Received Tuesday, May 22, 2007
This occurred late afternoon on Monday. A white nanny, with shoulder length hair, wearing a grey hoody with red designs on it and blue jeans was chasing her charge, a little boy around the playground. The nanny was up on the equipment running from one red hut through the next on the ramps. She was climbing up and down the ladders. There were not that many other children at the park at that time. My 7 year old son stopped what he was doing and just looked at her. Although the boy seemed to be having fun; possibly used to the the nanny's behavior. The nanny's behavior was off. The child she was watching did not seem to be special needs. He was about 6 years old, curly brownish hair, green eyes, l/s grey t-shirt style shirt with a print on it and khaki colored cargos. I know I am not putting this in to words correctly, but for my child to stop playing on the playground and stand off to the side just staring- something was off. The nanny was growling and running, which could seem fun, except that she seemed so frenzied, so aggressive that I just got the sense she was either on something or mentally imbalanced.
59 comments:
It's called playing with children. Perhaps you are so removed from it you don't recognize it anymore.
I know exactly what you saw. The nanny was frightening. I think the boy's name was Jeremy, although when she called him, it sounded more like "germy". I think that children have great gages when it comes to behavior and we LEFT this playground at 5:45 because of this person. She didn't build up to this level of play, either. She arrived on the scene and started playing like this. Barking, hissing, etc. This wasn't their own back yard- this is a public park. I would have nanny drug tested ASAP. While I don't deny she had a ton of energy, she actually made the bench sitting nannies look like a better bet.
Every year, more than 200,000 children receive treatment in hospital emergency rooms due to playground accidents, according to the National Program for Playground Safety.
Heaven forbid that someone actually play with the child rather than ignore them.
Seriously people i am so glad you are not my parents cause all your kids are going to be so neurotic and crazy i will be suprised if they don't start hissing and barking. This site is horrible, if you hate your nanny stay at home.
I know the nanny you are talking about, too. She is Serbian. You might not know it but this is a very common child's game in that part of the world called something to the effect of "Fun with a Tiger". Pretty harmless stuff.
Um, sounds like the woman was playing with the child. Your son probably was so stunned because he had never seen a grown woman play with a kid before. Says a lot more about you than about the nanny.
And how do you know it was a nanny anyway, and not the child's mother?
Why don't you play with your own child instead of watching other people's nannies? Dear Lord...
http://gawker.com/news/the-help/upper-east-side-nannywatch-262524.php
Are you kidding me? I make noises when I play with the kids I work for all the time, it's called make-believe!
obviously your son was stunned to see someone actually play with a child. this must be a foreign concept to the two of you.
instead of worrying about others, did you ever think of actually playing with your son?
Wow. I'm sure glad none of you were my mother. Don't be surprised when your child grows up and rejects you in the same frigid and judgemental way.
Oh, and BTW; You're currently the laughing-stock at Gawker. Have a nice and perfectly composed day.
http://gawker.com/news/the-help/upper-east-side-nannywatch-262524.php
OP:
Is it possible that you never let your hair down in front of your kid, and that is why the nanny's behavior seems odd to you?
My kids love to play growl/hiss/chase.
Jesus. Somebody find the woman who posted this rant and sterilize her. The world has enough dumb fucks as it is. By the way, your stupidity is being mocked on Gawker.com
Are you serious? This woman (and who said she's the nanny? Couldn't she be the mother or an aunt?) is playing with the child. No, it's not her backyard because last time I checked, this is NYC and public parks are where children PLAY. It's refreshing to see someone engaged with a kid, rather than sitting on the bench gathering notes on other people. Your child was probably stunned because it was the first time he saw an adult interacting with a kid on a fun level. Stop judging other people.
Sounds like just playing to me.
So...nannies can not sit around on a bench at a playground, but they can not play with the children either. MAybe the situation was more severe than it seems in the post but really I see nothing wring with this. Ny kids always want me to play around with them and pretend I am a pony, dog, snake, etc... Now I would feel stupid doing it in the public park, but I don't think this is a display of a child being abused or in danger.
i dont know what to think, perhaps she was just playing? seriously people, this is becoming to be too much!
Too many Red Bulls?
How convenient that after the OP is criticised another "mother" reports the same thing.
Smells fishy.
