Thursday

Main Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library

Received Thursday, May 17, 2007
This is a warning to parents who live by Prospect Park/Grand Army Plaza out there: I have seen many, many nannies with children at the Brooklyn Public Library (main branch), hanging out with other nannies and not even paying attention to their children. Some do pay attention, but many of them don't and the babies and toddlers cry and cry for attention or to get out of their MacClaren strollers. All of these nannies are African American or Caribbean and have heavy Caribbean accents. The babies cry or the kids run around and the nannies just ignore them. The children are mostly blond haired or light haired babies. Please, if you live near Prospect Park or Grand Army Plaza, make sure your nanny is doing what she is being paid to do. Like I said, not all the nannies are like this, some kiss and hug and clearly care for the child. But, unfortunately that is not the majority at this Library Nanny hang-out spot. Many just could care less. One little one, about 6 months old, was crying and screaming to get out of the stroller and all the nanny did was shake the baby and then stuff a paci into his/her mouth. She ignored him for a long time and it made my heart break. Please, your children are being damaged by this, make sure your nanny is playing with your child, and not just carrying them about to ignore them and socialize. Park Slope families-- pay attention please. Ask your child if they went to the library today, and if they did, it was probably for the nanny to socialize with other nannies. All the children & nannies I have seen have Mcclaren stollers. Most of the children are Caucasian, a couple are Asian-appearing. Keep an eye on your nanny please! I am a mom of 3 young children under the age of 5 and would not approve of how these nannies are treating the children.

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't get it. It's not impossible to chat with other nannies AND care for kids at the same time. I'm lost as to why some caregivers can't do both successfully!

Anonymous said...

golly, the humanity!

I know I have never seen mothers gossip amongst themselves while their children are in strollers! Or comfort a crying infant with a pacifier! Will horrors never cease?

Thanks also for the breaking news that the nannies were west indian and the children were caucasion, or possibly asian-looking!

It's a good thing you're on the case! And it's great you manage your own three children AND are still able to police all the white children in Park Slope too! You must be supermom!

Anonymous said...

mothers, before you poke your nose into other peoples business, remember, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones

Anonymous said...

And where were your children while your heart was breaking? Your post was so stupid. What was the point?

Anonymous said...

OP is a racist!

Anonymous said...

As for the 6 month old crying in the stroller, give me a break. That's what babies do. What exactly should the nanny have done? No offense, but I've seen moms do they same a million times. If she had taken baby out of the stroller, someone would be bitching that the kid was playing *gasp* the FLOOR and OMG what kind of evil person allows that.

Anonymous said...

1137,
I believe there exists and entire photo exhibit that addresses that very question.

Anonymous said...

Husker Doo!

Anonymous said...

defensive nannies,
your posts ring very hollow and you protest just a bit too much. Guilt?

Anonymous said...

Dear OP, thansk for posting this message. Come on people, can we stop atacking the OP, or are all of you so guilt ridden that you immediatelly criticise the poster??!

Yes babies cry, yes mothers and nannies should be able to talk amongs themselves and care for their charges. Babies cry, I know as I have a 7 month old one, but there are clear distinctions between the way I try to sooth my crying baby and the way I see other carers just ignore them or forcefully put a dummy in their mounths.

When I go to my office I am paid to work, not to chat and gossip with my collegues and to treat my work as a pain and a disruption of my social day.

Anonymous said...

11:37:

Since you asked, if I had a crying infant in a stroller I would pick the child up and soothe them.

If this occurs while I am with my army of friends and we're sitting around gossiping, I excuse myself and tend to my child.

Anonymous said...

Is there any answer but to get up and tend to the child? As a mother, I can think of no other. But when I am paying someone $16 an hour, she damn well ought to respond to the sounds of a crying child.

Anonymous said...

And if nanny tries to soothe the child by picking him up, walking around with him, checking that he's not hungry or in need of a change, not due for a nap and he's still crying, someone will blog about how his terrible nanny couldn't console the child and how the child must not like her and onward we go into Assumption City. I'm sorry, but I find it amazing that people complain so much about their caregivers over things that Mom herself might have suggested the nanny do. It's certainly possible.

