Tuesday

3rd Street Playground in Park Slope/Brooklyn, NY

Received Tuesday, August 28, 2007
This happened this afternoon (8/28) and I know the nanny was likely well intended. She was drinking lemonade out of a large can and sharing it with her little charge/girl. The girl was about 3. My daughter started talking to her (about her tennis shoes which look like canvas mary janes in very light pink). I am about 10 feet away with dd in a stroller and I hear my daughter ask what the little girl is eating. I straighten up and by the time I have turned around, the nanny has given my child one of her/their treats. The treat is called a "sollydito" (sp). It was a hard ball of brown salt with a seed in it. As politely as possible, I took it from my child and removed her from the area. My DD will be three in December. True, she should know better than to ask for or accept food, but what a strange food (and choking hazard) this was. I question the nanny's judgment. The nanny was Hispanic, on the short side with fluffy, brown hair, dark eyes and she had a large gap in betwixt her front teeth. The little girl was wearing a cap sleeved, baby blue shirt with a rainbow and cloud on it with sparkly divots. She also had on a short denim skirt/skort. Since I confiscated the treat I poked at it and while no harm came to my child, I just cannot imagine that any other mother would want her very young child to eat such a treat, especially while playing about a playground. I think the nanny was well intentioned. She was sharing her things with the child and seemed to be very kind, I just cannot get over the weird snack.

64 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is a prune dipped in salt. Not really a healthy snack and you're right that it shouldn't be given to toddlers. I use to eat them growing up in Tucson AZ. I guess just have another talk with your daughter about not accepting food from strangers other than that I don't have much to say about this post.

Anonymous said...

Saladito

Anonymous said...

Dear God. It's not like she was eating these things until they came out of her ears.

I hate when parents moan about various treats from other cultures being "choking hazards" and then stuff their kids with popcorn, hotdogs and so on. I guess the top American choking hazards are fine.

In a land full of shit food, one sweet prune dipped in a a bit of salt is no big freakin' deal.

Just watch your kid so she doesn't have time to indulge in foreign treats. And pack your own snacks.

Personally, I'm impressed that your 3 year old is willing to try different foods. High five her for me.

Anonymous said...

Maybe her charge was constipated. Park Slope mommies are so uptight. This is coming from a Park Slope mom.

Anonymous said...

saladitos go with dos equis or cuervo. maybe that would aid in the alleged constipation. park slope parents are so anal. no wonder their children are always constipated.

Anonymous said...

I actually wouldn't feed a toddler popcorn either baecause it is a choking hazard. I don't think she was being a racist because she didn't want her child accepting a small ball of salt from a stranger. Sit attack dog, sit. Good girl.

Anonymous said...

LOL 4:10

Oh god this is not a bad nanny sighting. She didn't have bad intentions. Sometimes, nannies and parents, and teachers, and friends, etc forget to ask first the parents if a child is allowed to have something. This isn't a bad sighting.

Anonymous said...

I would be just as concerned if a stranger offered my child an American hotdog. First, we only eat Kosher meat. And second, the hotdog must be quarted lengthwise and then sliced.

Anonymous said...

according to you. are you the little girl with the pink canvas shoes mom?

otherwise, you aint the judge and you aint the jury.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you didn't mind the nanny "babysitting" your daughter while you had your back turned.
This is not a bad sighting.

Anonymous said...

alot of hotdogs are made from beef or turkey

Anonymous said...

babysitting? I bent down to adjust my ds in his stroller and give him has pacifier. She certainly was not babysitting.

Anonymous said...

Jane Doe,
is that you at 3:40?

Anonymous said...

3:40 here, no not Jane Doe just a nanny in Austin, TX:)

Anonymous said...

Sorry, 4:59 about that.

Jane Doe said...

Wasn't me. I was always more a fan of Super Rebanaditas or Pulparindo.

Anonymous said...

My 2 young kids eat apricots all the time, and I don't cut them up. Some kids are not chokers. Some are.

