Received Sunday, October 8, 2006
This happened on Sunday, September 17. We were staying at a five star hotel in Carlsbad, California with our children, both of whom are great swimmers. My husband and I were reading by the side of the pool. The pool was fairly empty. There was an older man at one end of the pool sitting on the steps. A nanny was in the shallow end with a boy and a girl, both of whom looked to be about four. They both wore "water wings". The nanny was in the pool with them and they were playing games and laughing and having a good time. At a certain point the nanny realized it was time to go and got the children out. She gave them towels. They then had to walk back to their chairs to gather their clothing and other things. As they were walking back to their area, the little boy must have crowded the girl because she fell in the pool. I looked up. My husband looked up. The pool was not that large. A second passed. Two seconds passed. My husband must have processed the scene faster than I did because he ran and jumped in the pool. This all took place in under 12 seconds. As resort pools often are, this pool was blocked from the other areas of the property by landscaping. As the nanny was frantically drying off the little girl, the little boy said to her, 'how come you didn't jump in Tracy'. The nanny's answer, 'I can't swim in the deep end'. We checked out the next morning and I although I had hoped to chance upon the parents, I did not actively look for them. I had seen the parents at breakfast that same Sunday. They had breakfast with the nanny and both of their kids and seemed like such a lovely family. All I can think of is this nanny got a job where swimming was required. She goes in the pool with the children and plays with them very nicely. But she couldn't jump in the deep end to save the little girl! Granted, it was at a public hotel and even if we were not there, she could have shouted for someone- but please parents- do not allow your children to be in or around a pool unless they are with someone who can truly swim. I need not point out that someone who can't swim in the deep end is in fact, a non swimmer.
Why would someone lie about swimming? Has anyone else ever had something like this happen? This terrifies me.
ReplyDeleteIs no one commenting on this because the very prospect is so bone chilling? Or are we really all so obsessed with sugar?
ReplyDeleteMaybe people are not commenting because it's the weekend and they aren't sitting at the computers all day and haven't had a chance to read this... I imagine that once parents (and nannies) read this, they will be appalled.
ReplyDeleteI find this totally horrifying. Every job I've ever had has required strong swimming. Two were for families with in-ground pools in the backyard and one was for a family who lived in a community with a pool. I cannot even imagine lying about this skill. Swimming is a life-or-death activity and not something to be taken lightly. If a nanny can't swim, she has no business supervising children anywhere near a pool.
Parents should never assume that a nanny can swim -- make sure to ask about it on the application and in the interview. I would recommend asking specific questions about swimming experience, not just "can you swim"?
Any nanny who lies about this is totally untrustworthy. I hope these parents find out the truth and fire this nanny -- she should never have allowed herself to be in this position if she was unable to properly care for their safety.
Real world here. Many employers require that their nanny swim. Even though they make take the children to beaches, clubs and parks where there are lifeguards. A nanny looking for a job, you are kidding me if you don't think there are nannies out there purporting to swim- butjust have never been tested! We have a pool in our backyard and pay for the nanny to take a "lesson" with a private instructor. And by lesson, I mean the instructor assesses her swimming skill. The best nannies are lifeguard certified through the Red Cross. I have a "friend" that has a nanny that does not swim and I am always shocked when I pull up and she is out shopping and the nanny is sitting in a chair by the side of the pool. Especially since there are no neighbors to scream for. Even kids that can swim hit their heads on the diving board and may need help out. I have seen it all. This is nothing to be lax about.
ReplyDeleteDing Ding DINGY- WRONG Little SMP
ReplyDelete"Or maybe they figured it woud be ok as long as they stayed in the shallow end and they had there swim wings on??" It doesn't matter which person decided "it would be okay". It IS NOT okay. This is why I don't let my children swim unless I or one of my representatives is present.
Why can't you people watch your own children instead of hiring someone and then complaining about it later? At least thoroughly check out the nanny you're going to hire. If you don't do that and you still can't handle watching your own kids, then you should have used a condom.
ReplyDeleteCan we keep the trailer trash off this blog? They don't know anything about being having nannies. A wetdream for them would be a nanny job.
