Times have changed from the days when no one would have employed a male babysitter, but the going is still tough.

Male nannies (aka mannies) are all the rage, at least among celebrities like Britney Spears, Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. Admittedly, comparing the habits of celebs to those of mere mortals like us might not be the most logical of paths to take, especially considering these children have been given names such as Apple, Mercy and Moses.

Although male nannies seem to be more popular in the East and West coast cities in the US, the biggest manny hub is, surprisingly, London. A quick Google search reveals a plethora of manny agencies, such as mybigbuddy.com or mrmanny.com, in the metro-politan British capital.

That said, Meghan Ramirez, Director of International Relations at Go Au Pair Still, points out that male au pairs constitute just three per cent of her company’s placements. “We always have male au pairs available,” she notes, adding that she does have trouble placing the few men who apply to be au pairs.

Despite the relative popularity of guy sitters in Europe and America, and not only among the rich and famous, there lies a certain stigma about hiring a male baby-sitter, for reasons including the mistaken view that women make better carers.

Karen Harrold, mother of one-year-old Robert and who lives just outside London in the UK, argues that your children will look to women as the one who stays at home only if that is the way they are brought up. “By always hiring a female nanny you are bringing up your child or children to expect women to be always the ones to stay at home when, in fact, many men also choose to do so,” she explains.

She goes on to point out that possibly, by exposing your child-ren to male sitters, you will offer them a chance to grow up without biased views.

“Perhaps, by having a male nanny you are providing your child with a more balanced view of the world and you may, through exposing them to male child carers, provide them with a platform to challenge these stereotypes.”

Harrold has two childcare agreements in place at present. Her main agreement means her son spends his day with two child minders, a man and a woman. “I felt that was actually a more balanced view of the world and provided him with the best of both worlds,” she says.

All humanbeings possess both maleand female qualities

Ultimately, she argues, the most important factors when considering hiring a nanny are whether they fit with your family in terms of general principles and ethics. “Gender should not necessarily be a factor. We are living in a modern world where both men and women tend to work and it is not uncommon for a female and working mother to earn more than her husband or partner.”

The fact remains that all human beings possess both male and female qualities. Psychologist Cher Engerer points out how in today’s day and age we are moving towards more androgyny (a balance between male and female qualities) between the two sexes and we are seeing a large percentage of men taking on as much of a care-giving role as women.

Engerer also believes that being a good nanny is not necessarily about gender, but more about the type of personality the individual has, along with having the necessary skills to rear children.

Referring to child psychiatrist Anon Bentovim’s model of care-giving (2007), she notes how rearing children involves the provision of a stable and consistent relationship, the ability to administer age-appropriate, non-shameful boundaries for managing various behaviours, a warm and responsive approach to the children and engaging in stimulation and communication, within the confines of a safe relationship.

These are both male and female tasks in essence, she underlines, since being a parent is not all about being fluffy, warm and cuddly.

“Since nannies are hired to take over when parents are unavailable, they too need to possess the above qualities, and as one can see, these are not gender-bound qualities, nor are they specific to one’s sexual orientation, but are more about one’s personality, skills and characteristics. I think that in absence of certain skills and qualities, both men and women who have an interest in the childcare professions can move towards learning these skills.”

Although male nannies are still not popular or the norm in Malta, there really appears no reason why this should not be the case. Gender or sexual orientation should not be the criteria for choosing a nanny, but the decision should be made following a rigorous evaluation of who they are as people.