Saturday

Getting in to a Cab on 57th & 6th. in NYC

Received Saturday, April 21, 2007
Physical description of caregiver: Hair net on her head. Medium colored brown hair, short looking. Medium height and weight. Navy light weight jacket with white lining.
Physical description of involved child/children:Two children: One was a baby of about 6-10 months. She had dark, dark curly hair and very fair skin. (a lot of hair for her age). She was wearing a cream colored fleece. Then there was a little boy of maybe 3 who had same coloring but straight, dark hair. He was wearing a two toned blue fleece, dark pants & black tennis shoes.
Address or venue of observed incident: This was at 57th & 6th. They were getting into the back of a cab that was heading towards the park.
Date and time of incident: This was at about 3 on Friday.
Detailed description of what you witnessed: The nanny had no patience and was yelling at the boy. She had an accent I couldn't decipher, perhaps Slavic? She was yelling at the boy who was only about three to do this and do that so she could fold the stroller. The boy of course didn't know what she was talking about and the nanny got very angry. She yelled at him to get in the cab, by then the cab driver was helping her with the stroller which was a very lightweight looking stroller with a dark blue hammock type of seat and a green frame. The nanny wanted the stroller in the backseat with her and jammed it in the backseat and yelled at the boy to "move it". She made a lot of disgusted sounds like "Urghhhh" and "Arghhhh". Then nanny climbs in back seat with the little girl. No car seat. She was just so rough, even in the way she naturally moved. Little girl's head was bobbing all over the place. Not a soothing, normal or kind word was said to either child during this entire exchange-which if you are nanny in NYC must be fairly ordinary.
Description of vehicle, bag, stroller that may aid in identifying involved caregiver:
Yes the stroller which had the green frame and blue hammock like seat. It was lightweight. Nanny also carried a pastel, plaid diaper bag or carry all.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

you had me at 'hairnet'. What the?

Anonymous said...

no car seat? Whoa. Not acceptable and that's just the tip of the iceberg here. There are stroller/car seat combos which should have been used here and could have been used for the baby and later on as needed.

Anonymous said...

no car seat? Whoa. Not acceptable and that's just the tip of the iceberg here. There are stroller/car seat combos which should have been used here and could have been used in the taxi for the baby and later on as needed. However, in the case of the three year old, he may have needed a car seat also. Everything about this sighting is bad.

Anonymous said...

She may be a bad tempered nanny, but it is the parents responsibility to provide safe transportation, taking a cab with no car seats for two children is very dangerous.

Anonymous said...

11:02-my loud cackling caused DH to rumbles "Jeezus" at me (then roll over and bury his head in a pillow).

Anonymous said...

I agree that there is a risk involved with taking children in a vehicle without proper safety seats. That fact, however, doesn't stop about 95% of New York families from doing it every day. Frequently, in my job I ride with a 4-year-old and a two-year-old for short rides in cabs. I strap the 4-year-old into a seat belt and I hold the 2-year-old in my lap and I wear a seat belt.

It's always very frustrating to orchestrate a cab ride. I have to fold up the stroller, which means I can't hold the 2-year-old. I'm forced to leave him standing holding his brother's hand on the sidewalk while I fold and stow the stroller. It might be safer to put them into the cab first and then load the stroller, but I have a terrible fear of the cab driver driving off with the kids while I'm outside the vehicle. So they wait on the street and I go as fast as humanly possible. Then I help each kid in and struggle with belts, often while the driver has taken off, despite my asking him not to until we're settled.

I'm not going to even go into what it's like when I have all four kids (ages 2, 4, 7 and 9) and we're trying to get across town to make a piano lesson after school and everyone is feeling cranky.

If the kids are behaving perfectly, this is still a difficult situation, and when they're acting up it makes it all the more stressful. On days when patience is in short supply, I can imagine that it might be easy for someone to lose their temper enough to say something relatively benign like, "Move it" to a kid.

