A nanny might be hired to make breakfast, pack school bags, and keep the kids safe. But after months or years with a family, she often becomes much more than an employee. When psychologist Lieselotte Ahnert and her colleagues analyzed 40 studies involving 2,867 children, they found that kids regularly form real attachment bonds with their non-parental caregivers. That bond shows up in small, quiet ways, too.
These 10 stories from nannies, babysitters, and the families they work for show the kindness, empathy, and compassion that grow when someone cares for children like their own.
