Received Monday, March 19, 2007
I was standing near the Larchmont train station at about 8:00 a.m. Your nanny had clearly just seen you off at the train with your adorable little daughter,aged two, or maybe a young three, dressed in a St.Louis cherry dress. Your nanny, I'm not sure if she's Filipino, Mexican, or some kind of mix, took a cellphone call and started jabbering in a foreign tongue while she stuffed a hot dog into your precious daughter's unwilling mouth. Your daughter tried her hardest to stop the hot dog force-feeding by clasping her hand over her own mouth while shouting, "No more hot dog!" The nanny responded by slapping your daughter's hand away from her mouth, and then PALMING the hot dog directly into her mouth. I marched up to the nanny and demanded she allow your daughter to spit out the unchewed hot dog onto the sidewalk. Your nanny does not speak sufficient English, even as I screamed and motioned vomiting by putting my own hand into my throat to simulate spitting out the hot dog. Your nanny did manage the words, "No lady, go! Go lady go!" She whirled the stroller around and headed toward the bagel shop, where I think she went in to meet a man. She left with him - an African American man about 30-ish with a goatee in an orange tracksuit. That was the last I saw of them. Please, I hope you can identify your nanny and find someone to translate proper feeding techniques to her. Your child looked so unhappy.
74 comments:
I , for one, am PRAYING that the mother sees this!!!!!......someone please tell me why ANYONE would put their child with a nanny that's speaks a foreign language???? I am so baffled by this website....I'm a licensed childcare provider in my home. I converse with the children and the children converse with each other all day long. I would think the child who is with a nanny who doesn't speak "sufficient" English all day would suffer developmentally. ????????????????
That's horrible. That woman force feeding the hotdog to the little girl what if she started to choke on it? I bet the Nanny wouldn't have known what to do. It's a good thing that you confronted her for what she did though.
oh wow, kudos to you OP for getting involved! thats awesome. I hope the parents see this posting.
a hot dog at 8AM?
Why would anyone ever feed a small child a nitrate filled piece of crap, let alone at 8 in the morning? And where did the alleged hotdog come from? Was the hotdog there when mama was there?
You should post a sign at the traing station to try and alert the mother. I'm assuming she is a regular commuter from there. Sounds like her child is in a dangerous situation.
I think this nanny needs to be strung up by her balls.
That said, Kate -- you need to broaden your universe.
I can think of many reasons why parents would leave a child with a speaker of a foreign language. Here are a couple of them:
1. maybe the parents speak the same language as the nanny
2. maybe the parent doesn't want their child to speak only 1 language like most of the citizens of this country.
Knowing a 2nd, 3rd, 4th language is awesome.
Signed,
mom of bilingual kids
mom of bilingual kidsm
kudos to you. but it is a cold and lonely thing to be left alone with someone who does not speak your language. There is no rationale for leaving your child with someone who does not speak the same language and understand your child.
GOOD FOR YOU..I AM SURE THIS BABY IS SUFFERING IN THIS WOMENS HANDS..THANK GOD FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU...
GOOD FOR YOU..I AM SURE THIS BABY IS SUFFERING IN THIS WOMENS HANDS..THANK GOD FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU...
Perhaps it seems cold and lonely to Americans, my friend, who think that babies are born to speak English and English alone. It's a pathetic attitude.
When your child came out of the womb, was he or she speaking fluent English? Of course not. English was just as foreign as Chinese, no?
What is wrong with an infant being exposed to 1 language from her parents, and 1 from her nanny?
Both of my kids started learning their 2nd language at about 5 months of age.
There is nothing cold or lonely about either child. They are both happy, developmentally advanced young ladies who have a skill that will pay off time and time again.
Incidently, my nanny speaks English as well (she is college educated), even though my husband and I both speak their native tongue. I tell her not to use English though. English from mom and dad, other language from nanny.
Works like a charm!
I highly recommend it. Don't wait until highschool to learn a 2nd language! It doesn't work for most Americans!
Can you print your posting, date it, and hang it in a couple of places at the Larchmont station? It is a small community and with luck the mother will see it! I hope she does! Thank you for taking action to stop what was happening!
2:17
why do I get the feeling your "nanny" washes your unmentionables and is always wrestling with tile mold?
Are you kidding, 5:03? My nanny's job is to watch my kids. No cleaning required. She is only asked to leave the home at night as she found it in the morning. No tile mold for her. Or a cleaning lady. Tile mold is my 2nd job. My late night job, if you will.