I think I have seen this nanny- maybe. If she hangs out an the Diana Ross playground and also watches a little girl named Leila or Lila. The nanny was having lunch with the children and she had cheez puff on a paper plate and ate them without her hands. Then she held the paper plate up for the boy to refill with paper plates. I can see where it could be fun, but at some point- it is just plain crazy. I dont know that it was the same nanny. She was thin, had a pony tail and was white with brown hair. Don't remember much else about her except a lot of people were wrinking their noses up at her. Like, WTF?
YOU CANNOT MAKE THOSE BENCH SITTING NANNIES LOOK BETTER! I DON'T CARE IF THE NANNY IS SETTING OFF FIREWORKS ATOP THE METAL SLIDE, IT's BETTER THAN THE APATHETIC GRUNTS ON THE SIDELINES!
Was the boy running around crazy? Did the nanny every yell at him? I saw a sharp nanny there today. After she screamed the pants off the child she went and got herself a hot dog.
She was not a nice nanny.
Raise. Your. Own. Children.
If we raised our own children, wouldn't the economy collapse?
Are these women employable in many other venues? Not 95% of the nannies!
PS A barking nanny sounds like loads of fun.
We have a game in America called Pat the Pony. Maybe that was it.
A nanny who can run and climb without going into cardiac arrest is a good thing. WTF is wrong with you? I'll hire her if my current nanny moves on. Bet. Serbs can shoot an apple from like 10,000 feet away, you know. I'd tell your son not to stare too hard next time or she'll know you're that freaky I SAW YOUR NANNY poster.
1:59- incredibly offensive, can't believe that made it past. 4:56- Why are you even on this site??
Did you just say 95% of nannies could not do anything other than be a nanny? Screw you A-hole, I choose it because I love getting paid to spend my day with a child and some day I will choose to stay at home with my own children, not because I have to but because I want to. I've had an office job and it was life suckingly boring.
She sounds like the perfect nanny for a six year old boy!
5:46- 1:59 was NOT offensive, she was just honest!
There is nothing wrong with this nanny, you should try PLAYING with your child instead of PLAYING with your blackberry ;-)
Damn I think I am going to drop my kid off at DSS because I make noises when I am reading her a story. Just last night I was reading the 3 little pigs (because we just saw Shrek 3) and I snorted like a pig and growled like the big bad wolf. I also made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and we had homemade chocolate cupcakes. I am making an appointment next week to get my tubes tied because I don't think I am fit to be a parent AGAIN!! I read to my kids, I cook dinner everynight, I mean the nerve of me......
r u crazy im sorry for your son, he obviously needs someone to play with and was probably longing to join in with them. i feel for him and think you need a therapy session on how to play with YOUR son and stop being jealous of harmless play between a great nanny and her charge. god forbid tomorrow you go skulking through the playground and see another nanny actually having fun again. man oh man
Harmless? I see red flags here.
OP, are you kidding me! Any fun nanny knows just how much fun it is to chase the kids around and play monster. It's better than going to the gym. I LOVE IT!, and I think it is a good thing as long as nobody gets hurt. Try building a fort in the living room out of sheets (yes the fancy sheets) and cardbord, and pretend to be a bulldozer and crash through the whole thing. Oh, and my favorite - TAG! It's the bench nannies that are high on something, not a fun loving nanny.
7:36PM: My side hurts from laughing so much. You are hilarious!
This wasn't a nanny. It is the Coyote from Middleton, New Jersey. The next time you see him/her, please call 3-1-1.
Thank you.
Was she a rather large, brusk British nanny, by chance? She's been written about before.
I think that mom has been sniffing her kids glue again. Gimmie a break. Are you stupid? Put down the pipe and pick up a book lady!
OP: You had better watch that this nanny doesn't attack you and your son next time. With all that hissing and growling, she may be carrying a disease. Maybe you should capture her and take her for a rabies shot.
I tell you, being a nanny must be one of the hardest jobs in the world: Snots get on here and bitch if you don't play with your charges at the playground, and now they are bitching if you do. I guess that is one of those things were you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.
7:36 - I will see you at the doctor's office and at DSS. I apparently also need to be sure I do not have anymore children as I now see it is wrong for me to make storytime enjoyable and heaven forbid we get on the floor and play trucks or barbies with the children again. What time are you going there, we can support each other. lol
OP: Do you really think this nanny was "on something" as in an illegal substance? If so, do you think you could score some of it on the UES? I'd love to get some for me, my husband and our babysitters.
