Received Sunday, October 1, 2006
Spent some time at the Building Zone Saturday & observed a child with his nanny. Very obvious were three things. 1) She was his nanny. 2) She was impatient and 3)He was in the middle of potty training. If you have been to this area you know it can be busy at times and you are in the thick with other children. The nanny stood off to the side for the most part. Every ten minutes or so, she would barge up into his space and pat his pants and ask him if he "wee weed". She took him to the restroom once after telling him "Now, no wee in your pants". Is this abusive? No. An absolute lack of tact and I was felt so bad for the child. How humiliating. If you don't think other kids looked at him funny, you are wrong! I could describe the nanny better as I spent a good deal of time glaring at her in an attempt to scare her straight, but if your nanny was there on Sat and your son is being potty trained, time to go over some subtle moves. Potty training should not cause the child's self esteem to be stomped on!
I can totally picture that. This is what happens when you hire a nanny of a different culture than you.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteThat is a tight area with all the kids there. Very embarassing for a child. I hope anyone who has a nanny handling potty training sees this and revisits what is appropriate or not in public! This is what gives a kid issues 10 and 20 years down the line.
ReplyDeleteplaying devil's advocate: what if this is the way that the parents taught the nanny to be in regards to his potty training?
ReplyDeleteWho would even SUGGEST such a thing? To humiliate a child? And does it even matter at that point? That is bad and horrid behavior and whether it was taught or learned, better to call it in to question. If the parents did set this nanny on the course for this dereliction of duty, then shame, shame on them.
ReplyDelete"I can totally picture that. This is what happens when you hire a nanny of a different culture than you."
ReplyDeleteWhat does that have to do with the whole situation? I am an au pair from another country, a different culture, and I would NEVER do that. Neither my friends, who are all au pairs, would. I think your assumptions are racist and very close minded. Coming from a different culture doesn't undermine your abilities regarding childcare. A child in Haiti deserves as much respect as an American, British, Southafrican or Iraqi child. Good and bad nannies/caregivers come in every color and speak any language, like just about everything else in life.
True, but different cultures handle things is some VERY different ways. Maybe the parents don't know enough about potty training to give instructions to the nanny how to handle it. Mine's not there yet, I haven't started to read books about it yet, I wouldn't have any suggestions at this point to give a nanny on how I'd want her or him to handle it. Yes, there are some male nannies!
ReplyDeleteGet real, guys. I don't think anyone two years old or younger even has a sense of being "embarrassed". Seriously.
ReplyDeleteKids who are being potty trained constantly need to be monitored and reminded...and if the kid was old enough to be embarrassed by the nanny's "reminders" then he is waaayyy too old to be in diapers.
as a nanny who has trained many children ,both boys and girls there are ways to monitor them with out having the other children look at him and make him feel like he is different then the others
ReplyDeleteBoth my daughters now 3 and 6 have been potty trained by age 2. I had to constantly monitor and remind them and put them on the potty every so often. It's not embarrassment. It's called potty training.
ReplyDelete