Are you daft, 2:17? I suspect Kate was speaking of nannies who speak ONLY THEIR foreign language and not the native language of the child. How can such nannies teach a child to be bilingual when they cannot speak the language of the young child? Is that the "total immersion" theory? If so, I don't think it fits the needs of a child.
Hiring a nanny who speaks adequate English and a foreign language as could well be an asset. There is a big difference between such a nanny one one with whom the child simply cannot communicate his or her needs.
Hey, Budlight. It's a wee bit too early in the day to have your brain pickled already. And, St. Pat's Day is over.
was that an all-beef hotdog, do you know?
if you know someone who lives or works in larchmont, if you eat at a certain deli in larchmont or buy cookies in larchmont, email this to them! let's work on the follow through of these posts! And make sure they reach their intended! And yes, the train station post should be posted at the train station.
for shame
You're the one that is daft.
"How can such nannies teach a child to be bilingual when they cannot speak the language of the young child?"
Since most children begin with nannies in infancy, they don't have an official language yet. Ask your pediatrician, love bug.
And no one here can say whether or not that nanny spoke English. She might have oretended not to speak English after she got busted by the OP. Kate was making an assumption, and has already told us that she has something against nannies.
I don't think the moral of this story was kids not learning more than 1 language. its kids that don't speak a second language and their nanny who doesn't speak good English(which is the language for the USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) DID WE FORGET THAT????
ANYHOW, WHY WAS THE KID GIVEN A HOTDOG AT 8AM???!!!!!
People who claim they hire "nannies" who speak a different language have a volume of puffy excuses that attempt to make theyselves shine like they have real sense.
This is the United States.
You complain all the time about HJamaican nannies but one thing is for sure, a Jamaican nanny walking down the street can speak English. She can get help in an emergency.
It's just stupid to use a non english person to take care of your kid. You expect the United States to provide cops and 911 to speak to your non english speaking nanny?
I don't think so!
The reality is, most of the "nannies" who speak very little English are illegal, poorly educated, and desperate for jobs. They are hired because they will clean, work long hours for poor salaries, and are easily taken advantage of. Employers rationalize their choice as giving their child a second language.
If you really want your child to learn a language, hire a college graduate, who will model correct grammar and syntax in that language.
This is the mom of 2 bilingual kids. As I already mentioned, my nanny is college educated and holds a BA degree. She does not clean. She is studying for her masters. She speaks 3 languages. She is paid market rate.
My husband's family is from her former country, so it's good for the kids to know the language of their grandparents and their father.
Lastly, my nanny has a greencard.
ALL of your assumptions are wrong in my case.
I would re-examine your xenophobic nature. Children should know another language besides English. I'm happy mine do!
Praytell, what third world country is your greencard nanny's degree from? What is it she studied?
The investigative firm I have used for years to perform background checks on employees; both work and home has cautioned me not to ever (read never) employ foreign nannies. Their backgrounds are usually works of fantasy and fiction.
Nothing is verifiable and there is no way to access their criminal history.
And as long as your trilingual nanny speaks English, I have no problem with her.
Good for you OP for taking action. I don't understand having a nanny who couldn't even ask for help after making the child choke. I personally could never go to live and work in another country without learning the language. It's only polite, to say the least.
This discussion thread has degraded into a debate over language differences. You're all missing the point--this is borderline abuse in any language and not the way a mother would want her child treated. Anyone reading this who uses the Larchmont train station PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE print this out and post it all over the place.
WELL, MAYBE NEXT TIME LITTLE GIRL'S PARENTS WON'T BE SO CHEAP AND SPEND MORE MONEY ON WRIGHT NANNY!!!
12:33,
are you available?
Can I hire you?
I can tell by your use of all caps that you are a lazy woman (used to rage and yelling). And I applaud the English skill you demonstrate. Mad props for your spelling of the word "wright".
Thank you for illustrating one of the many roadblocks I have come to in my ongoing search to find someone who can properly guide my second grader with his homework.
Three explanation marks !!!
12:37 i think it is interesting that you mock 12:33's spelling and grammar, and don't understand that this: ! is an exclamation point
"explanation marks"
is what the last nanny I had called exclamation marks. And that's one of the only three punctuation marks she KNEW.
I loathe stupid people.
