What Britney Spears Should Look for in a Nanny

From her beginnings on The Mickey Mouse Club to a very public fall from grace that culminated in a now-infamous head-shaving incident and a conservatorship she’s still fighting, Britney Spears has spent the majority of her life in the public eye. With the births of her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James, she also became something of a public figure representing what not to do as a parent. Nannies and private childcare providers have been on the periphery of many tabloid-fodder incidents surrounding the pop princess, indicating that she should probably consider amending her criteria for nanny candidates in the future.

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• Attentiveness – When Britney’s firstborn Sean Preston took a tumble from his highchair while under the care of a nanny, she made the decision to terminate the contract. While there has been a string of childcare providers as part of the Spears paid entourage, hopefully the original nanny’s successors have proven to be a bit more attentive.
• Discretion – During the media circus surrounding Britney Spears and her descent into a public breakdown, members of her camp with nefarious goals of exploiting her fame and their “insider status” flocked to the tabloids with tales of life within her household. From the gossip spread by her life coach, Sam Lufti, to rebuttals from assistants and nannies, it looks like one of the most important qualities Brit’s next nanny should exhibit is discretion.
• Experience – Gossip magazines and online celebrity gossip sites were flooded with news that Britney’s nanny agencies were instructed to provide “a nanny who was young and hip, because they wanted her to interact with people her own age” and that “basically, Britney wanted a friend.” These interviewees stated that they weren’t questioned heavily about their past experience with children, which is a good indicator that Britney’s next nanny should probably be a bit more seasoned.
• Ability to Work Under Pressure – Being constantly hounded by the paparazzi and badgered for insider reports about working for such a high-profile figure will require Britney’s next nanny to be comfortable working under intense pressure and media scrutiny. If tales of her mental instability have any shred of truth to them, then that pressure may be even stronger.
• Competence – Despite the fact that previous nanny candidates were considered more for their ability to be a pal and examined less for their competence as a childcare provider, hiring a capable, experienced nanny may be a step in the right direction for Britney and her brood.
• Divorce Specialization – Because Britney Spears and the father of her children, Kevin Federline, are divorced with him holding custody, it’s important that any nanny working with Sean Preston and Jayden have plenty of experience managing the complicated balancing act that is working for the children of divorced parents.
• A Commitment to Establishing and Maintaining Boundaries – Britney’s entourage may have been seeking more of a friend figure than an actual childcare provider, but professional nannies know just how important it is to maintain well-established boundaries between their employer and themselves.
• An Understanding of Nanny Envy – The enigmatic Ms. Spears reportedly suffers from jealousy of her nannies that is so strong she’s been known to terminate childcare providers that she suspected were closer to her children than she is. Nanny envy is a common occurrence, however, and one that seasoned veterans are more capable of handling.
• Personal Assistant Experience – Working as a private childcare provider for celebrities, especially troubled ones like Britney Spears, often requires nannies to perform additional job duties more suited to a personal assistant. Hiring a nanny who’s capable of managing some assistant’s responsibilities may be a smart move for Britney and her camp.
• No Aspirations of Fame – Because the public is so voracious for stories about Britney Spears and her outrageous lifestyle, any nanny who works for her should have no aspirations of fame themselves and be willing to adhere to a non-disclosure agreement to keep the more private details of her life away from the tabloid reporters.

Despite her very public struggles with mental health and instability, Britney Spears has managed to work her way back towards something resembling normalcy, with a rumored Las Vegas residency to follow her resignation from the hit talent show The X Factor. Despite splitting from her long-time fiancé Jason Trawick, there may be some hope that Britney’s on the right track with both her career and her parenting style.

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