If I saw my kid trying a salted prune I'd be amazed. Something tells me she'd be all done after a little bite.

ps: EVERYTHING is potentially a choking hazard. I knew a little lass once who almost choked to death on an Annie's cheddar bunny.

Anonymous said...

get over it!

Anonymous said...

While I would not offer food to child without asking her parent or caregiver, this is not a bad nanny sighting. There is nothing wrong with the occasional goodie and some kids are used to eating this kind of stuff and don't choke.

Anonymous said...

I don't think the issue here is what the snack was, but that one should always ask the parent/caregiver before offering a child anything to eat. The nanny meant well, but a nanny should know better.
UES Nanny

Anonymous said...

723 EUS Nanny: Did you read the post? The OP says at the end that the nanny was very kind and that she was just concerned about the odd snack. So to the OP, it obviously was about the snack.

Anonymous said...

not a bad sighting you should have kept your eyes on your kid and at 3 should have been taught not to accept ANYTHING from strngers

Anonymous said...

Oh for crying out loud! This is one of the reasons I hate living in this neighborhood-all these uptight moms who only want their kids eating organic dried fruit! For crying out loud-your kid is 3 years old-the nanny was being nice! Yes, she should have asked you before giving something to your child-but, is this a reason to report her and try to get her into trouble? Lighten up already!

aigned, another Park Slope mom who never goes to the Prospect Park playgrounds just so she doesn't have to deal with women like you

Anonymous said...

7:27 PM
My point was,If the nanny had asked first, the child would not have been given a snack the mom didn't approve of. I repeat, the nanny meant well. This is not a bad nanny sighting.

Anonymous said...

7:41, that says it! A salted prune is hardly something to freak out about and I agree also w/the poster who admired the 3 year old for wanting to try new foods.

YES, people should ALWAYS ask the caregiver before offering food do a child and best yet, hand it to the caregiver to pass along to the child, and though I've had this happen to my annoyance with a very well meaning grandmotherly lady watching her young one at the zoo, this is really not a bad nanny sighting. Maybe a jumping off point however for parents to have a discussion with their young kids about not accepting treats from strangers w/out asking mom/dad/nanny first.

Anonymous said...

Waste of space, not a bad nanny siting, not what this site is meant for! UGH.

Some of you ARE way too uptight. Watch your own kid (don't even look down for a moment...you'd naw a nannies ass off for even thinking of allowing her charge to have time to go up and speak to a stranger, much less eat food from a stranger!) Lastly, teach your daughter not to accept food from strangers, it's not their job to parent your child and know her allergies, food preferences, and diet...YOURS. Kind hearted nanny...

Bad mommy, bad. haha

Anonymous said...

DEAR UPTIGHT BITCH MOM:

Some people actually grow up in cultures where SHARING is encouraged, especially when it comes to food. As for CHOCKING hazards?! You'd be surprised at all the potentially choking-hazard food-items kids eat world-wide, but wait you must have grown up in a suburban American hole...go back to your little hole please...

Anonymous said...

OP, if you were a nanny you'd be fired for not watching your kid closely enough. She never would have had the chance to snack if you were on her. Sorry, Charlie.

Anonymous said...

OP...why did you turn your back on your 3-year-old while she was interacting with a strager? You are the bad one here. Shame on you!

Anonymous said...

I hope the parents of this nanny sees this. They will get to see what a great employee they have. Basically the OP did say that she was nice. Plus, she had to feel comfortable with her to let her daughter play with them.

Anonymous said...

seems to me OP handled her child just fine. she never got the snack. she said she was ten feet away. the mom questioned whether any child should have that treat. calling it a salted plum makes it sound semi healthy. it looks like a shriveled testacle and it has the sodium content of three bags of lays sour cream and onion chips. party size.

Anonymous said...

10:09:

So do those disgusting LUNCHABLES that are all the rage, but you don't hear anyone moaning about those, except for me. I'd rather my kids eat dog shit.

Anonymous said...

I don't moan about lunchables. I just naturally assume that any parent who buys lunchables is mentally unstable or has an iq lesser than 80.

Anonymous said...