ACTION ALERT. Myself and two other moms will be at Lar. station at 7am on Wednesday morning to post signs and look for this beastly woman to confront her and the child's mother about their dangerous choices. Please join us for a morning of justice, song, and silent, non-denominational prayer.
Through God, we will save this child from future trauma.
YOU are awesome.
I always heard that Larchmont Moms kicked ass!
10:29 I am just curious, if we, immigrants, hold degrees from third world countries, where did you come from? Because, unless you are a Native American, you might have popped out of a forth world country, who knows...
well i have a housekeeper from argentina who's husband was a microbiologist in argentina and he is a janitor in the bronx here. The degrees don't transfer with the same merit.
and I love the idea of the posters on the welcome section. is that for the larchmont mommies?
So many xenophobic assumptions. My nanny's credentials are real, as evidenced by her soon-to-be-gotten masters degree from NYU and the fact that my husband's family abroad has known her for 15 years.
Back to the post:
Yay, Larchmont mommies! I wish I could be there!!!!!! Good for you for taking charge. My heroes.
Shame on you!! I have a VERY strong belief that this is a fake post. Why was the girl wearing a spring/summer dress in the middle of winter - a dress that was featured in this weekend's NY Times. Where is this so called bagel store - I live in Larchmont and there is no store in eyesight of the train platform. Shame on you if this is a fake. You have gotten everyone concerned and called to action. Maybe now when a child really is neglected/abused no one will come to their help because people like you have made us think it is a lie. I hope you can live with this! I know I would not be able to.
Hi, I commend you for what you did. I would have done the same thing if I was there.
I am a Filipino living in White Plains and had worked as a nanny before. I have treated the baby as my own...and up to this time I still visit the boy in Manhattan or call him to see how he is doing. I met a lot of Filipino nanny and about 95% of these nannies are professional in the Philippines. They work as a nanny (normally when they first arrive in the U.S) because they don't have a choice. There may be some who are uneducated, older people who came from the province and were petitioned by relatives to come over...but they are not too many. In general, Filipinos are caring and loving people especially toward children/babies. My former employer prepared a Letter of Recommendation for me just in case I want to baby sit again. I never thought she observed and appreciated what I have done to her son (the 4th child) not only as a nanny but as an educator.
If that nanny has a hard time speaking English, 99.9% she is not a Filipino. Even the fish vendor in the Philippines can speak (may not be articulate) English. We have English in our curriculum from Pre-K...up.
I hope mothers are careful who they hire to take care of their jewels. Sometimes if you want to pay a cheap price for nannies, then you get what you paid for.
Do not ask for whom the bell tolls...
You do realize your post does not make sense. the summer dress, the time of day, the hotdog for bfk, the weekend and yet the mom was commuting.
You have a lot of time on your hands and are some sort of unbalanced saboteur. Are you the stalker? Do you respond to your own posts too? Get help.
Actually the post was at 9:25am on a Monday morning. If this was a fake, the Larchmont mommies won't find the mother involved. If it was real, they likely will find her since most rush hour passengers on Metro-North are regular daily commuters. Good for you mommies for caring enough to get involved!
Actually the post was at 9:25am on a Monday morning. If this was a fake, the Larchmont mommies won't find the mother involved. If it was real, they likely will find her since most rush hour passengers on Metro-North are regular daily commuters. Good for you mommies for caring enough to get involved!
The post is actually 9:25am on Monday morning. If this is a fake, the mommies won't find the child's mother. If it is real, they likely will since most Metro-North morning passengers are regular commuters. Good for you mommies for caring enough to get involved.
If this post is fake, does that mean that the ISB post about the "kept man" in designer trunks is fake?
I actually think (hope) that the Larchmont mommies Action Alert post is a fake due to the following bit:
"Please join us for a morning of justice, song, and silent, non-denominational prayer.
Through God, we will save this child from future trauma. "
And when I read the post the first time, I had my doubts whether it was real/fake due to the same kind of colorful language and the weird points like where did the hot dog come from, and the knowing the specific brand of dress, etc. Now someone says there is no bagel store. But I went with it and decided to assume it was true because even fake posts can be helpful. It got someone to generate that poster format, right?
But could the fake authors please leave it alone? There's already enough crap in the world and enough kids in danger to worry about a false one.
And MRG - you rock!!!
I don't know if you all remember this but Snuffalupucus (sp) on Sesame Street used to be invisible to adults and only seen by children. Because this suggested that things kids experience were not real to adults like child sexual abuse, they changed Snuffy and made him a character seen by all. So to anyone who post a fake blog, why do something so stupid? Are you drunk or stupid? Or both?
