The presence of a ‘nanny’ in South African infant observations: learning opportunities and challenges for student observers and their teachers

ABSTRACT Many South African infants are co-reared by a ‘nanny’ employed as a domestic worker in the family home. The racial distribution of this sector of the labour force is 100% black. Domestic workers seldom have any formal or semi-formal training and they remain undervalued and subordinate in labour status. Given the country’s cruel apartheid history; racial, cultural, socio-economic, labour and power dynamics underpin these domestic relationships. There is a paucity of research into the impact of ‘nannies’ on the infant’s early life and development, or on the relational dynamics that develop between infant, mother and ‘shadow mother’ in the South African context. Privileged learning and qualitative research opportunities are proffered by the high percentage of infant observations situations that include the presence of a nanny. Further, the student observer and indeed the observation situation itself are not immune to the influence and impact of the complex relational dynamics. In a country that is working hard to repair damaged relationships in the aftermath of apartheid, small opportunities for hope emerge in the reflective discussions of the seminar groups. This paper explores several of these themes illustrated by vignettes from infant observations presented to the author over several years.