If the week’s headlines are to be believed, those selfish working parents are sending the nanny to parent-teacher night, and the world’s going to hell in a handbag.
Finger-wagging about what parents are and aren’t doing these days is beginning to feel like a blood sport.
Do you pack the lunches every day? TICK.
Order from the tuck shop to save the morning insanity? CROSS.
Sigh. For many of us, the least pleasant part of parenthood is the drudgery that comes with it. The endless washing. The monotonous regularity of feeding them something. Every single night. The cleaning of disrespected toilets. The never-ending picking-up of toys.
So if you can outsource all of that, so that you can focus on two things: WORK and KIDS, what would life look like?
For most of us, that’s an impossible dream. But for those who can, it makes motherhood… different.
We got a glimpse of that this week when we spoke to Emma Isaacs, the CEO of Business Chicks. Emma is a woman who runs a business that operates in four time zones, employs over 40 people and, yes, also has four kids under six.
So she is an expert at prioritising, organising and outsourcing. ‘
Now living in LA, Emma has a full-time nanny and a full-time housekeeper.
So, what doesn’t Emma do?
She doesn’t do cooking. “Family dinner is important to us, but I outsource it… I love food and I respect it but it’s not my gig.”
She’s outsourced the school pick-up, and the homework.
Top Comments
I think it needs to be said that by living in the US, this lifestyle is way more attainable – wages are so low over here that hiring a nanny doesn’t cost $80K like it does in Melbourne, and getting a cleaning person to do a five bedroom, four bathroom house is at the very most $120. Getting all your groceries delivered via Instacart costs $5.99, and the food itself is waaaay cheaper than it is in Australia. Over here, outsourcing your life is standard - as the saying goes, "there's an app for that".
A full-time nanny and a full-time housekeeper, of course that's great if you can afford it.