ReplyDeleteI have never, ever applied for a nanny position where I wasn't asked at some stage -- application, interview, etc -- about my swimming skills. If the parents failed to ask this question during the application process or at least before sending them to the hotel pool, it was a major oversight. I hope that the kids, the nanny, or someone who observed this does tell them what occurred and that they realize what a dangerous omission this was. They need to reevaluate this nanny and decide whether she is a good fit for their family depending on how much time they spend in and around water.
ReplyDeleteIf they did ask, and she lied, she should be fired. Period.
That explains the misuse of the page. People who can afford to hire nannies DO have pools and do travel to places with pools and to beaches. To suggest otherwise is ignorant.
ReplyDeleteNot every nanny needs to or should know how to swim. This is NYC where I am-people don't have pools-swimming is not a big requirment here. Maybe if you live out in Cali-then yeah. But, no-not every nanny needs to know how to swim.
ReplyDeleteWhere does it say that the nanny was lying about not being able to swim?
ReplyDeleteWait, did Karen just say that she only lets her children swim when accompanied by either herself or one of her "representatives"?
ReplyDeleteI personally have worked for a family that just told me i would be taking their children swimming for their lessons and didnt even ask if i could swim. And I bet the nanny felt terrible.
ReplyDeletethe nanny "felt terrible"?
ReplyDeleteThe children thought she could swim. What about the child who asked why she didn't jump in? Don't you think that he felt terrible? Lulled in to a false sense of safety. She might as well have been giving them candy and trying to get them to climb in to a beat up van. Nannies like the one who responded above DO NO FAVORS for other nannies by posting their stupid comments. IT IS ABOUT THE CHILDREN.
Interesting comment from jm. Just goes to show how much all these lazy rich bitch snobs who sit around blogging and gossipping all day are doing it because it's "all about the children". Some of it is, alot of it isn't.
ReplyDeleteWow. A lot of the things people are saying towards the nanny are really REALLY harsh. Not just on this blog, but in general.
ReplyDeleteSome nannies can be careless, but in this case, it was a freak accident.
I am a nanny and I can't swim very well, I can tread water for a little while but that's it. The parents never asked me and the topic never came up, probably since they don't have a pool.
But, if on vacation, the parents asked me to take the kids to the shallow end of the pool at the hotel, I would have thought that if we stayed on the shallow end we would be fine. I often go in pools myself and stay on the shallow end. Of course, I would never have thought of the kid falling in to the deep end. Obviously even the parents didn't expect it and most people don't live life to avoid unlikely accidents.
I am great with kids and I love teaching but I am not very sporty. I am a cautious girl and I have always prevented the kids from gettng hurt...so far. But you can't plan for everything. I bet this poor nanny really felt horrible and was scared too. Kids aren't the only ones who get scared or get emotionally hurt. It's not all about the children - it's about Families - nannies included.
I really hated this post alot. Swimming safety is still so inderated in this country. Swimming means that you can SWIM in deep water. It means that you could dive down in the deep end and bring up a 20 lb brick. Otherwise, PLEASE dont say you know how to swim! You are putting people's lives in jeopardy. And if the parents you work for are not smart enough to ask you how well you swim, YOU Tell them.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if my last post made it up here, but I am a nanny. This is my first time speaking up (assuming I didn't duplicate) because I am starting to get upset and sad for some of the nannis, like this one. I am a nanny who is relatively in shape, but not very athletic. I can't swim very well, and haven't needed to supervise the kids in the pool. If asked to do so, I would tell the parents in advance that I do not swim that great. But if they said it was okay to supervise in the shallow end, and then something like this happened...then what? I would get blamed and reported by people on a web site? Some nannies on this site sound very mean, but this case sounds like it was a freak accident. I feel bad for the nanny more than anyone because she was probably scared, embarrassed and worried. I especially am angered by the annoymous post that questions the nanny felt terrible and said the boy felt terrible. GROW a heart! Only kids have feelings? A nanny is a person, not a super-hero who can prevent any and all accidents. I feel so sad for the nanny who is being talked about in this way.
ReplyDeleteaccidents?
ReplyDeleteCHildren should never ever go swimming without an experienced swimmer with them. My children were taught at an early age that they are never to get in the pool or go in the Ocean unless I know about it. I need to know WHO is watching my children. This is one thing you have to be diligent about. If you can't be, keep your kids out of the pool.