You could email me at ilikemykidstoplayandbeactive@commonsense.com
Thanks!
Okay, so let me get this straight,
barking nanny= good.
10:32 - I love it! Share some with me!
1036..would you rather her sit on the bench with a cell phone glued to her ear ya freakin wuss???????????Get up off your ass and play with your kids!!!!!!!!
"Barking nanny" probably IS good. This may astonish some of you, but many children actually enjoy playing games where people pretend to be animals.
I know that your precious Olivias and Henrys only like to play Hedge Fund, but the children of sane people like to run around and make noise.
There's definitely some "special needs" going on, but it's not the nanny.
Hedge Fund!! LOL
Watch out they don't get paper cuts from those spread sheets!
I think most of the comments were made by people who absolutely missed the point
oh I got the point and I shudder to think it is THAT hard to find a nanny who is somewhere in the middle of being a comatose geriatric patient and a frenzied crack head.
Is it that HARD to find a NORMAL nanny? You know the kind? They respond to crying children, don't pull hair, drag children by wrists or threaten children's goldfish with harm for "telling".
The point is the child "seemed to be having fun."
That means she is a good nanny and the woman who was complaining is an uptight moron.
Isn't it a good thing to play with the kids? You would really find me insane, I actually climb on the toys...the nerve! haha The girl I care for prefers to be played with and not ignored..what a concept. If I don't climb on the toys and jsut stand their watching/helping her and even talking with her she gets upset and asks me to come slide etc. She also likes to play make believe and that has involved crawling in the grass at a park, collecting rocks in a basket, and singing songs while other people were around just to name a few... I never imagined that people would actually find this behavior negative! I thought an involved nanny was a good thing! Don't you all play with your children! Poor kids...
p.s- Some of these are just ridiculous and some of you people are just overly paranoid.
p.p.s-How do you always know it's the nanny and not the parent? A lot of people mistake me for my charges parent and I have to correct them that I am in fact the nanny.
Oh my god, think of when you were a kid. Didn't you ever pretend to be animals with your friends or siblings? The kid seemed to be having fun, meaning this woman is a good nanny. I'm a nanny and I've climbed all over jungle gyms with the kids, I've walked around in public with the kids when we have stickers all over our faces (including myself) because they think it's great, they think it's fun and they love it. I've once even initiated a situation where I was with a little boy on a playground and told him we were on a pirate ship because the poor kid had NO imagination and would always just sit there, I think it was a result of home schooling along with owning NO toys except for electronical stuff like batteries and motors (not kidding, he was totally lacking necessary social skills). He loved being on a pirate ship and had never done anything like it before and wanted me to help him do it again the next time I babysat for him. Kids like to have fun, and it's stimulating for their brain development to pretend.
ARE YOU STUPID? I hope you don't live near me cause you would have me arrested in half an hour for playing with my child! What is wrong with people these days. What the woman was doing was PLAYING and using her IMAGINATION. Your son was probably just wondering what the heck the woman was doing, since he probably never gets attention. And how do you know it was the nanny? I say it is none of your buisness to wonder what they where doing. Maybe if you didn't have bluetooth glued to your ear you would notice that!!! LOL
Wow, I agree, nannies should just sit there and do nothing. their child would get a lot out of that. I wonder what they would learn? For all the people that don't know already, that is sarcasm.
I hope you become a nanny so you can come watch my kid. You can Email me at
Mindyourownbuisness//http.com
OMG, a person who has an imagination? That's so...inhuman.
That is probably so uncommon in your house!
Are you the nanny in question?
Posting @ 2:03, 2:19, 2:24 & 2:27?
We have a psycho on our hands ladies and gentleman.
sometimes i pretend to be a monster and chase the kids and make monster noises and act like a fool. you should see my octopus impression.
also, Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Child on the Block recommends growling as a way to show disapproval. he also recommends speaking toddler-ease which pretty much sounds like a caveperson.
there you have it.
2:03 isn't a psycho. It was my daughter. After reading over my shoulder, she just had to post a comment about the growling nanny! :)
That's hilarious. You don't usually get 2 people posting comments from the same computer, lol. You understand how it looked, right?
How old is your daughter?
That's so cool both of you read these sites together!
Be safe!
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