Some kids would be very grateful to have lunchables, or actually, anything to eat, Ms. Uppity at 10:54. Do you even realize how many children go to bed hungry each night? Do you care? That's what I thought.

Anonymous said...

OP, it was good that you reported this.

I think some people are overlooking the fact that the little girl who was given this "treat" by this other adult could have had life-threatening allergies. If she would've had an allergic reaction, wouldn't that have been an issue? What if this had happened to a child who DID have allergies?

What makes anyone think that it's SAFE to accept food from a complete stranger (unless it's food that was in a sealed package, which it obviously wasn't)?

Anonymous said...

I completely agree with poster above. There are enough kids with peanut allergies that peanuts are forbidden in some playsapces and schools, and some of these allergies are actually life threatening. That's the best reason for checking with the caregiver before offering any sort of food to a child.

Anonymous said...

It's the mother's responsibility to teach a child with food allergies how to say NO to food given by strangers. It is also their responsibility to watch their kid. I know 3 children with food allergies living in Park Slope and they were all hip to saying "no" by age 3. One has a wheat allergy and trust me, that's super tricky to deal with.

The fact is, the mother saw the snack thing going down, and didn't bellow "wait a sec" to the nanny from 10 feet away. So, it wasn't the concept of the snack being offered by a stranger that bothered her, it was the fact that she disapproved of what sort of snack it was.

And to the above poster name PITA (appropriately enough), I don't think children should be "grateful" for Lunchables. If their parents can afford to buy that crap they could easily afford to replace it with a halfway healthy alternative such as PB&J on multi grain & an apple. It's just laziness at work. Nothing deeper.

Anonymous said...

How did this turn into a bash on people who buy lunchables?

I think I'm done with this site. It's filled with stuck up judgmental idiots who are, sadly, reproducing as I type, and whose children will miss out on alot due to their mothers Rich B*tch syndrome.

Anonymous said...

to 12pm. It is a mother's responsibility to teach their children. BUT it is also every caretaker of children's responsibility to ASK the other caretaker before offering something to a child. What if the child was autistic, or had any other number of issues, like a speech delay? Maybe they couldn't say no or understand why they can't take things from strangers. We ALL have to be responsible for making sure children are safely cared for.

Anonymous said...

What does not liking lunchables have to do with this post? Nothing.

What does not liking lunchables have to do with being rich?

Nothing. Someone was just expressing their strong point of view.

Free Speech.

Anonymous said...

Ugh, I have to hire a nanny when my daughter learns to walk, because if I have to take her to playgrounds with people like the OP, I will probably end up smoking again.

Anonymous said...

1026 and 1130...it is also a good reason for a mom to be watching her child closely and teaching her better so as to avoid her accepting food from a stranger.

I never heard of anyone being allergic to prunes and salt but I guess it could happen.

Anonymous said...

2:30 I feel ya. Thats why when I do post, I do it anonymously or with a made up moniker. I used to use a "name" on here, but it got to be more than I could take anymore.

Anonymous said...

After conversing with OP's girls, I think the nanny would know if she was autistic or had a speech delay. Some of you make no sense.

The point of the lunchables is as follows for the slow ones here:

Many people were bashing the salted prune for it's sodium content, yet Lunchables are a top selling item for Kraft. That means droves of people are buying them. Lunchables are LOADED with sodium.

Americans also feed their kids salted McDonald's french fries, but we have't seen any posts about that either. Do you have any idea of the sodium content of fast food fries?

Get off your high horses and get over the f'in salted prune already. Or at least be consistent.

Anonymous said...

you are fucking rude holy shit. reading what you have written made me more angry than i have been in quite some time. fuck you.

Anonymous said...

I am the OP. My child does not eat fast food, lunchables, high fructose corn syrup, etc. so your analogy is completely off base. It cannot be a healthy choice for that child. It would never be for mine.

Anonymous said...

Well OP, that's great. But I guarantee you some of the people commenting here on the sodium content of salted prunes DO do the french fry and Lunchables bit. Someone's doing it. They sell like mad. Good for you for at least being consistent.