Maybe mom doesn't want what she sees as a clingy, held all-the-time baby. I worked for more than one mom who asked me *NOT* to pick up her child unless I had to because she wanted the child to be used to being in the stroller and not spoiled by all the picking up constantly. Now whether I agreed with her is a different story, but did I do as she asked? Indeed. There are plenty of parents that tell nanny to be gone with the child for 6+ hours during the day. If said child is an infant, I don't know exactly how else a nanny would fill up those hours without doing things like shopping (which might be for the family), going places with other nannies, walks on nice days, etc. All things I've seen complaints about on this blog.

Obviously one can chat and tend to a child at the same time and if a person is truly being lazy it's ridiculous, but you can't assume that said nanny isn't following instructions.

Anonymous said...

damn straight we will blog about it. we are judging the person in our view. we have to imagine that the parent is not a dead hearted lunatic but instead someone who is paying for what she believes is optimal care for her beloved child.

cesar milan could solve this whole bad nanny problem. the power of the pack. what you have stumbled across here at this library is a bad pack. one by one the bad nannies need to be drawn out and placed within a good pack. inside this so called "good pack", the errant nanny will learn proper coping and social skills as well as what is an appropriate amount of energy to expend and may also learn to mirror expressions of joy instead of gloom and doom.

Anonymous said...

The part that bothered me was that "the 6 month old was crying and all the nanny did was shake the baby". I would say something, if I saw someone shake a 6 month old. That could cause damage, also, if she gets frustrated who knows what she does at the house when the baby is crying.

Anonymous said...

9:06:

If you were the childcare professional you claim to be you'd know that you can't spoil a 6 month old by carrying him or her around.

Yes, children sometimes still cry even when they are tended to. The OP's point is that the children were being IGNORED.

I thought that was painfully clear.

Anonymous said...

11:44 I do what parents request, whether I agree with it or not is a different story.

Anonymous said...

as a court mandated reporter of child abuse, i do what is right. regardless of what the parent says! I'm not going to be 87 yrs old and look back in agreement with the negligent care I assisted in providing the child- even if at the behest of the parent.

Anonymous said...

Babies cry to communicate. They are hungry, hot, cold, wet, tired coming down with a cold, or my guess in this situation, bored. 4:53 PM
If an employer told me to ignore a crying infant, I'd be looking for another job!
A Nanny

Anonymous said...

Um, be more specific... or stop being racist. Thats not the point here. "MacClaren Strollers.. light haired babies" Thanks Hitler.

Anonymous said...

I just don't understand the psychology of someone who tries to parent other people's children.

And by parent, I mean, post on an anonymous board complaining about their caregivers. If you think there's a really serious issue, notify authorities. If not, mind your own damn business.

And, btw, I'm a parent, not a nanny. I just have better things to do with my and my child's time than worry about yours.

Anonymous said...

334,
Sadly you are what is wrong with this country.
People need to get involved.
Their ought to be more of a connectivity from one group to the next, from the people in one neighborhood.
It takes a village.
It takes a village, mo----- fu-----

Anonymous said...

wow you parents leave a lot to be desired yet you judge nannies, i guess you are mary poppins when your kids are around yea right

Anonymous said...

3:34 PM
There is a saying "She who cares only about her own children in reality cares only about herself". The child being an extension of the parent. I'm with 5:30 PM. We need to care for all our children.

Anonymous said...

what about she who cares nothing for her children and only about her shoe collection?

Anonymous said...

12:13-
May she have many, many shoes to bring her comfort and warmth in her twilight years.

Anonymous said...

334 is what is wrong with America today. A bunch of pansy-ass complacent nimcumpoops who care only about themselves and their immediate families. No sense of honor, no compassion, no brotherly love.

Anonymous said...

Well, nastiness aside, I generally agree with those critical of the poster.

OP, I think your observations may be a bit off - I take my child to the library pretty regularly, and its a very interactive space for the kids. Many of them are old enough to engage with each other, and most of the Carribean nannies in this neighborhood are there waiting for the upstairs sing-a-long/storytime to open up. You generalize about "all these nannies" leaving kids in the strollers - I don't think I've seen that once.

Finally, I do think you are allowing some real racism to creep in here. About half of the care givers are Carribean, but there are a lot of Jews and Caucasian parents that bring their kids too (like me). I think its an overall fantastic experience for kids.

Anonymous said...

