“Granny Angels”
Jana Schandua finds senior citizens reliable childcare
The Hamburg grannies not only enjoy looking after children, but also meet each other. I guess you could call it a win-win situation.
© Louise Photography / PR
What she wants: more freedom for parents
Her idea: “Granny Angels”
Her inspiration: everyday life with two children
“Rabenmutter” – Jana Schandua heard the term for the first time during her studies in Baden-Württemberg in the early 2000s. “I asked myself: what on earth is that?” she remembers and laughs. Schandua grew up in East Berlin. Full-time working mothers were the norm there. Her single mother had also worked as a teacher all the time, and Jana Schandua and her sister went to a daycare center or day-care center all day. “I liked that and became independent early on,” she says. She was always sure that if she ever became a mother herself, she would definitely not give up her job.
She was the first in her family to graduate from high school in Berlin in 2002. She went to Offenburg to study media and information, then worked in a PR agency in Düsseldorf. Her first child was born in 2015; while her husband continued to work full-time, Schandua took a year of parental leave. During this time, she met an older lady through a notice in the gym who was interested in looking after her son twice a week for a small fee. “That was a huge help,” says Schandua – especially when she returned to her job after a year of 30 hours and, despite having a place in a large daycare center, realized: The care offered is not sufficient. And you also need time for yourself sometimes. And as a couple.
When she had her second child, who was born in 2018, she also happened to meet an elderly woman she trusted. Soon, two older women were looking after the children for a few hours a day. The coronavirus pandemic then brought the well-established model to a standstill. “Due to the risk of infection, both surrogate grandmothers were suddenly unavailable.” A catastrophe.
“Granny Angels” – reliable childcare for seniors
When the pandemic subsided, the elderly women were no longer available because their health was no longer able to provide care. Schandua looked for a replacement – and realized how difficult it is to find reliable babysitters: Placement portals and agencies often offered carers on the Internet without prior testing or proof of quality, while professional agencies charged high fees.
So Schandua took matters into his own hands. In December 2021, she founded the start-up “Granny Angels” as part of an accelerator program: The company is now looking for seniors who are interested in looking after children via advertisements on Facebook and in regional newspapers. Schandua personally checks the potential surrogate grandmas and grandpas; if they are suitable, they are employed by “Granny Angels” and placed with families looking for them.
Around 40 “Angels” aged between 52 and 80 are now working with families in places like Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne and Berlin. They often previously worked as educators or pediatric nurses. All of them have an extended certificate of good conduct and have completed a multi-stage application process with various interviews, and they meet regularly at regular meetings and training courses. Families can book the “Angels” directly via the website without registering, but they usually contact the start-up and ask them to put them in touch with a suitable person. If families and carers decide to work together, the “Angels” are deployed to the families as needed and are insured through “Granny Angels”. At the end of the month, the family receives a collective invoice, some of which is tax deductible. The hourly rate currently costs 21.90 euros. The “Granny Angels” are registered with the gGmbH as volunteers, mini- or midi-jobbers and receive 13 euros in compensation for expenses. Schandua reinvests the rest in setting up additional locations and training for the carers, such as first aid courses.
For Jana Schandua, who has now reduced her old job as a product manager at a media agency in favor of “Granny Angels,” her company is a mission: “I want women to remain visible even with children and to be able to continue to advance their careers.” And to make things easier for families. She has also found two surrogate grandmothers for her own children, now five and eight years old. Of course about the “Granny Angels”.