This calls in question the legitimacy of actual posts where children are being abused. Or maybe that was your intention, to make sure NO one believed the posts on here. Perhaps you have something to hide!
11:50 I loved Snuffy! I was so happy when he "came out". Nice example.
Now you have me all bummed out. I thought this nanny was going to be snagged. :0(
I did not think the original post is fake (and I still don't). It was posted Monday and seemed to refer to an incident that happened Monday morning at 8am.
The Kearns Deli is right above the Larchmont station. One could easily refer to it as a bagel store! It sells bagels and has a huge breakfast crowd. Although it is technically a deli, calling it a bagel store seems reasonable. When I read the original post, I understood the poster to mean the Kearns Deli.
The post that seems fake is the one that says mommies would meet at 7am, because of the strange concluding comments "please join us for a morning of justice, song & non-denominational prayer." That has got to be a joke.
Still, I'd like to know if the OP was able to post a copy of the original posting at the train station. It should be posted at the Kearns Deli too! Maybe the OP can ask the Kearnses (owners) if they might know the family.
This is not about the nanny not being able to speak English. This is about an incompetent nanny. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a nanny who does not speak English. As a matter of fact, I think it's wonderful. I would love to have a nanny who speaks another language so that my children will learn a second languague.
The issue here, however, is a nanny who doesn't seem to be very nice or caring. It's unbelievable that she would think it's okay to feed a child a hot dog in the morning. And even more unbelievable that she would forcefeed her.
If I were the woman who saw this happening I would find a way to bring this to the parents attention. This little girl deserves better. It's obvious that this nanny is only interested in her weekly paycheck and not the child's well-being.
5:45 You are daft. Have you ever been in the care of someone you cannot understand at a young age? That must be a nightmare. This seemed to be the case with this child, as the situation was described. Also, if the nanny pretended NOT to speak English, that's a real bad sign, idiot. Ask Immigration. Katie, btw, was ok by me.
The issue here is an alleged post of a nanny mistreating her charge. I certainly hope no one would jeopardize past & future children in deed by having a laugh with a fake post. The Larchmont mommies who were going to "storm the station" I thought was supposed to be amusing. And it was.
I cannot exit this post without mentioning the contempt I have for these liberal scumbags who think it is cool, trendy or somehow wonderful to leave their young child with someone who doesn't speak English. It is not acceptable and is in my opinions child abuse. Billingual and trilingual-now that's an assett.
I am just tired of wasting so much of my day compromising to deal with the leftist agenda.
We speak English in the United States. Speak whatever else you want to speak, but be damn sure you can speak English IN ADDITION TO.
6-15, " We speak English in the United States. Speak whatever else you want to speak, but be damn sure you can speak English IN ADDITION TO." ...The United States has NO official language at federal level.
4:06:
Yes. I was left in care of my non-English speaking (Polish) grandparents and guess what? I survived. Unlike you, I am all the better for it. It's sick how many Americans are xenophobes. It's sick how many of you think English is the only language.
Again, ask a pediatrician whether or not a 2nd or 3rd language is harmful to an infant.
Only a daft person such as yourself would think that infants come out of the womb understanding English.
It's laughable!
Again, proud to have bilingual kids!
OK, well someone didn't take courses on nutrition, because hot dogs aren't recommended for children under age 2.
The hotdog maybe came from home, and delis do sell bagels. The child could've choked on the hot dog and the nanny wouldn't have known what to do.
OP:I would've hit the nanny with the hot dog!
Okay, I guess you learned a new word. Congrats on mastering xenophobe. Having said that and with all due respect to the upbringing you had at the hands of your polish grandparents, times have changed. No, the US does not have an official language. And what a shame. I am talking about people that you hire. People that come to the United States to realize the American Dream (that was built on the backs of the American working class, all of whom were at one time immigrants but who eased in to society with pride and took great pleasure in learning English). If you cannot learn the language of English, go elsewhere.The American Dream is not for you. Too many people have worked too damn hard for a chosen few to come over and assume it.
And finally, I reside in Scarsdale, New York. I don't know anyone in my circle who leaves their children with women who cannot speak English. But never your mind, when your idiot nanny has an emergency and your child needs help, we'll all come running to help. We'll even allow the 911 operator boards to be jammed finding someone who can understand the wench, not too mention people to arrive on the scene and understand her ramblings so as to know whether your child has allergies.
