High-achieving parents are rushing to sign up Mandarin-speaking nannies.
Forget piano playing and French lessons, the latest trend for children with parents determined to give them every opportunity is a Mandarin nanny.
Sara Rahmini, the founder and director of the City-based Peek-a-boo nanny agency, says requests for Mandarin-speaking nannies have increased dramatically in the past year. “Before 2007 it was unheard of, but now I’m taking requests every week,” she says. “Parents are happy to pay up to ?20 an hour – more than double the usual London nanny rate – while a live-in Mandarin-speaking nanny can command a salary of ?500 a week after tax, and frequently much more.
“Our clients tend be high-powered international business people who are making an investment for their children’s future. They have realised that Mandarin will be an essential language for the next generation and they want their children to have a head-start.”
?
Read more
