Do International Teaching Families Need a Nanny?

For international teaching families where you both work, hiring a nanny isn’t a luxury like it might be in your home country — it can sometimes be an absolute necessity depending on your circumstances.

Once you add in meetings, extracurriculars, reporting periods, different school schedules and life without nearby family help, childcare arrangements can become complicated – and stressful.

Let’s look at some of the things worth thinking about before deciding whether hiring a nanny is the right fit for your family.

If You Have Non-School Age Kids

If your kids aren’t old enough for school yet, a nanny may be your best option if you can’t access reliable childcare that works for your family.

Teaching schedules may not always align well with daycare hours. And you may have more events that you both need to commit to that daycare can’t help with, like:

• Staff meetings
• Parent evenings
• Reporting periods
• Weekend events
• School trips

If you’re both working demanding schedules, have multiple kids, or your daycare options are limited, full-time is probably the right call. If one parent has a lighter timetable or your school offers some childcare support, part-time may be enough to start with — and you can always increase hours once everyone settles in.

Having someone full-time will give your kids consistency and lots of flexibility. It’s often a good call if you’re moving to an area where domestic help is common and affordable (like South East Asia).

If You Have School-Age Kids

If you’ve got school-age kids, then you’ll be pleased to know that most international schools will offer some form of tuition waiver for your kids, so they’ll attend the school too. But while that covers you during school hours, not all international school schedules always line up (especially if you teach secondary).

For example, your primary age kids might finish school at 2:30pm, but secondary campus finishes at 4:00pm. On top of that, if you’re involved in CCA programs, school productions, weekend tournaments, or there are different campuses, it can become a bit of a logistical nightmare. So having a nanny, at least part-time, could still be your best option.

A part-time nanny can help you with:

• School pickups
• Looking after your kids after school
• Managing dinner and homework routines
• Transport to activities outside school
• Helping during parent-teacher conference periods
• Covering days if you both have to stay late at school

Live-In vs Live-Out Nanny

This decision is a pretty personal one — but it can also depend heavily on the country you’re living in and what’s actually available and affordable.

In some locations, live-in help is completely normal — especially in South East Asia, where many families who’ve never had household help before find it quickly becomes part of everyday life. In others, it’s uncommon, impractical, or just unaffordable.

A live-in nanny offers obvious advantages if you have young kids — someone is always on hand for early starts, late finishes, or crazy weeks where you’re both slammed. It also takes a lot of mental load off, knowing that if something unexpected comes up, your kids are covered. The trade-off is privacy and space.

It can also take time to adjust emotionally if you’ve never had household help before — especially if you’re coming from a country where having a nanny feels unusual or financially unrealistic.

A live-out nanny gives you clearer boundaries and more privacy at home, and is often more affordable. The downside is less flexibility — if you need someone at 6am or you’re stuck at school until 7pm, a live-out arrangement is harder to make work. Traffic and transport reliability can also be a factor depending on where you live, so it’s worth thinking about how easy it is for someone to actually get to you consistently.

How Where You Live Impacts Your Options

In many parts of Asia and Latin America, especially in countries like Cambodia, Thailand and Peru, domestic help is relatively common within the expat and international teaching community. Families may hire:

• full-time live-in nannies
• part-time helpers
• after-school support
• cleaners who also help with childcare

In some countries, this can be surprisingly affordable compared to what families are used to back home. For teaching couples, especially if you have young kids, it helps make international life feel far more manageable.

But if you’re moving to other parts of the world — particularly parts of Europe — having a full-time nanny or household help can be far less common among international teaching families. Labour costs are often much higher, regulations around employing household staff can be stricter, and many families rely more heavily on daycare, after-school programs, babysitters, or au pairs (which are typically shorter-term cultural exchange arrangements rather than long-term childcare).

Questions to Ask Before Deciding

Before committing to any form of childcare arrangement for your kids when working internationally, it’s worth taking a minute to really think about your likely day-to-day reality. If you’re not sure or have questions, try to get in touch with other teachers at the school who have kids and find out what the options are.

What are your school expectations?

Understanding what the expectations are for you both outside of standard teaching hours can help you plan better. Ask about things like meeting schedules (during school hours or after hours), after school duties, if there’s regular PD, weekend or coaching commitments etc.

Are you both likely to be busy at the same time?

If you both teach secondary, then it’s likely things like parent teacher meetings will happen on the same day (or at least the same week, depending on the years you teach). If you’re primary and secondary, there’s often more flexibility.

How long is your commute?

A 10-minute commute and a 50-minute commute create very different childcare needs. Think about where you’re likely to be living (do some research, ask existing teachers and think about what’s best for your family).

What support does your school already offer?

Some schools will offer lots of support for families who need childcare, while others don’t offer anything. Try to find out what your school offers – for example, childcare at school, whether they have a relationship with nearby daycare, if there’s any staff supervision for teacher’s kids or after school programs.

Don’t Decide Until You Arrive

While it can be very tempting to organise a nanny before you arrive so you’re organised – it can be logistically challenging. If you can, try to wait until you arrive in the country.

You’ll have a better understanding of things like traffic and commutes, your and your kids’ schedules, your workload etc.

Many international schools offer temporary accommodation for the first few weeks, which can give you the breathing room to find the right person once you arrive.

Where to Find a Nanny Abroad

Finding reliable childcare can be overwhelming in your home country, let alone a new one. But most international teaching communities are well-connected, so there are a few reliable places to start your search, no matter where you’re moving to.

Your School Community

Teachers who’ve been at the school for a year or more are often your best resource. They may have direct referrals, know whose nanny is looking for extra hours, or can flag who to avoid.

If you’re taking over someone’s role, it’s always worth asking whether their nanny is available and looking for a new family. Inheriting a nanny who already knows the school schedule, the local area, and what expat family life looks like could be the perfect outcome for everyone.

Expat Facebook Groups

Almost every city with a meaningful expat population has at least one active Facebook group – often more. These are really useful for all sorts of helpful tips (and honest feedback), and a great way to find a nanny.

Your School’s HR Team

It can be worth checking with your school directly. Some schools maintain informal lists of trusted local nannies or helpers. Others have relationships with nearby daycare centres or local agencies.

Local Nanny Agencies

In many countries, there are established agencies that specialise in placing domestic helpers and nannies with expat families. Going through an agency does involve a fee and it’s more formal, but it can take the stress out and ensure you get someone who has been thoroughly vetted.

In some countries, employing household staff legally may involve contracts, visas, insurance or minimum salary requirements, so it’s worth checking local regulations carefully before you commit.

Figuring out childcare before (or just after) a big international move is a lot, but getting it right really can help make life so much easier.

If you’re still weighing up your options, the best thing you can do is connect with families already at your school and ask what actually works for them. Real experience from people in the same situation will always tell you more than any checklist can.