If this nanny behaves like this all the time, that she's not someone I'd really want to waste much time defending, but if this is an isolated incident, I don't think it's so terrible.

That is, of course, only one nanny's opinion.

Anonymous said...

Dear Annie,
I do certainly hope you are one of those nannies who makes more than 1,000 a week!

Anonymous said...

I agree with Annie if it is an isolated incident then its not so terrible! Come on MOMS as if you don't get stressed out at your kids and quite possibly say even worse things to them than 'move it'!!

Anonymous said...

nice format.
if you get that stressed out in doing an ordinary job task of being a ny nanny that you have to take it out on a 3 yr old little guy, DONT WORK AS A NANNY!

Anonymous said...

this is for 1:43 PM I had the same problem. what I normally do is put the kids in and seatbelt them in, but I leave the door open while I fold the stroller. Or sometimes i just fold the stroller first.

Anonymous said...

1:53, I can't help but disagree. Nannies are human, and it's unreasonable to believe they won't every once and a while get snippy. There's a big difference between losing your cool and saying something a bit forceful (like this post describes) and losing your cool and saying something hurtful, abusive, obscene, etc. The latter type of person should never be a nanny, yes, but the former is a description of just about every parent, teacher, childcare worker, and human being I've ever known.

Even Mary Poppins got frustrated now and then, she just had that lovely accent to help everything sound better, oh and the spoonful of sugar.

Anonymous said...

Wait, I'm still dying to know how much money Annie makes?!?!

Anonymous said...

What is the law on cab rides with kids? I know myself and everyone else I know rides without a car seat; is it against the law? Cabbies don't care, neither do car services.

Anonymous said...

I don't know whether I'm being silly or not to feel I should be discreet about my salary on a website like this, since it's all basically anonymous, but it seems odd to say exactly what I make. I am picky about the people I work for (and I wish every nanny could be) and money is by no means the most important thing about my job.

That being said, I am paid an hourly amount which, depending on the family's schedule, sometimes adds up to more than $1000/week. More importantly I get full benefits and am on the books so my workers comp & social security are paid by my family as well.

(I hope that by answering this question I'm not exposing myself to commenters who will say I'm making this nanny sighting all about me, that wasn't my intention.)

Anonymous said...

Annie sounds like an exception and I say that not based on her salary but her coherent and thoughtful responses.
Do you ever find it odd that some nannies who bring nothing to the table seem to end up with a position that pays 800 week (or more), with full benefits?
Sometimes I get the feeling that once a family goes through the "hassle" of hiring a nanny, it's a done deal and they aren't going to fire her- no matter what.
Obviously she couldn't hurt the kids but she could get away with so much else. Every year these nannies get another raise and every year they do less and less for the families they work for. What is that about?

Anonymous said...

Maybe cabs should have a car seat in the trunk for when it's needed.

Anonymous said...

hollah if you know me said...
Yes, I know you. You are one of the people who turn every post into a nanny bashing rant, that has nothing to do with the original issue.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps off topic but this is what I do with 3 kids: put them in, buckle them, leave cab door open, sit down in cab with door open w/ my body facing out, fold stroller and tuck it in with us.

Anonymous said...

"Annie sounds like an exception and I say that not based on her salary but her coherent and thoughtful responses." So in other words, most nannies are thoughtless and incoherent? Nice. It must be nice to be so perfect, and able to pass judgment so freely and broadly.

Anonymous said...

I am no fan of nanies. I have seen way too much. If you are a nanny, perhaps I have offended you by citing Annie as an exception.


Why not look for the positive? That by example of a positive force, I embrace that there are great nannies out there.

I am used to seeing mediocre and downright shabbby. And I don't mean in a chic way.

Anonymous said...

It is legal for a child of any age to ride in a taxi with no car seat (not saying that it's SAFE... but it is legal). If you call a car service, you can pretty much always request a car seat.