Manny enough to care for kids - An article written about me (Nicholas Gleeson)
By Corrine Abrams ( The Sun Newspaper)
March 15, 2007
THE idea of acting as mum for two young children is enough to make most men in their early 20s run a mile.
But not Nicholas Gleeson. The 24-year-old has been nanny, or manny, for two children for three years.
A new book, The Manny, outlines the trials and tribulations of a male nanny working for an affluent family in New York.
Here Australian Nicholas describes the reality of his experiences working as a manny for two children in Switzerland.
"When I first told my friends about my new job, they made stupid jokes about me being a paedophile or gay," he says.
"I guess it shocked some people, traditionally it's a job only women take, but applying to be a nanny is one of the best decisions I've ever made."
Nicholas looks after Moritz, nine, and Yvo, 13.
"My day starts when I get up at 6.30am. By 7am I'm at the family's house. They pay for a really nice apartment for me to stay in and a car," he explains.
"I let myself in with a key and empty the dishwasher. Then I go and wake Yvo up. I get him dressed and make his breakfast.
"Once that's done, I wake up Moritz, get him dressed and downstairs for breakfast.
Looking after the kids ... Nicholas with
nephew Hunter
"I make them cereal or sometimes pancakes. I drive them to school then return to the family home to do the chores. I do the ironing, clean the two cars and tidy the kids' bedrooms.
"That's all usually done by 11am and then I've got the rest of the day to myself before I pick the kids up from school at 3.30am.
"Once they're home I take them outside to play soccer or take them to their activities."
Nicholas is now part of a network of nannies in the town of Lugano.
"There's about nine of us from New Zealand, Canada, Australia and America. I'm the only man, but I don't mind. At first, when the other nannies heard I was in town, and I was a man, they assumed I was gay," he says.
"But times are changing and I think they accept that now."
Nicholas became a nanny after his contract with a hockey club in Lincolnshire ran out.
"I'd moved to England from Australia, and I wanted to keep travelling," he explains.
"When I was offered my hockey contract I gave up university where I was studying to become a primary school teacher.
"So working with children seemed a natural choice. I read an ad for my job on a nanny website and my boss flew me out to Switzerland to meet me.
"I was there for one night and met the children. We got on really well, and she offered me the job.
"Two months later I flew out there. She was taking quite a risk, the only experience I had working with kids was babysitting and I didn't have any formal childcare qualifications."
And Nicholas reckons in some ways, he has an advantage of the female nannies.
"I really enjoy playing sport with the kids, and they can enjoy a bit of boisterous fun with me, which wouldn't be so easy with female nanny.
"Plus, with a lot of these families the man isn't there so much because he's working all the time. It's good for them to have me as a male role model when their father can't be there.
"The kids are like little brothers to me. When I first came they would run to their mum or dad when they were upset. Now they'll come to me.
"We're so close and they talk to me about anything, maybe some things they wouldn't tell their parents."
Nicholas's job means that he's travelled across the world. "The family always take me on holidays. Last year I went to Jamaica for two weeks and we always spend three months in Sardinia.
"I copped a bit of flack from my mates when I first got the job, but when they visited and saw my apartment and heard about the holidays, they stopped teasing me.
"I've got plans to work in finance when I get back to Australia but for now I can't think of a job I would rather be doing."
• THE Manny by Holly Peterson is out now from Harper Collins at £10.
