THE SUPER MANNIES!
We’ve all heard about male nannies but there’s a new breed of high-powered (and handsome) helpers who don’t just do the school run, they teach children f ine art, music and how to be a football ace. Meet...
ANYONE watching the handsome young man patiently teaching George and Eddie Boyd how to draw the perfect picture or bake delicious banana bread might safely assume he was their uncle or even their big brother. But they’d be wrong. Because the chiselled 27-year-old is no such thing, despite the loving care that he takes with the boys.
For Sam Turpin is a ‘supermanny’ – one of a new breed of highly educated young men with specialist skills being employed by middle-class parents desperate to give their child an advantage in life.
Not content with traditional female nannies, these families instead want young men who have degrees from Oxbridge, can speak Mandarin, or have played sport for their country or a musical instrument to the highest level – skills they hope will be passed on to their youngsters.
Part- time model Sam, for example, has a first-class university degree in fine art and has had his paintings exhibited in prestigious galleries. He was specifically employed by Katie Boyd to help her sons George, 14, and Eddie, 11, develop their artistic abilities.
THE COOK AND CONFIDANT WHO CAN DRAW LIKE A DREAM
KATIE, 49, found Sam after approaching an agency called My Big Buddy that specialises in mannies. She wanted a young, active and artistic carer for her children.
The divorcee, from South-East London, used to hire women until three years ago. ‘The nannies were wonderful but when the boys reached a certain age, I felt they needed something different,’ she says.
‘Less nurturing care, and more someone who could really tune into their interests, help them develop their individual passions, and be like an older friend and confidant.
‘At the same time, I still needed someone who could cook their tea and make sure their school uniforms were clean. Sam ticks all the boxes.’
The boys’ first two supermannies were Spanish, as Katie wanted to further her children’s linguistic skills.
‘I hired them as I wanted George and Eddie to learn Spanish. It paid off as both boys now love studying it at school – George is taking Spanish as a GCSE.
‘One of them was also a swimming instructor and used to take the boys to the local pool to teach them to dive.’
By the time she hired Sam, Katie had decided what her youngest son really needed was someone to encourage him in pursuing his artistic talent.
‘Eddie has always been interested in art,’ says Katie. ‘Sam is an incredibly talented artist who has really inspired him.
‘They work together on his techniques and, in the past year, I’ve seen a marked improvement in Eddie’s art homework. He is getting top grades now.’
Although she feels men are just as good at housework as women, she does have a (female) cleaner. Katie says: ‘Sam is really tidy – he encourages the boys to clean up after themselves too.
‘And he’s an excellent cook – all the mannies I’ve employed have been – and now both boys are more interesting in cooking.
‘ They baked and decorated a delicious banana bread for my birthday, having been taught the recipe by Sam.
‘ It’s really wonderful knowing that while I’m at work they are learning skills like this.’
There is another reason for Katie wanting a male nanny as her sons grow older. ‘ George and Eddie have a good relationship with their dad, but as a single mother it was important to me that they have a male role model in the house on a day-to-day basis,’ she says. ‘And like so many working mothers, I’m no stranger to maternal guilt. As wonderful as our female nannies were, it wasn’t easy being replaced by another woman.
‘With a manny, I’m not competing for my role and I feel less territorial about someone else running the house in my absence.’
The boys love it too. ‘Watching them chat to Sam about their favourite football teams while they kick a ball around in the garden, I know they can relate to him in a way they probably wouldn’t with a female nanny.
‘And their friends love to play at our house because they think hanging out with Sam is so cool.’
Their friends’ mums also seem to enjoy Sam’s presence. ‘ It has certainly raised some eyebrows at the school gates and brightened up some of t he mums’ days,’ laughs Katie.
She is not the only one seeking out a male role model for her sons. The world-renowned Norland College, where Maria Borrallo, Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s nanny, trained, has seen record numbers of skilled men applying for courses.
And Koru Kids, a UK agency, has reported a 65 per cent rise year-onyear in men looking for such jobs. Susie Osborough, a fixer who finds mannies and nannies for parents, says there is increasing demand for carers with extra skills.
‘From Mandarin speakers to jujitsu experts, tennis coaches and trained chefs – these are now the people parents want looking after their children. They are very aware of the pressures on their children to achieve both academically and in other fields like sport and languages, and that is fuelling this trend.
‘ As a job it can be a fantastic opportunity – the opportunity to travel, to work in a beautiful home and to earn a good salary are definitely tempting, especially to t alented university graduates turned off by the thought of a corporate career.’
