Nannies

Care for children in private households and provide support and expertise to parents in satisfying children's physical, emotional, intellectual, and social needs. Duties may include meal planning and preparation, laundry and clothing care, organization of play activities and outings, discipline, intellectual stimulation, language activities, and transportation.

Most important skills

Active Listening
Monitoring
Social Perceptiveness
Speaking
Service Orientation
Critical Thinking
Persuasion
Judgment and Decision Making

Key knowledge

English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Psychology
Education and Training
Public Safety and Security
Sociology and Anthropology
Transportation
Medicine and Dentistry

What the work involves

Perform first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when required.
Regulate children's rest periods and nap schedules.
Meet regularly with parents to discuss children's activities and development.
Help prepare and serve nutritionally balanced meals and snacks for children.
Instruct children in safe behavior, such as seeking adult assistance when crossing the street and avoiding contact with unsafe objects.
Organize and conduct age-appropriate recreational activities, such as games, arts and crafts, sports, walks, and play dates.
Observe children's behavior for irregularities, take temperature, transport children to doctor, or administer medications, as directed, to maintain children's health.
Model appropriate social behaviors and encourage concern for others to cultivate development of interpersonal relationships and communication skills.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Artistic, Conventional.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (60% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (44%)
On-the-job training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (48%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Nannies is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Projection education uses SOC 39-9011 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Moderate	Lower on contact with others than 51% of occupations compared	71% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Very low	Lower on dealing with the public than 94% of occupations compared	56% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all”
Teamwork	Very low	Lower on teamwork than 95% of occupations compared	29% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	High	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 79% of occupations compared	60% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	Very low	Lower on time pressure than 96% of occupations compared	32% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Conflict situations	High	Higher on conflict situations than 72% of occupations compared	36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Moderate	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 58% of occupations compared	38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Consequence of error	High	Higher on consequence of error than 70% of occupations compared	44% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: very low
Conflict situations: high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
Consequence of error: high

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions

Contact with others

No contact with others: 0%
Occasional contact with others: 12.5%
Contact with others about half the time: 8.33%
Contact with others most of the time: 8.33%
Constant contact with others: 70.83%

n = 24, Occupational Expert 08/2023