Friday

Brookline, Massachusetts

Received Friday, October 13, 2006
Your nanny gossips about you ALL the time. It would be one thing if it was to other nannies, but it is to other parents. Every pick-up drop-off, playdate, swim practice, etc - we hear about your family. We know how much you drink on vacation, we know about your first marraige, and we know about your recent surgery (and feel bad and want to help you - but technically we are not supposed to know). She is not neglecting your children that we can see, but she is ruining your reputation (sometimes in front of the kids). You need to either find a new nanny before you move to the new school so that your reputation is not scarred there - or have a SERIOUS talking to her about family confidentiality. She is making the two of you sound incompetent to your peers, but I suspect she has more of a god-complex. I don't want to embarrass you by putting the names and ages of your children on here - but if you see this I think you'll know. I wish I had the guts to tell you this to your face. Get well soon!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

if you are that concerned you would let the parents know what the nanny is saying/doing.

Anonymous said...

to the first commentator. you don't get it, do you? No one wants to be the bearer of bad tidings or be in a position to have to answer all of the follow up questions that would come along. I am in a similiar situation where a nanny gossips about the unfitness of the mother's parenting skills. I would love her to know but I have no desire to get involved. I keep hoping someone else rats the nanny out.

Anonymous said...

Oh please...be an adult!

Anonymous said...

Why not drop a note at the house, if you know the person then that seems the easiest solution.

Anonymous said...

You could drop an anonymous note in the mail.

Anonymous said...

Adult here. Sim situation & you have no idea what that would involve. The parent would not be happy to hear from me & the parent would be angry at me. They would blame me and other adults for being receptive to the nanny's trash talk. No thank you. The point is, YOU CONTROL your nanny. It isn't my job to control her. Keep a leash on her.

Anonymous said...

keep a leash on her..you make us nannies sound like dogs. If you have a problem with a nanny, please tell the parents, think of how you would like to be treated. If you didn't know this was going on in the first place, how would you know to..as you put it..keep a leash on her. If a parent ever saw me doing something not professional with my charges, I would hope that she would speak up and say something to me or to the parents. How can we fix a problem if we don't know there is one.

Anonymous said...

nannies have the BEST stories. Most of them are treated like crap by their bosses so they have no prob giving up the goods.I would never want to shut down the source of the juciest dish.

Anonymous said...

Learn to spell Massachusetts.

Anonymous said...

probably a typo. besides when you dont charge parents 50 dollars a pop to look at your blog, you probably have to do all the grunt work yourself. for free. go register your nanny's stroller with some profiteer. then keep tracks on that site's spelling. Don't forget the $50 you have to pay to use her site.

Anonymous said...

Maybe someone should alert the mother that her parenting skills could use improvement. If she doesn't know the problem exists, how can she fix it?

Anonymous said...

"Keep a leash on her... you control your nanny..."
What kind of person would say this?
Nannies are people, not pets or servants.
Parents are just as guilty of gossiping as nannies, more so if you ask me. Do you think they feel bad when they compare nanny stories with their friends? Of course not.
I have babysat for some wonderful people, but the last family I nannied for thought the same way the person I quoted feels, that nannies were servants to do their bidding and didn't deserve respect. It is ironic that most of these people are "professionals" (doctors, etc.) but in actuality they are just jerks.

Anonymous said...

I agree, if you know the parent, tell them directly. You don't have to give specifics, just tell them that she's gossiping about her to the other parents and you thought she should know. To the person who said you don't want to get involved... what is life about but doing the right thing and getting involved? What can be the worst that happens, she's pissed off at you... but your motivation is to help, your intention is to help, and regardless of how she feels about you in the end, chances are you will help. Do it. You would want to know if you were her. Take courage in doing the right thing.

Anonymous said...

Noble commentary above. However in my circle, we always get the juiciest gossip from nannies. Especially live in nannies. You wouldn't believe what goes on behind those iron gates. No, I mean YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT.

I don't think my nanny would ever gossip about me. We treat her like a queen!