For years, it’s been common for the rich and powerful to hire nannies to take care of the children. Even if a parent is very doting and involved, it’s usually the nannies who do the boring or unpleasant day-to-day jobs.
It’s just what rich people do.
Melania Trump, despite being married to a billionaire, decided when her son Barron was born that she would take a hands-on role. She said she refuses to hire a nanny.
In 2015, during an interview with People Magazine, Melania Trump explained her position on why she refused to get a nanny.
“I like to be hands-on. I think it’s very important,” she explained.
Even though she could afford the help, Melania was the one who changed the diapers, who prepared Barron’s lunch and dinner, and who dropped him off and picked him up at school. She regularly spent time with her son in the afternoons.
“I am a full-time mom; that is my first job. The most important job ever.”
“I started my business when he started school,” she told Parenting.com.
At that point, her parenting duties included preparing breakfast and lunch for Barron (even though the Trumps reportedly have a personal chef), dropping him off and picking him up from school, and spending the afternoon with him.
#morning [1] 😎☀️ #schooldropoff [2] 🚘#nyc [3] 🗽 #style [4] pic.twitter.com/cnR29XZs6Z [5]
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) April 15, 2015 [6]
Donald Trump at the time agreed with his wife’s decision. “If you have too much help, you don’t get to know your children.”
However, Trump also spilled the beans to Page Six [7] that of course they have a nanny.
“Yes, there is a young woman,” he told Page Six, “someone who works with Barron.”
Regardless of whether the Trumps have a nanny, the larger trend here is that many rich and powerful people flaunt their parenting prowess, ignoring or downplaying the role that hired help might play.
Ivanka Trump, for example, received some criticism for barely acknowledging the fact that she has two nannies in her book “Women Who Work.”
Interestingly, Vanity Fair reports that Ivanka Trump, along with her siblings Donald, Jr. and Eric, had two nannies to help take care of them before they were sent to boarding school. (They also spent a lot of time with their maternal grandparents, according to Vanity Fair.)
It’s unclear whether Barack and Michelle Obama hired help raising Malia and Sasha during their time in the White House; same goes for George and Laura Bush. But according to Newsweek, Bill and Hillary Clinton had a nanny when Chelsea was growing up.
Melania Trump also told Parenting.com that parenting responsibilities fall primarily on her, and not on her husband. Noting that Barron and his father have a “beautiful relationship,” she said:
“Donald Trump didn’t change diapers and I am completely fine with that. It is not important to me. It’s all about what works for you. It’s very important to know the person you’re with. And we know our roles. I didn’t want him to change the diapers or put Barron to bed. I love every minute of it.”