A nanny, childminder, child care provider, or mother's helper (the last designation not to be confused with the slang term "mother's little helper," denoting a tranquilizer pill) is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service. Traditionally, nannies were servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern nannies, like other domestic workers, may live in or out of the house depending on their circumstances and those of their employers. Professional nannies are usually certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, qualified in First Aid, and have a degree or extensive training in child development. There are many employment agencies that specialize in childcare and online services that aid in finding available nannies.

A childminder cares for the child in the childminder's home. Depending on the country they live in, government registration may or may not be required.

A governess, in contrast to a nanny, concentrates on teaching and training children.

Nanny is the name of two different fictional characters in X-Men and related titles in the Marvel Comics Universe.

The more well known Nanny is a mutant.

Publication history

Nanny's first appearance was in X-Factor #30 (July 1988), and she was created by Louise Simonson and Walt Simonson.

The character subsequently appears in X-Factor #35 (December 1988), #40 (May 1989), The Uncanny X-Men #247-248 (August–September 1989), #265-267 (August–September 1990), Generation X #4 (February 1995), Generation X Holiday Special #1 (February 1998), Slingers #9 (August 1999), and Wolverine: Killing Made Simple #1 (October 2008).

Nanny received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #5.

Fictional character biography

The woman now known as the Nanny was once a scientist employed by the Right in the field of cyborg technology. When she learned of the Right's anti-mutant agenda, she tried to stop them. The Right sealed her in one of her cyborg designs, an egg-shaped armored suit; she escaped their custody, but the ordeal unbalanced her to borderline insanity. At some later date, she rescued a young mutant named Peter, crafted a battle suit for him and christened him the Orphan-Maker. She also obtained (possibly self-manufactured) high-tech weaponry and a flying craft.

Nanny is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick, first published in 1955 in Startling Stories and later in The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick. It has since been republished several times, including in Beyond Lies the Wub in 1988.

Synopsis

The story takes place in the future where every family has a mechanical robot as a Nanny. A family of four has an older model Nanny, and every night, when the family goes to sleep, the nanny and the neighbor's nanny, which is a different model, meet in the back yard and fight. The Nanny gets damaged and must be repaired, which frustrates the family, as they're advised to upgrade to a newer model.

One day, the kids take the nanny to the park, where it gets assaulted and killed by another, much larger and more powerful Nanny. Their father, upset with this, goes and buys a brand new Nanny, the toughest model available. The kids are excited, but later, their new nanny kills the nanny of another family, whose father is forced to buy another Nanny, an even bigger one.