THE BIG BROTHER WHO RUNS LIKE THE WIND
WORKING in a high-pressure office certainly didn’t appeal to professional runner Ben Coldray, 27, when he retired from athletics two years ago. Instead, he took a job looking after Rachael Prasher’s three children – Ruby, 15, Oliver, 13, and ten-year-old Jem.
‘While my children are sporty, like most kids they would naturally default to the PlayStation without Ben being there,’ explains Rachael, 47. ‘I don’t want them to have a sedentary lifestyle. I want them to be outdoors, staying fit and healthy.’
She had never thought of hiring a man until a few years ago when her advert for a nanny was answered by long-distance runner Andy Vernon and she quickly realised he would be perfect for them.
When Andy resigned after qualifying for the 2014 European Championships, he recommended Ben, who’d had Olympic trials for run-
ning and has also played for youth teams at Aston Villa and Birmingham City football clubs. ‘With both boys loving football and cricket and Ruby being a former gymnast and athlete, I wanted someone who could really motivate and inspire them all,’ says Rachael.
As well as tidying the house, cooking the children’s evening meal and ferrying them to play dates, Ben’s interest in nutrition and healthy eating has also rubbed off.
‘Ruby is now a really keen cook,’ says Rachael, from Teddington, South-West London.
‘It’s good for her to see the value in being healthy and fit, rather than obsess over weight and body image like many girls.
‘ And, at her age, she’s more accepting of Ben than she would be a female nanny because of the big brother dynamic he brings to his role. At 15, Ruby doesn’t need a childminder but she’s happy to have Ben around as he’s like an older friend to her.
‘When we had a female nanny, the children would ask me to stay home and tell me they missed me. With Ben, they don’t see him as a replacement for me and never complain.’
The situation has, however, led to a few laughs at her 49- year- old husband David’s expense.
‘Friends do joke with him that rather than the typical attractive female nanny, he has to contend with a t wentysomething male former athlete around the house!
‘Thankfully he thinks Ben is fantastic and such a good influence on the children.’
Ben also runs the London-based Athlete Mannies agency, which places sporty young men – many of them professional sportsmen or trainee PE teachers – with families. ‘Our mannies range from cricketers and tennis players, to rugby players and student teachers – it’s perfect for them because they are often training intensely in the mornings while the children are at school, then free in the afternoon and evenings for their mannying duties,’ he says.
A TOP ROLE MODEL – AND SPAG BOL WHIZZ
RICHARD Goodman, a 25-year-old UK senior cross-country champion who competed at the European Youth Olympics, is currently manny to six-year-old twins Angus and Otavia Montgomery.
The twins’ parents – Madeline, 42, and Craig, 43 – are very active and want to pass their passion for sport on to their two children.
Madeline, from Twickenham, says she hopes, with Richard’s influence, Angus and Otavia will both embrace their passion for sports as they grow older.
‘We are keen runners, skiers and we love watersports,’ says Madeline, a photography historian.
‘I think it’ s good to have reinforcement from outside the family that sport is not just great as a shared activity, but also for health reasons.
‘Richard’s influence on the children is such a positive one in this respect. He’s a role model for them both.’ But there was also a more important reason for Madeline and husband Craig, who runs a commercial property i nvest ment company, to hire not just a manny, but a supermanny.
They were worried about Angus’s physical co- ordination. ‘ Angus lacked a lot of confidence when it came to physical activities and hated going to school on PE days,’ says Madeline. ‘He’s left-handed, which can be difficult in a righthanded world – Angus is a bit ambidextrous as a result. His school suggested he see an occupational therapist. She recommended we get him some extra support to help with his fine and gross motor skills, and co-ordination.’
Madeline already knew Richard as he’d worked for other local families. ‘ I’d seen not only how wonderful he was with children, but how his sporting background could really benefit them as they developed,’ she says. ‘He seemed exactly what Angus needed.’ Her instincts proved correct. ‘ They do one- on- one activities together, including one- handed catching, kicking a football and r unning with and carrying a rugby ball,’ she says. ‘ They are all designed t o help with his co-ordination skills.’
Now Angus is unrecognisable in terms of his confidence and ability. ‘He plays football, rugby, and recently told me his ambition is to run a 10k,’ says Madeline. ‘Employing a sporty manny wasn’t about making Angus the best at sports but ensuring he enjoys them, and Richard, by virtue of his sporting background, has done that in a very fun but effective way, while also fulfilling our childcare needs. To have someone who can do everything from a school pick-up, to reading bedtime stories, in addition to the special support he gives Angus, is wonderful.
‘And the children love his spaghetti Bolognese!’
It has certainly raised some eyebrows at the school gates