Dan's Papers - December 7, 2007

Watch out Mary Poppins, Harry Poppins is coming to town. The new trend in childcare is to hire a male nanny, otherwise known as a manny. Although the term manny has been around for over twenty years, ten years ago male nannies were generally unheard of. It is unknown exactly who coined the now internationally used term, but domestic employment agencies and the press began using it around 1986. In the 200th episode of the television show "Friends" Ross and Rachel hired a male nanny to take care of their baby. Brittany Spears hired a manny to look after her boys and Liz Hurley is said to prefer male caregivers for her son. The Supernanny, a reality television show on ABC thats main character is supposed to be a modern Mary Poppins, is searching for new candidates for its sequel and has not ruled out the possibility of a professional male caregiver. As employment of mannies has exploded in Hollywood, it has been booming in our hometowns as well. There is even a book by Holly Peterson of Water Mill titled The Manny that is all about the phenomenon.

Mannies are usually hired into a household with boys rather than girls. The idea that little boys would prefer a man to take care of them to a girly nanny has really taken hold.

Surprisingly, a lot of men on the East End seem to be very enthusiastic about a career as a manny. Trevor Hadley of Sag Harbor said, "I think that would be a great job, you could make your own little sports teams with the kids and just hang out all day." Many men have similar ideas as Hadley. David Rattiner of Montauk said, "You could make your own baseball team," and Roberto Prieto of Southampton said, "You can play video games all day."

In reality, a full-time manny has all of the responsibilities of a nanny including cooking and cleaning. It is fantastic that men can perform domestic duties in a job that was traditionally thought to be for women. Just as women very commonly today fill the positions that were only meant for men twenty years ago.

Atticus Miller, a 31-year-old from East Hampton, works full time as a manny in the Hamptons. He has made contacts with many prospective employers through working at the Hampton Country Day Camp in East Hampton where he served as a division leader for kindergarteners. Right now Miller nannies for 4-year-old twins in East Hampton named Charlie and Michael. He loves his job as their manny but said it is not easy because "it is hard to keep track of two kids going in two different directions." To complicate this even more Charlie is autistic and requires a little extra patience at times.

Miller enjoys the simplicity of having no pressure or deadlines but said meal times can be challenging. The kids would usually rather play than eat. Miller must attend to the youngsters every minute of the day. "They get into trouble in a second," he said. There is always cleaning to do because the boys make a mess wherever they go. He cooks for the kids and tries to provide healthy meals. But he admits that he tends to go with chicken nuggets and peanut butter and jelly.

"The best part about being a manny is that there's no pressure and every day is new and exciting. Many of the activities that I do with the children are things that they might be experiencing for the first time," explained Miller.

Although many parents are enthusiastic about a male caregiver, some may have reservations about a man who is passionate about being a nanny. It is very important for mannies to have excellent references. It is still considered an oddity for a male to be in this position so the parents are more critical over a male's resume than they would be of a female's. Miller comes recommended in the highest regard from many parents who have employed him. Vicki Miller (no relation), one of Miller's past employers, said, "He is fantastic I have three boys and they have much more fun with Atticus than they ever did with me. I trust him tremendously with my kids and they adore him."

Mannies on the East End make up to 50 dollars an hour. There is an escalating interest in males of becoming mannies, and in the future Miller hopes to open his own manny agency.