WOW..what a world we live in..so I get it because the op mentioned that the children were light haired and the nannies were of dark skinned ethnic backgrounds..this is a racist comment..
Hitler???..poster 105pm..are you kidding me??
You are abunch of over sensitive/PC.. lets play the race card people who need to get you heads out of your _sses and maybe just maybe if you are a parent.. get up off your butts ..go to the park/Library and take a look for yourselves...you will indeed see what the OP saw..I did!!
This blog is for reporting the possible neglectful nanny sighting..weather the nanny is white, black or purple does not excuse her lazy behaivor..of course many women can multi task and visit as well as watch over the children..but some cannot and obviously..some of these nannies fall into that category!!
If the OP had said the nanny was white w/red hair..would that have been discrimination..know..it would have been an insightful description for a mommy who might be reading this blog..just as the original post was!!! Get over the race thing..black nannies screw up too just like white nannies and Indian nannies.PC'ers get over it!!!!

Anonymous said...

Alice..you are a real piece of work honey..Because someone wrote it in a book....does not make it true..how easily some are led..it is ok to be a follower but don't expect the rest of us to sit back and rely on others to tell us how to raise our children..some of us actually think for ourselves and would love it if all of you nosey,book quoting know it all would mind your own business and tend to your own families..could you possibly try that sweetie..I know it is hard as you have taken it upon yourself to but in wherever you may be but really..we are just fine without your 2-cents..as for the village..they also called and said their idiot was missing..the village thing is way over honey..way over

Anonymous said...

sadly OP,
you are expected to play charades when it comes to describing people. Whatever happend to calling a spade a spade?

Anonymous said...

All you PC airheads better hope that if you ever get raped or worse it's by a white man. You wouldn't want to be called a racist if you mentioned a color other than "white" while giving your attacker's description, right?

Anonymous said...

well.obviously...as long as the spade is not black it's fine.

Anonymous said...

I am at the Grand Army Plaza Library branch once a week, and I have never seen a scene that was going to damage anyone's child. My boyfriend and I are consistenly commenting on all the sweet children being read to or reading books with their nannies. It looks like a clip from Seasame Street, a full range colors having fun reading. It is insanely idillic.

Last week, I saw a nanny outside the library, with one infant and one toddler, who was clearly having a very hard day, the infant was shrieking and the toddler was falling all over himself. But she was woking her ass off to calm the kids and keep them safe.

I think your assesment of the nannies at the G.A.P. Library was really unfair.

Anonymous said...

Um, 616, did you not notice that it was the OP who brought up race? The comments calling him/her a racist were making a point that he or she brought it up in a situation when it wasn't necessary to bring up race, therefore her comments were racist. If you wanna give your "race doesn't matter, black nannies and white nannies all do the same job, we're playing the race card" tirade to anyone, give it to the OP. Maybe you and the OP do need the PC police.

Anonymous said...

Stop with the race BS
It makes me sick
Describe the nanny and child the best you know how and let the pc fools deal with it

Anonymous said...

239..whats wrong with mentioning that the negligent nannies were dark skinned?? Why is that a crime? Because you are so fing sensetive?? Mentioning someone's race,color,ethnic background does not make for a racial situation..if my child had a nanny and were at the park a description including skin color or ethnic background would most certainly help distinguish weather or not it might be my nanny!! you are a real piece of work!!!

Anonymous said...

I can confirm this is true but the worst nanny looked spanish or from phillipines and she has two kids in a double strooler a boy & a girl. she is sobad that she disappears & other nannies yell at her

Anonymous said...

334, it's funny that you would log on here if you only care about your own children. Bored much?

And 622, wow, I cannot even think of what to say to you. Only that I hope you don't have children. That would be sad for the future of our country. Maybe you should read "How to Parent." Reading. Good. Should. Try. Sometime.

Unknown said...

Hi
I just wanted to say that the "descriptions" weren't very good and not even particularly, well, descriptive, only race was mentioned and that might be the reason ppl are calling it a racial issue. As for the library, I have taken my charges there before, a handful of times, I don't anymore because it isn't really set up well, the area is kinda small for the amount of kids that come in and in general it just isn't as interesting as other places in the area. Also, if you are so concerned you should say aomething being involved and helping does not mean standing by and posting on a web site. If that baby was being shaken you should have said something then and there, because that is a really dangerous thing for the nanny to do.