The secret to being a happy mother? Hire five nannies to do the boring bits



My son’s school sports day takes place a few weeks from now. Max is just four and, predictably, he is madly excited. I hope he triumphs in every race.



But, win or lose, I certainly won’t be there to cheer him on. I’ll leave that to the nanny or — if she can’t make it — one of my team of supply nannies.



As Max wobbles towards the finishing line of the egg-and-spoon race, I’ll be leading a seminar for businessmen. I’ll be wearing a suit picked out for me by my personal assistant, who will also have organised all my travel arrangements, filled my briefcase with carefully-prepared notes and fielded all the preparatory phone calls and emails.

Katie Hopkins pictured with her three children (r-l) India, Max and Poppy

Will I wish that I was sitting on a sun-drenched playing field instead of delivering a workshop to a packed conference room or feel the tiniest shred of guilt at missing out on my son’s big moment?



Not a bit.



I’ve rarely been to a sports day, carol concert or any of the other ‘can’t miss’ events that seem to make up most mothers’ social calendars.



Instead, I pay for a replacement to attend, a ‘stand-in’ mummy if you will. I rejoice that I am able to employ an army of staff — ten members and counting — to do all the boring, mundane chores that I’m too busy for.

And even if I wasn’t, quite frankly, I’d find something productive to do rather than engage in all the amorphous domesticity that being a mother seems to involve.



So it makes me absolutely furious when other women criticise me for somehow letting down the ‘sisterhood’ by employing so many staff. It’s as though they think I’m some sort of evil Victorian slave owner — exploiting the poor and downtrodden to get to the top. What total rubbish!



I love my children and my home, but I get the most pleasure from work. So I outsource as much childcare and domestic grind as I possibly can.



After all, isn’t this what successful men have always done, relying on a wife, secretary and heaven alone knows who else to keep things going at home?



Clean sweep: A million more people are employing a cleaner compared with a decade ago, as busy workers decide they need to pay for domestic help

As far as I’m concerned, I’m doing what makes total sense. I’m outsourcing all the jobs from picking up the dry cleaning to cooking the children’s tea to a team of ‘wives’.



In return, my employees get the going rate for the job — and don’t have to head for the Job Centre.



Meanwhile, I have the freedom to pursue my career without ever having to juggle or beat myself up that I’m letting either my family or my employers down.



It’s time that those daft DIY mothers who are determined to Do It All themselves stopped criticising me. There’s nothing great about being a martyr.



It’s also time for career woman to let go of guilt. We need to acknowledge that there’s nothing wrong with employing other women to do all the traditional ‘female’ jobs which — quite frankly — hold us back from achieving all that we are capable of.



Given the choice, can women honestly say they want to do all the mundane tasks at home if they could afford to employ others to do them on their behalf?



The only way women are ever going to get a high-flying role in the workplace is if, like me, they outsource all the tedious jobs.

Samantha, 26, has been with me for a year. She works from 7¿am to 6.30¿pm and i also employee a staff of four supply nannies who step in to take up the slack (picture posed by models)

And — let’s face it — it’s successful, high-achieving women like me who provide work for all the women who enjoy running homes and looking after children in their spare time (of which they have plenty). Without us, they would be jobless.



As I said, Team Hopkins consists of a staff of ten who I employ on either a permanent or casual basis.



There’s my personal assistant, Cathy. She’s been with me for three years, working a two-day week.



I’m often away from home four days a week, running my management consultancy business. It’s Cathy’s job to run my office — sorting out everything from what I need to wear for my engagements to how I’m going to get there.



For example when I’m invited onto ITV’s This Morning, Cathy, 23, fields the phone calls, picks out a suitable outfit and ensures the chauffeur-driven car arrives on time.



I employ an accountant who works for me two days a week, ensuring that my business runs smoothly and is tax efficient.



I outsource as much childcare and domestic grind as I possibly can

I’ve employed a nanny since I was eight months pregnant with my first daughter, India, now eight.



She helped me prepare the nursery and then stepped in for full-time mothering just as India arrived.



And when I had India’s sister Poppy, now seven, I was back at work four days later — fulfilling an after-dinner speaking engagement. I must admit the audience (all women) were stunned when I let slip that I’d just given birth. But, as far as I was concerned, having a baby was a minor blip in my working week. My current nanny, Samantha, 26, has been with me for a year. She works from 7 am to 6.30 pm.



Thanks to her, I never even have to look at one of those dreaded letters from school announcing the children have to go dressed up as frogs to improve their knowledge of biology. When we are asked to make cakes for school, she is the one that dons the apron. Samantha does it all.



I also employ a staff of four supply nannies who step in to take up the slack. For example, if Samantha is sick there’s no question of me having to take a day off. I simply call in a replacement (who the children know) to take over.



After all, schools have supply teachers. I see nothing wrong in having supply nannies. I also employ a tutor for the girls. Lisa comes once a week to put them through their paces for an hour.



There’s one domestic chore I do take charge of. I am very particular about my home so I do my own cleaning. I also find it therapeutic, but Samantha does all the ironing (which I loathe) and cooks the children’s food.



My husband Mark, a creative director, and I fend for ourselves or eat out.



Although I regard myself as low maintenance and loathe being pampered, I am used to working with hair and make-up ladies to keep me looking presentable.



And while I love my garden, I can’t think of anything less constructive than wasting time maintaining it. So I employ a gardener. George comes once a fortnight and does everything from planting shrubs to sweeping up the leaves.



My husband will change lightbulbs, but anything else we leave to our part-time handyman. This week, Steve is busy replacing a radiator.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm doing what makes total sense. I'm outsourcing all the jobs from picking up the dry cleaning to cooking the children¿s tea to a team of 'wives'

I like to think of myself as a good boss. And I’m grateful to my staff. I have a lovely home, beautifully behaved, contented children and a career I’m proud of. Why on earth should I feel guilty because I pay people to help make it happen?



I’m far from alone. I know of one woman who employs someone to sort her wardrobe out every month.



This employee, let’s call her Sheila, takes away any clothes that are missing buttons or have loose hems and returns them beautifully sorted.



I’ve employed a nanny since I was eight months pregnant with my first daughter, India, now eight.

Another woman has her own Girl Friday who, as well as walking her dog, caters for her dinner parties.



Our way of life makes so much sense. Yet other women refuse to see it.



They seem to fall into two camps. They’re either career women whingeing that they are run ragged because their husbands don’t pull their weight around the house. Or they’re stay-at-home mums, boasting that no one can run a home or look after their children as well as they can.

