Many people, parents or not, use the same nickname to designate maternal assistants. Problem, this one does not suit them, and we explain why.
Speaking to them, speaking with his child, in the press, in exchanges with those around them … It is very rare that is called maternal assistants in this way. In reality, it is another word that is much more commonly used to designate them. This is problematic, because many of them (and them, because there are also maternal assistants!) Do not appreciate this nickname, that they find “pejorative”explains Stéphanie Bézier, maternal assistant and secretary of the Anama (Nantes association of a maternal assistant). The name in question is “nanny”. When we think about it, we realize that he is omnipresent in our society, because we use it as well to designate maternal assistants as well as babysitters, crèche employees … In short, anyone who keeps children. And it is not suitable to talk about childminders.
To understand why, we must come back to the origin of this nickname: it is the diminutive of “nurse”, which designates the women who were responsible for feeding within young children. However, this is not what maternal assistants do. And if they feed well (not within, obviously), the children they keep, their functions absolutely do not stop there. “”This is why many childminders say it is derogatory. It makes our job pass as something normal and not particularly rewarding “underlines Stéphanie Bézier.
The word nanny helps to devalue a job that already lacks recognition. “For some people, we are just playing with children, we don’t do anything else. There are a lot of parents in the morning who go by saying” Have fun “, as if it was easy. Sometimes it is kindly said, but other times, it’s really ironic. Kindergarten, it’s a job, we do it with passion and we would like it to be recognized as such. Maybe a maternal assistant.“, explains the secretary of this association to us, before adding: “Each job has a name, and maternal assistant, it is a job that requires training and approval, it is not a hobby”.
Obviously, we do not expect a young child to say “maternal assistant” to call the person who keeps him. But then, how to designate it? Well the easiest way is to ask him the question. Many are called by their first name, while others have chosen another nickname than “nanny”.
