In her work as an estate manager, Kristin Reyes often finds herself fielding client requests for a special kind of child minder. “Callers will say to me, ‘Kristin, I need a modern Mary Poppins.’ Everyone knows what that means.”It refers, Ms. Reyes went on to explain, to that old-fashioned paragon of patience, good cheer and decorum otherwise known as a governess. School shutdowns and social limitations have lent their search a particular urgency. “For the past six or eight weeks we’ve been slammed with educator and governess requests, from all over the country,” said Anita Rogers, the founder and chief executive of British American Household, a domestic staffing agency. Orders began doubling as families girded for a fall semester and the rigors of remote learning, Ms. Rogers said: “During the pandemic, we’ve done very well.”

Source: International New York Times October 08, 2020 06:56 UTC