What happens when parents and nannies come from different cultures? Comparing the caregiving belief systems of nannies and their employers

In multicultural societies with working parents, large numbers of children have caregivers from more than one culture. Here we have explored this situation, investigating culturally-based differences in caregiving beliefs and practices between nannies and the parents who employ them. Our guiding hypothesis was that U.S. born employers and Latina immigrant nannies may have to negotiate and resolve conflicting socialization strategies and developmental goals. Our second hypothesis was that sociodemographics would influence the cultural orientation of nannies and mother-employers independently of ethnic background. We confirmed both hypotheses by means of a small-scale discourse-analytic study in which we interviewed a set of nannies and their employers, all of whom were mothers. From an applied perspective, the results of this study could lead to greater cross-cultural understanding between nannies and mother-employers and, ultimately, to a more harmonious childrearing environment for children and families in this very widespread cross-cultural caregiver situation.