My Wonderful Babysitter: The "Grandma for an Hour" and "Grandpa for an Hour" services are gaining popularity.

9-year-old Dima never stays still for a moment, as if he has a perpetual motion machine inside him. One minute he’s jumping on the couch, the next he’s chasing the cat while simultaneously reporting: “This winter is wrong; last year, Vadim and I, along with the guys, built a real snow castle in the yard, it was so cool!” (Dad Alexey shows a video on his phone of snow caves towering two human heights). Meteor Dima is already shouting from the other end of the room: “And in the summer, Vadim and I went to the fields to see how hogweed grows!” In response to my puzzled look, Vadim explains: they were talking to Dima about this weed, and he decided to show how quickly this predatory plant takes over space. Dima climbs a ladder to show if he can reach the top shelves—Vadim catches him to prevent a fall. Dima is rummaging through the fridge—Vadim watches to see what he’s after.

Vadim is not a relative, but an important part of this family. He can be referred to in various ways—a nanny, a grandpa for an hour, a tutor, or a home teacher. Vadim entered the lives of dad Alexey, mom Maria, and their son Dima three years ago:

- You can see how active Dima is, - says Maria. - He goes swimming and boxing, yet he still has an abundance of energy. Three years ago, before he started first grade, it became clear that the nannies we had before simply couldn’t handle it. Some of my friends had experience with male nannies or tutors. So we decided to give it a try.

FAIRY TALE CHARACTER

That’s how Vadim Korenyev came into this family’s life. He is 64 years old, but you would never guess his age. Tall, lean, energetic, meticulous, and intelligent. Our photographer Mikhail noted that he even resembles Drosselmeyer from "The Nutcracker"—the very one who created magical children's toys and repaired clocks in his free time while working as a court advisor during the day. Vadim Korenyev also turned out to be a very versatile personality:

- My first education is in pedagogy, but for the last 16 years, I worked as a cartographer in the field of automotive navigation. The company was Dutch, and our collaboration ended in 2022. So I decided to try something new, - he shares about himself. - At one point, I thought about opening my own kindergarten. Later, as an engineer, I went on hikes with my colleagues' children. So when I learned about the opportunity to receive additional education in the field of “Nanny-Tutor for working with children,” I decided to give it a shot.

The training was conducted free of charge at the educational center “Grandma for an Hour.” Future nannies were taught pedagogy, psychology, and medicine (to understand childhood diseases and provide first aid), as well as care for infants.

- Initially, in 2016, I was studying how employment affects the cognitive abilities of older adults—attention, memory, logic, - says Natalia Linkova, the founder of the “Grandma for an Hour” service. - For this, we created a project for our “test subjects” in which they acted as nannies for children of different ages. It unexpectedly turned out to be very successful, including from a financial standpoint. Now it has gone beyond scientific research, and moreover, people of all ages have joined—some of our “grandmas” and “grandpas for an hour” are as young as 18. Almost all graduates of our courses work in the profession.

The demand for nannies grows year by year; they are trusted even with infants. By the way, an experienced nanny can earn from 70,000 rubles per week working with them.

THE BEST OF A THOUSAND

- How did you decide to trust your child to a stranger? - I ask Maria, Dima's mother.

- It didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary: many of my acquaintances had nannies, and I saw how they interacted with children, - she explains. - We found Vadim through “Grandma for an Hour.”

- Yes, some might consider this a “non-masculine” profession. I do not, - admits Vadim Korenyev. - I have a family, grown children, and a job that I enjoy. Last year, I participated in the “Nanny of the Year” contest and won in the “Tutor for Schoolchildren” category among thousands of applicants from Moscow and the region. I am very proud of this.

Vadim usually picks Dima up from school, takes him to classes, helps him with his studies, and engages him in active recreation. In the yard, Dima’s friends introduced the “mustachioed nanny” as a home teacher. The tutor instantly captivates any children with his games, hikes, and activities, like a true magician. It has come to the point where Dima’s friends sometimes ask not only if he will go out to play but also if Vadim will be joining him.

The main character in the film "Mustachioed Nanny" (Sergey Prokhanov) had a prototype - Boris Verzub, the first man in the USSR to work as a kindergarten teacher. Photo: Frame from the film "Mustachioed Nanny"

IMPORTANT

The black market for tutors will be brought to light

- The nanny market in Russia, unfortunately, is spontaneous and unregulated. Essentially, it is shadowy, - says Natalia Linkova. - Last year, with a grant from the Moscow mayor’s office, we held the “Nanny of the Year” contest. All participants provided certificates of no criminal record. Yet about 200 people out of 1,000 who passed the initial selection had criminal pasts. This is because expunged convictions do not always show up in the system. We thoroughly check our nannies against 38 parameters,

including with a clinical psychologist, to exclude age-related changes in mental health and hidden aggression. We check for connections with microfinance and multiple loans. All of this poses additional risks for the family where the person will work and where they will be responsible for the child. An ordinary family, of course, does not have access to such data. Therefore, we are currently planning, in collaboration with authorities, to launch a certification system for domestic staff. For now, it will be voluntary. Nannies will undergo online certification, the system will verify the uploaded documents, and parents will receive a free open registry of reliable tutors.

IN THE SAME VEIN

Three facts about the profession

In Moscow, a nanny earns an average of 700 rubles per hour; with full-time employment (8 - 10 hours a day), it can be from 100,000 rubles a month, and infant nannies can cost as much as 300,000 rubles depending on experience.

Requirements for nannies include knowledge of childhood diseases, the school curriculum, cooking skills, and the ability to engage a child in play. “At the request of parents, we also introduced basics of video editing into our training program (because mothers complained that nannies couldn't help their kids edit videos for TikTok), - says Natalia Linkova. - And basics of cybersecurity—so that nannies can explain to children how not to fall into the clutches of scammers on social networks and can notice if a child is threatened online.”

Today, nannies also include people who have not received specialized education. However, those with diplomas in pedagogy, medicine, or psychology are much more competitive in the job market.