Expatriates living in Indonesia can take advantage of the Indonesian norm of hiring live-in domestic staff to care for their children. While full-time, live-in nannies are a luxury in most developed countries, that is not the case in Indonesia.
Day care, as we know it in the west, does not exist in Indonesia in any meaningful way. While there are a small number of daycare facilities in Jakarta, they are not common and are far from the norm. In Indonesian culture, if both parents are working, the natural solution is either to leave the child with grandparents or to hire a nanny who lives in the family home. In most cases this is the preferred arrangement for good reason — the child remains in a familiar environment, receives individual attention rather than being one of many children in a group setting, and the home itself is likely to be more comfortable and better equipped than an outside facility. In many situations it is also considerably more cost-effective than paying for a private daycare service.
Child minders in Indonesia are known as baby-sitter, baby sister (comes from the term suster which means nurse) or just suster. Pembantu is a general term for a household helper, who might have child-minding responsibilities in addition to cleaning, washing clothes and cooking.
Qualifications
The qualifications of the household staff who care for your children may range from zero to relatively qualified. They may speak some English or other foreign language, depending on the nationality of expatriate families they have worked for in the past or their initiative to learn another language. They may have only completed a few years of elementary school or perhaps junior high or high school. During an interview with a prospective child minder, ask about their educational background and what additional training they’ve had through the families they worked for before.
Suster, who wear white uniforms when working for Indonesian families, most likely have as their sole responsibility the care of children. They do not normally do any household work or cooking, unless it is for the child. These young women have, in theory, been trained in basic child care. You may quickly find, however, that norms of Indonesian child care may go strictly against the way you want your children raised.
Ultimately, you can expect that you may need to spend time talking to the child minder and other household staff about just how you want your child treated, what discipline you expect them to enforce and what you do or don’t want done for your child.
You can improve the skills of the person you hire to care for your children by enrolling them in courses at International SOS on child safety, first aid and other subjects.
The Search
It can be a difficult process to find someone that you feel confident in and can entrust with the care of your children. A lot depends on what role you want this person to have in your child’s life. Some expats opt for a full-time suster who cares for all of their child’s needs and has no other role in the household. Others choose to have their household staff (maid/cook) assist with the children as needed, but the mother still maintains the primary care-giving role. The vast majority would fall somewhere in between these two.
Hire someone on a trial basis. If you feel uncomfortable with them for any reason, trust your basic instincts and let them go. Keep looking, you will find someone who fits your needs.
Common sources are:
- Referrals from expatriate families who are leaving
- Penyalur baby-sitter services
- Online platforms — see below
- Referrals from friends or staff in the working spouse’s office
- Women’s groups such as ANZA, BWA and others
Of these sources, referrals from departing expat families remain the most reliable, as you can speak directly with the current employer, ask detailed questions and perhaps observe the child minder with the children before making a decision. Expat community groups on Facebook and WhatsApp — many of which are city-specific — are now the primary place where families announce that they are leaving and have trusted staff available for placement. Members of these groups may also know of nannies who are available, and families who are leaving Indonesia are often actively looking for a good home for staff they have worked with for years. Keep in mind that no matter how glowing a reference, it does not guarantee that the person’s care of your child will meet your own expectations or that you will simply get along well with them personally.
You can also contact ANZA, BWA or other expat women’s groups to ask if anyone in the group is trying to place their staff before departing Indonesia. These communities are well connected and word travels quickly when a trusted nanny is looking for a new family.
Some nannies will come with a reference letter from a previous employer. While these can be helpful, it is always advisable to verify the information contained in them independently. There have been cases where details have been falsified. Take the time to contact previous employers directly by phone, email or WhatsApp to confirm the person’s work history and get a candid sense of their character and capabilities.
Penyalur baby-sitter (baby-sitter placement) services remain numerous in Jakarta and other major cities. Though they should be registered with the government, they operate with no set standards and no guarantees. Candidates sourced through these agencies are unlikely to have English language skills or prior experience with expatriate families, so they are generally a better fit for families who speak Indonesian and are comfortable training staff from scratch.
For families specifically looking for a nanny or child minder with English language skills and prior experience with foreign families, two online platforms are worth knowing about.
Kasicare (www.kasicare.com) is an Indonesian recruitment platform built specifically for expat families in Jakarta. Candidates on the platform have registered profiles that include details of their English language ability, previous employers (including whether they have worked for foreign families), reference letters where available, and child care experience by age group. The platform is searchable and free to browse, with placement fees applying if you proceed to hire. Kasicare also publishes useful salary guidance for the Jakarta market.