Ah, she's Polish. That explains much. She doesn't get the point. A nanny who speaks little or no English and is taking care of a child who is an American citizen and who speaks
English, per the post, is about as useful as teats on a boar. I saw no post that objected to being bi-lingual. This nanny wasn't however and she was abusive.
I also wondered if the post was fake because it was a very cold day, and in order to identify the Cherry Dress (about which there was an article in the NY Times last Sunday), the child would have been without a coat, which the OP did not mention.
maybe the nanny was taking the child to meet with a photographer? hence the dress? The "black" man in the track suit?
I don't think the black man in the track suit was a photog. Duh...
6:15 I am a nanny in NYC, for a family with children at a tt private school. It is my experience that most of the housekeepers and nannies I meet who speak little or no English are employed by very wealthy and conservative families.
I work for a family of your "liberal scum bags" who hired me because I am a college grad. and can help with homework.
A nanny
Sacrsdale -- now it all makes sense. The husbands can read there, but evidently not the wives. My nanny DOES speak English (as I wrote above), we just ask her not to. It makes sense that she can call 911 if she's getting her masters at NYU, no? Or maybe it doesn't make sense to you.
you ask your nanny not to speak English. How wonderfully comforting for your innocent child.
Idiot.
I wonder what else she asked not to do in this weird household?
I don't know what corner of Scarsdale that poster comes from. In my area of Scarsdale there are many families where the nannies as well as the children and one or both parents do not speak English. In my daughter's kindergarten class, there are children who speak Japanese, Chinese, French, German and Spanish and are just learning English now. One of my neighbor's nanny only speaks French, another only speaks Spanish. My wonderful nanny speaks mostly Spanish. She knows English far better than I know Spanish and my kids have never have an issue communicating with her, but she prefers her native tongue. My daughter will begin learning Spanish as part of the first grade curriculum next year. It should help she's already been exposed to the language by our nanny. By the way, my nanny IS a citizen of the United States, born and raised in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. English speaking does not equal qualified or intelligent.
5:08:
You obviously come from the part of Scarsdale where people are not xenophobic freaks. I embrace you for that. Come by anytime with that lucky daughter of yours.
Good job.
I think it is great for a child to learn another language, and I am an early childhood educator who enjoys teaching American children Spanish and Portuguese. That being said, this nanny sounds horrible, but not because she speaks another language. Because she sounds crazy!! One should never force a child to eat. And no, to 5:08, just because a nanny speaks English doesn't make her qualified or intelligent! I once worked with a woman and she used to swear at the babies and try to force them to eat. She would literally say to a five month old "open your f-ing mouth." This was at an accredited, licensed daycare and although I complained about her on numerous occasions, she was the director's sister so nothing ever happened to her. I finally left the place and now I have my own daycare.
Some people just shouldn't work with kids, plain and simple. But diversity, including in language, is very important and good for children. At least I think so.
Scarsdale Mom,
If you and your daughter accept a playdate with 9:39, please do us all a favor and instead of bringing the customary plate of crumpets or cookies, bring her a damn thesaurus.
I can't think of one poster herein who even remotely suggested that diversity or that being bilingual was a bad thing, so get over yourselves, especially 9:39 and the United Nations Scarsdale Mom. My suggestion is that Scarsdale mom bring not only a thesaurus for the other mom, but a brain, too.
I must say that you are the herion of the year. Stop those bad nannies. I keep telling you people to Revoke the Visa. All you are doing by employing these people is condoning the immigration of illegal immigrants.
For that other person, your poor children will never be able to communicate with you because you let the nanny speak to them in spanish or whatever. ESL is all on you baby. How common and embarrassing!
sprak:
You're reading comprehension isn't up to par, partner.
I can read just fine, pal. Some drama queens have made much more out of this than was the point of the original poster, which was that a child was being treated in an abysmal manner by a foreign nanny-brute who spoke little or no English. I just choose to not consider stupid, off topic, or nonsensical posts such as yours.
Xen:
Well, you evidently considered it enough the respond twice!
Well I did not say I wouldn't *comment* on a stupid post, or an off-topic post or even a nonsensical post, now did I? What I simply cannot do, is to consider them to be of any value. Cheers.
You go Sprak!
what education philipinos have ? they claim they are educated ? in truth the come from villages they are cunning they hate kids . i urge u all to distrust philipinos and to fire them . they should be house cleaners only
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