Stay-At-Home Mom With A Nanny Defends Her Reason For Hiring Help For Her Only Child
It takes a village.
@natalievdark / TikTok A stay-at-home mom on TikTok is open about the fact that she hired a nanny to assist her in caring for her one child.
Many viewers had questions about her decision since she didn’t appear to have much responsibility on her plate besides managing the house and her son.
The woman decided to explain herself and address why she has a nanny.
The stay-at-home mom defended her reasons for hiring a nanny since she claims the extra help is beneficial to her mental health and the well-being of her son.
In a video that has been viewed over 100,000 times, Natalie Dark, a stay-at-home mother with a one-year-old son named Nate, defended her choice of why she hired a nanny after experiencing mom-shaming.
“I just wanted to come on here not to justify the nanny, but more to just discuss my unique perspective,” she says.
Dark tells viewers that she has a Master’s degree in sociology and worked in corporate America as a market researcher before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
While working on a project where she was a primary researcher studying the state of resilience in individuals, she discovered that mental health played a major role.
“We found that mental health is on a decline,” she shares. “So essentially, the younger you are, the more likely you are to have mental health issues.”
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Dark and her team focused on uncovering the reason for mental health problems among younger people.
They took factors including social media, the internet, and the types of televisions and news being consumed.
However, it wasn't until after Dark became a mother that she discovered a significant factor that contributes to declining mental health that was being neglected.
“What I realize now as a mom is that we’re not really looking at the fact it takes a village to raise children, but every single generation has had less and less of a village,” she says.
The “village” Dark is referring to is the help and assistance parents rely on to raise their children.
“I really think that if we were to look at this and research this, we would find that every generation the parents raising the next generation is a group of parents that are more and more burnt out.”
“These children are being raised by burnt-out parents that just do not have the capacity to give children everything that they need in order to thrive," she continues. "Our mental health issues are imprinting on them at such a young age.”
Dark believes this is why researchers are noticing a spike in mental health problems among younger generations.
“I don’t think this is the only factor, but I do really believe that the lack of a village is contributing to this.”
She adds that she does not think that it is natural nor healthy for a child to only interact with their parents and that they should have a decent amount of interaction with the “village” of others that are essential to help raise them, which includes nannies.
“I will never apologize for doing what I think is best for my family,” Dark says.
Many TikTokers supported Dark and agreed with her decision.
They believed that even a little bit of help was crucial as a stay-at-home parent.
“Truly agree with you. 100%. Only parents will get this,” one user wrote.
“I was a sahm [stay-at-home mom] of 3,1 with severe special needs for 12 years. I would have given anything for some help,” another user commented.
Others shared their own experiences with receiving help with childcare and how they benefitted significantly from it.
“No shame. I’m a sahm with a part-time nanny. I do it for my mental health and so I can get things done. It’s so important for my health,” one mother revealed.
“Preach sister!! I’m the same and I have a house queen too! And a bestie who I take on all the adventures because it does take a village,” another user shared.
Dark appears to have a good relationship with her nanny and relies on her for help when she needs to complete tasks without a child’s distraction or if she simply needs to take a breather.
There is nothing wrong with seeking assistance with parenting. It would be nearly impossible without a “village.”
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.