago. In the past, it was more common to have a live-in-nanny than it is now. Governesses are becoming a little more popular (I believe this is due to the focus on child development and manners).

More and more families are learning about childcare options after their baby is born. Those caregivers are referred to newborn care specialists or postpartum doulas. In the past, those roles were known as a baby nurse, or night nanny.

Many doulas appreciate the new growing field of caregivers in the early ages (newborns and infants).

Parents are provided with education, guidance, and resources from caregivers offering services during the day or night.

To read the rest of the interview, see here.

You may also like  Gabriela Gerhart Talks About Empowered Motherhood with Sydenham Clinic

Want to attend our Nanny School? See here for more information!

And if you’re looking for the perfect nanny for your family, we’d love to help you. Click here to learn more.

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