Steps of Metropolitan Museum in NYC

Received Thursday, May 31, 2007
This occurred on Wednesday at approximately 4:20 PM in the afternoon. I was sitting on the steps solo reading NY Magazine when a nanny sat down about two steps in front of me. She had with her a child who was about six years old, he may have had some special needs but what they were I am uncertain. He was a white child, light complected with a thick thatch of brown hair and he wore a royal blue Izod shirt, khaki trousers, white leather tennis shoes that had strange, thick curly laces. The nanny was white, no tan with dark, goth style hair. She had her fingernails painted black but otherwise wasn't wearing much make up. She was dressed in cut off denim jeans, red & white flip flops and a Che Guevara tan t-shirt. Within 12 seconds of sitting down, she whipped out a pack of cigarettes. An older woman ten feet away asked her to move away if she was going to smoke and so the nanny put the smokes back in her bag. (small, flat black fabric bag). The boy was sitting on the steps holding the tips of his tennis shoes and saying something like "humm" and then he would move his head in another direction and say it again. He wasn't at all loud. I only heard him because I was right behind him. After about a minute of that, the nanny whacked him, not hard- but definitely whacked him like he was choking and said "stop that". The boy did and he scooted until he was about five feet away from her. The nanny smacks the pavement and says, "get back here, now." The child does not. So she does it again, harder. And says, "You want me to throw your food in the garbage can, I will." He then scoots back over and she gives him a string cheese, which she opened for him and four newton style cookies. I go back to reading my magazine. Then she says, "why do I hear you chewing?" She had the meanest snarl in talking to this child, a child mind you who was not at any time ever verbal except for making noises. To sum up the story, if this is your child, please know that a child with special needs deserves a nanny with more patience and tolerance. On a separate cautionary note, I would never hire a nanny who said she smoked some times-because the one time she wants a cigarette and can't have it- who is going to pay?