GreatAuPair (www.greataupair.com) is an international childcare platform with a dedicated section for Indonesia and Jakarta, where families can search profiles of nannies and caregivers, filter by language spoken, and contact candidates directly. While it is a global platform rather than Indonesia-specific, it does list Indonesian-based candidates seeking positions with expat families and allows families to post their own requirements.
It is always worth letting people in the working spouse’s office know that you are looking. A local colleague, secretary or office assistant may know of someone personally, or their own household staff may have a relative or friend who is looking for a position with an expat family. Personal recommendations of this kind, while informal, are often among the most effective.
Different Cultural Expectations
The treatment of a child in most Indonesian families is one of being treasured, and children can be quite spoiled as a result. Often the person looking after the child for most of the day is the nanny, who is not given permission to discipline the child, and therefore the child typically gets what it wants in order to avoid any upset. This dynamic is worth understanding before you set your household expectations, as it shapes a great deal of what you will observe in how your child minder interacts with your children.
It would be common, for example, to spoon feed a child until they are 4 or 5 years old. Children would be bathed by the child minder, dressed, fed and entertained. While it’s great to have someone to help out with the kids, this is probably not what most expatriate families have in mind when they think of a baby-sitter.
In western society, typically we do everything possible to encourage independence in small children as independence is considered a positive personal trait in society. Commonly we are taught from an early age that we should stand on our own two feet (quite literally). Not so in most Indonesian families where there is a cultural predisposition towards creating dependent relationships within the family. It is an accepted norm that the child is totally dependent on the parents and in old age the parents become totally dependent on the children.
Talk with other expat mothers about their experiences and learn where they have had areas of conflict. Some potential conflicts could include:
- Giving sweets or snacks to the children to make them happy, despite the fact that dinner is in half an hour.
- Inability to say no, in any way, to a child.
- The tendency to frighten children into doing what you want them to do instead of simply saying no or explaining why something is not appropriate.
- Inability to understand basic precepts of safety and the preventable nature of most household accidents.
Discipline
Another area in which there is great divergence in expectations is the area of discipline. Most Indonesians rarely discipline children. If you have very strong ideas about what your child is allowed to do, or is not allowed to do, you will have to spend a lot of time explaining this to your staff and child minders. They usually do not see the point of discipline of children and may feel that many westerners are harsh to their children.
Be forewarned that it is possible that they will go against your wishes the minute you walk out of the house as they prefer to keep your child happy at all costs. If it comes to your attention that your staff are going against your wishes, a repeat explanation of your rules and expectations is undoubtedly necessary.
Safety
One area where expat parents often find themselves surprised is in the different approach to child safety. In many Indonesian households, the preferred solution to managing a young child is to carry them (gendong) throughout the day in a selendang, a long cloth worn across the body. This is a practical and time-honoured approach — floors are not always clean or safe for a crawling infant, and there can be many hazards in a busy household that a young child could get into. Rather than having to maintain constant supervision as a child moves around, carrying the child is simply the more manageable alternative. Some infants are carried so consistently in their early months that they skip the crawling stage altogether, or are not given much opportunity to freely explore their environment until they are walking.
Expat parents tend to approach child safety differently, preferring to create a safe physical environment through the use of barriers, cabinet locks and other safety devices, giving children the freedom to explore within a space that has been made as safe as possible. You may find that your child minder’s instinct is to hover closely or carry the child rather than to recognise and address the hazard itself. It is also worth being aware that, like anyone, a child minder may occasionally be distracted by their phone or occupied with another task, and may not always be as alert to a potential hazard as you would be with your own child. A patient conversation about the specific safety concerns in your home, and what you expect the child minder to watch for, is time well spent.
Indonesian child minders will not intentionally neglect your children. If anything, they err on the opposite extreme and pay entirely too much attention to them. They simply do not always recognise safety hazards around the home.
Cleanliness and Health
If a child minder will be living in your home, it is entirely reasonable to discuss personal hygiene expectations as part of your household guidelines. This is worth addressing early and matter-of-factly rather than letting it become a source of discomfort on either side.
