Thursday

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?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Could be mom or older sister. Either way, not very nice. Maybe she is working on his manners, but definitely better ways to do it. She is crabby because she didn't get her smoke.

Anonymous said...

I am a nanny that smokes. I adore my kids, and I never smoke in front of them. Please keep in mind that not all smokers turn into asshats when they are feigning, and not all smoking nannies are going to take out the need for a smoke on the kids.

Anonymous said...

She sounds awful, I hope if she is a nanny or relative that the parents find out and get someone else to watch this poor child.

Anonymous said...

May not be the nanny, but still terrible behavious! I also understand that not all smoking nannies would smoke around my child, but I would not take that chance, plus...whether you know it not (and I can say this as a former smoker)if you smoke you stink!

Anonymous said...

I don't give a crap if the nanny is in fact the nanny or a relative...you should NEVER smoke in front, or even with 10 yards of a child...if anyone smoked in front of my son, or even took a nicotine fit out on my son, she would have bigger problems then going through nicotine withdrawal...

-Mother of David

Anonymous said...

I find it hilarious that you are all focusing so much on the smoking and not the hitting...she 'whacked him on the back like he was choking'... but no, lets ignore the abuse (after all if she "whacks" in public I wonder what she does in private) and get on our PC bullshit..."oh god, the kids gonna die of cancer he inhaled second hand smoke for 1 minute!!"

Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with smoking around a child, and I myself do NOT smoke...I'm just saying we as a society have our priorities f'd up! Come on people, isn't any one going to get off the cigarette band wagon and note the fact she's hitting a kid on the back for no freaking reason!?! I can only imagine how much more destroyed his selfesteem is than his lungs!

Anonymous said...

Why did she hear him eating?? Next time the kid will chew with his mouth closed. Look if the nanny wants to die a slow horrible death by smoking who cares. The kid is screwed anyway his mother hired a nanny. Case Closed

Anonymous said...

This was an irritible bitch posing as a child minder. Worthless.

Unknown said...

The writer would never hire a nanny who smokes? I would never hire a Nanny who wears a freaking Che Guevara T-Shirt! Talk about exposing children to bad influences!

Anonymous said...

Who is Che Guevara? A candidate for political office?

Anonymous said...

He's the cokehead who started the Kuku movement and brought it to NYC playgrounds.