Let’s start off by explaining what the difference is between a Family Assistant and a Household Manager! A Family Assistant’s job is a hybrid role between caring for the home and caring for the family and children. A Household Manager typically has no childcare duties and their main responsibility is managing the home and potentially other staff of the home.

To break it down even further, we’ve included some potential responsibilities of each role. The specific duties of a Family Assistant or Household Manager can vary depending on the family's needs and preferences. They are versatile professionals who adapt to the unique requirements of each family, providing support to ensure the household runs smoothly.

Here are some examples of Family Assistant duties:

Childcare

A family assistant will assist with childcare for a portion of the day. Typically, a family hiring a family assistant will have time during the day while the child is in school to give the family assistant time to complete household tasks. Sometimes a family will hire someone to be a full time nanny, but once the children start preschool or elementary school, the nanny will shift into a family assistant role. Typically a Family Assistant will pick kids up from school or preschool, help with homework and/or driving to activities if needed.

Errands and Shopping

Typically, a family assistant’s job will involve running errands for the family such as grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, or mailing packages. Along with running errands, they also can be responsible for managing household shopping lists and ensuring supplies are well-stocked.

Household Organization

Often a Family Assistant will be responsible for maintaining family calendars and scheduling appointments and activities. They can also be responsible for assisting with home organization and decluttering.

Light Cleaning

A family assistant will often help with light housekeeping and tidying up. This would mainly be pertaining to the children such as the children’s rooms,

Meal Planning and Preparation

Sometimes a family assistant will help with planning and preparing meals for the family. This can be just for the children (ie school lunches, afterschool snacks, etc) or full on planning and preparing meals for the whole family. Not all family assistant’s feel confident in the kitchen so take this into consideration when hiring someone if this is an important part of the role for you. Also, if the person you want to hire doesn’t feel confident in their cooking skills, often families will get a meal kit delivery service such as HelloFresh or Home Chef where ingredients and menus are clearly laid out and easy to follow!

Pet Care

Family assistants can be responsible for general pet care such as feeding, taking them to vet or grooming appointments or on an occasional walk. If you need your dog walked regularly or multiple times per day, it is a good idea to hire a dog walker. The family assistant can also keep tabs on pet supplies and purchase food and medication as needed.

Here are some examples of Household Manager duties:

A Household Manager can do many of the household duties listed above (minus the childcare). Some things that a Household Manager might do that isn’t something a Family Assistant would typically do is:

Manage Other Household Staff

A household manager sometimes will manage a housekeeper, chef, nanny, gardener that are employed by your family. They will also help schedule and communicate with contractors and other service repairs needed for the home.

Scheduling Appointments or Activities

A household manager may assist with scheduling doctors, vet, children’s activities and camps or other appointments for the family.

Household Laundry

While a nanny or family assistant typically will just do laundry for the children, a household manager might help with laundry for the whole household including parents laundry, bedding, towels, etc).

Maintaining a Family Calendar

A household manager can help the whole family stay organized and will help maintain a family calendar so everyone is on the same page.

Planning and Organizing Trips

A household manager may assist with booking lodging, airline tickets, activities, etc. while on vacation.

Event Planning and Prep

Holiday/Seasonal Decorating

Moving/Packing

A Family Assistant or Household Manager will work as a team with the family to help their lives run smoother. They will not typically do ALL of the duties listed above (they are not a superhero after all…although many come pretty close!) but these are just some examples of some of the duties they might do. It is important to check in regularly with your employee to make sure everyone is on the same page. We recommend a sit down meeting once a quarter (or more often) to discuss family changes or to give either your family or your employee the chance to talk through things that are working well and things that could use improvement.

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