Anonymous said...

4:53 sounds like she feeds her kids one of the offending foods mentioned here. Struck a nerve?

Anonymous said...

4:53: Jeez! I feed my kids the occasional lunchable or bag of chips, but I'm not going to get that worked up over someone else who chooses not to. I think you may need some medication.

Anonymous said...

Who was 4:53 so pissed at?

Anonymous said...

9:26:

Have you tried the salted prunes?

And I agree. 4:53 needs meds or someone to remove the stick.

Anonymous said...

clearly this post and most of the comments are from ladies who need to get laid.

if you can form such a strong opinion about a salted prune, or a lunchable, you obviously are not having sex anymore.

i'm sorry.


why is this even posted? this is not a bad nanny sighting. waste o' space!

Anonymous said...

12:56:

I think you're right about that. I better end the strike. I am guilty as charged.

Anonymous said...

1256: odd as it may seemed to someone who is obviously as oversexed as yourself, but some of us would prefer to eat a salted prune than have sex these days.

Anonymous said...

y' all are making these saladitos sound like moderately healthy treats. all traces of prune have been removed from them. they have the texture of a shriveled testacle and are about the size of a new york nostril.

In case you don't know, salted prunes look like giant, dessicated raisins covered with white lichen. But they don't taste anything like they look.

Cautiously, I licked one. It tasted a bit like salt. I shrugged, and popped it into my mouth, where it slowly filled my mouth with the taste of salty dirt.

"This isn't terrible," I said. "It's just bad."

I toyed with it in my mouth, trying to find a part juicy enough to bite into. It still had its pit, and was so dried out that it was difficult to get purchase on anything chewy. Undaunted, I kept worrying at it with my teeth, and finally my work was rewarded by a burst of flavour.

When I say burst of flavour, imagine the burst as something akin to a hand grenade of horribility exploding in my mouth. Imagine biting into a mostly dried-up, spring-loaded, cod liver oil capsule; it outraged my taste buds with viscid salty-sweet pustulence. I was touched by the hand of a malevolent chthonic god.

I vaulted off the couch and made a beeline for the trash can. I spit the offending fruit into the garbage, then ran for the kitchen where I rinsed my mouth and drank several gallons of water. It didn't really help. Fragments of prune shrapnel had embedded themselves into every crack and cranny of my teeth and mouth. I think nothing short of gargling with hydrochloric acid would have removed the taste.

For the rest of the night, my face was plagued by seizures as gobbets of prune dislodged themselves randomly.

Anonymous said...

4:19:

That was beautiful.

Anonymous said...

4:14

salted prunes don't do much for your libido. why don't you try some oysters?

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you are saying this woman is a bad nanny...she was just being generous, granted she should have asked you first but if your child had to time to talk to her and get this snack then where the hell were you? Watch your children and stop wasting your time posting about others not watching theirs and telling them they should get better nannies...maybe if you had a nanny your daughter wouldn't have gotten so close to the prune lady.

Anonymous said...

The site is called I SAW YOUR NANNY not I SAW YOUR BAD NANNY. so I could write a 3 page essay on I SAW YOUR NANNY TRYING ON 99 cent cosmetics at CVS. But I won't.

Peace out.

Anonymous said...

You could, but you know what people's reaction would be, so you don't.

Anonymous said...

4:54: 4:14 here: Thanks for the advice, but the LAST thing I want at this point is an aphrodisiac.

Anonymous said...

When I am feeding my charge a snack at the playground, I sometimes get surrounded by little hands that just swiftly dip into our cheerios, goldfish, or raisins without asking. OP, you and the other lazy parents need to closely supervise yor toddlers so they don't go dipping in other people's food. Shame on you.

Anonymous said...

You're all retarded.

Anonymous said...

12:32- too funny! Never seen that before.

Shanmonster- thanks for the chuckle

OP- choices cannot be healthy- they have to be healthful. It's people who are healthy, not things- no matter what the US government says.

A nanny who uses the Queens English