Nannies: they're not all illegal immigrants.

• Author: Doty, Janis

Despite the headlines, a number of child care providers are highly trained professionals. Many had previous careers working with children.

There were 5,100,000 pre-school-age children in some form of day care in 1992, as well as 2,500,000 school-age kids, at an average annual cost of $4,100. With 46% of all mothers working fun time and another 17% part time, the need for adequate child care is critical.

In-home supervision is the most popular form of child care, whether by relatives or non-family members. One form that increasingly is popular with dual working parents is live-in child care givers. The role of the mother has changed. She often is a manager or a corporate president, but her priority remains her offspring. Therefore, in-home, one-on-one child care is her first choice whenever possible.

Day care is an option, but the centers rarely cater to the youngster's individual needs. While it is costlier to employ a nanny-governess, more and more of today's dual professional couples are deciding they can afford to pay a larger amount for child care to receive greater peace of mind.

For instance, Nannys Unlimited receives 30-40 inquiries each day and has clients from coast to coast. The nannies are selected carefully and trained thoroughly to meet the clients' individual needs. They also have much in common with today's mothers - 22-55 years old, many college educated, with a great deal of professional experience. After they are placed with families, the staff is available for clients and nannies to answer questions and help solve problems.

Nannies no longer are a Mary Poppins fairy tale. They are today's superior alternative for child care, but they don't come cheap. At Nannys Unlimited, for example, the cost includes a $3,900 placement fee and $1,960 per month, which is paid to the company. Up to two replacement nanny-governesses are offered at no additional charge. The nanny's room and board must be provided by the family, as well as an

In exchange, the nanny is responsible for the physical, developmental, emotional, and behavioral needs of the child(ren), can provide instruction when necessary, and is available to travel with the family when needed.

Not what most people

expect

Ann, Moreen, and Susan rise around 6:30 each morning, plan the day's activities to make best use of time, are expected to be on the job until 5:30 p.m., but often work late and come in on days off. They receive paychecks, performance reviews, and raises...