You might consider requesting a thorough medical checkup for your household staff before they begin working for you. The more serious conditions to test for are tuberculosis, intestinal worms, skin diseases, and whether or not they are a carrier of typhoid or hepatitis. If you request this checkup, be advised you will be expected to pay for it. Several international clinics in Jakarta, including International SOS, offer health screening packages for domestic staff that provide results in both Bahasa Indonesia and English. Since you are paying for it, you will be given a copy of the results. Some employers also schedule a repeat check after the caregiver returns from their home village, where they are more likely to be exposed to transmittable conditions. While medical screening represents an outlay, it gives you the reassurance of a clean bill of health before your child minder begins working closely with your family.
It is also worth being aware that Indonesia’s national health insurance scheme, BPJS Kesehatan, is increasingly being provided by employers to their domestic staff. While not legally mandated for household workers in the same way it applies to formal sector workers, enrolling your child minder in BPJS Kesehatan is a relatively low-cost gesture that many expat families now offer as part of their employment package.
Remember — You Will Go Home Someday
Yes, enjoy the undivided attention the child minder is able to provide to your child when you are busy. But remember — you will return to your home country someday, or perhaps move to another international posting where live-in help is not as readily available as it is in Indonesia.
Prepare your child long before your departure by not allowing the staff to cater to their every whim and wish. Have chores for your children, albeit lighter than they may be back home, so that they will be participating in the cleanup of their own messes and taking on some light household responsibilities. If you have not anticipated this situation and established your household expectations accordingly, you may find that the family members expect staff to do all the cleanup. And if there are no staff, this is likely to lead to some discord until new ground rules and new habits are established.
It is easy to get lulled into a false sense of “that won’t happen to us”, but every expat family I have ever met has described difficult transitions after leaving Indonesia. We all get more spoiled than we realise.
Advantages to Having an Indonesian Child Minder
- Your children can be cared for in your own home where you can keep a close eye on how they are being treated.
- You will rarely have difficulties finding someone to watch your children when you want to go out for professional commitments or spend an evening with your spouse.
- Your children will be loved and treated as treasured little members of the household, secure in the warmth of the adults who care for them.
- Personal time is freed up whenever you want it to enable hobbies, recreation or personal pursuits.
- Taking small children out with you is far less of a challenge than it might be back home, as you can simply bring the child minder along to keep track of the children in public places.
- Spending a lot of time with an Indonesian care giver will ensure that your child quickly picks up Bahasa Indonesia, often to a fluent level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I find an English-speaking nanny in Jakarta?
Yes, though they are not the majority. Nannies who have previously worked for expatriate families are the most likely to have developed some English language skills. Platforms such as Kasicare (www.kasicare.com) allow you to filter candidates by English ability and prior experience with foreign families.
What is the typical salary for a live-in nanny in Jakarta?
As of 2024, nannies with prior expat family experience and basic English typically expect between IDR 5,500,000 and IDR 7,500,000 per month for live-in roles, depending on experience and responsibilities. Jakarta’s minimum wage is adjusted annually, so check current figures before making an offer. See our [Hiring Household Staff] page for more detail.
What is a suster in Indonesia?
A suster (sometimes called baby sister or baby-sitter) is a child minder, often identifiable by a white uniform when working for Indonesian families. The term comes from the Dutch/Indonesian word for nurse. A suster’s sole responsibility is typically the care of children rather than general housework.
Is daycare available in Jakarta?
There are a small number of daycare facilities in Jakarta, but they are not common and are not the cultural norm. Most families, including those where both parents work, prefer to hire a live-in nanny so that the child remains at home in a familiar environment with individual attention. This is also typically more cost-effective than a private daycare placement.
Should I ask for a medical checkup before hiring a nanny?
It is strongly advisable. Common conditions to screen for include tuberculosis, hepatitis, typhoid and intestinal parasites. Several international clinics in Jakarta offer health screening packages for domestic staff. You will be expected to pay for the checkup and will receive a copy of the results.
What is BPJS Kesehatan and do I need to provide it to my nanny?
BPJS Kesehatan is Indonesia’s national health insurance programme. While it is not legally required for household employees in the same way it is for formal sector workers, many expat families now enrol their domestic staff as a standard part of their employment package. Costs are low and it is a meaningful benefit.
How do I find a nanny if I am based outside Jakarta?
The expat communities in Bali, Surabaya and Bandung all have active Facebook and WhatsApp groups where families share staff referrals. Kasicare focuses primarily on Jakarta, but word-of-mouth through local expat networks remains the most reliable method in other cities.
For information on enrolling your child minder in a first aid or child safety course, see [Information on Child Care Provider First Aid course].
For more information on hiring household staff in Indonesia, including current minimum wage guidelines and employment obligations, see [Hiring Household Staff].
