Saturday

Diana Ross Playground in NYC

Received Saturday, August 25, 2007
Your acid tongued nanny was giving your darling daughter a verbal lashing (8/24) for consuming-GASP-too much water. The bottle was one of the smallest sized bottles of Dasanti. A little boy who was about a year younger than her with a beetle style haircut, beady eyes and pale skin consumed a number of sips while the older girl of about five waited patiently. She had kinky, dark hair, similarly pale skin and an upturned nose. Both children were very thirsty. The little girl drank for about five seconds before the nanny snatched it from her mouth. This made an audible sound and the child gasped "ouch". The nanny told her she was a little piggy who needed to learn how to share. After she said nanny, this large nanny who probably has about 80 ounces of water in her third chin to spare seized the bottle and gulped down the remaining water. I have all kinds of problems with this sighting. Since the oldest child was at the oldest five, shouldn't the nanny be responsible for bringing along adequate hydration? If she miscalculates, shouldn't she be the one who goes thirsty? Should a nanny (or any adult) ever talk to a child like that? And what is the little girl learning from the beast of a nanny that rips things away from her while she is using them? I don't know who hired this nimrod of a bench nanny. She took up a substantial portion of the slatted bench, wore light brown slacks, flat shoes with a criss cross across them and a button up floral type shirt. She had short, permed or natural curly hair that was either slick with sweat or oil. Her face was broad and angry, she was a medium complected Puerto Rican appearing individual. The time she spent controlling the child's water intake was about the only interaction she had with them. The little girl played on the equipment helping her brother all along the way. The boy was wearing a green and blue striped polo style rugby shirt and the girl was wearing black shorts with a white racing stripe, best as I can recall.

61 comments:

  1. "she was a medium complected Puerto Rican appearing individual"

    LOL!!! For the sake of your own children, I suggest you get clear really quickly that this is an ignorant way to describe anyone.

    First, "complected" is not English. Complexion would have done the job.

    Secondly, what is a Puerto Rican appearing individual? LOL!!! Puerto Ricans come in a range of heights, shades and sizes as do Americans.

    Think about it, how would a concerned parent be able to find you, if I described you as a moderately ignorant American appearing individual?

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  2. Wow, sounds like another fat-phobic poster. Makes me wonder, was the problem really the way she spoke to the child or were you just looking for something to pick on her about? You criticize her for being "acid tongued" yet your post is dripping with "acid". Sounds like there's more than one not so nice person around here.

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  3. OP, let me try again. At first, I assumed she was black. She has a medium complexion. But when she spoke to the child, she had a Spanish accent. From that I got Puerto Rican appearing. And I mean appearing because I don't know for sure not because I am trying to insult someone. Not for their race anyway. I don't have kind things to say about her, the way she talked to that little girk made me want to grab her by her hair and fling her in to traffic.

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  4. I think you could have described the children a little nicer, I don't think the parents would want to see: "beady eyes" or "kinky, dark hair and an upturned nose." Just a thought.

    But I do agree that the nanny seemed very rude to pull it out of the 5 year old's mouth like that, I could never imagine doing that and what is she teaching the child?

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  5. Poor little beady eyed freak. Then to top it off he has the nanny from Puerto Rican Hell.

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  6. 80 ounces of water in her third chin had me laughing out loud.

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  7. OP: FYI Spanish is spoken in over twenty countries.
    You sound just as mean spirited as the nanny. Frankly, I wouldn't want to run into either one of you in the playground.

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  8. I am trying very hard to not say anything. I am holding myself down right now.

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  9. Are you suggesting that once someone with a specific Puerto Rican accent and curly hair and complexion speaks, we should stop short of calling them Puerto Rican?

    What happened to Puerto Rican pride?

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  10. You all really need your children to be described as beautiful and adorable? So the kid has beedy eyes. It didn't stop the OP from having compassion for the kid.

    So what I have learned here is you cannot call a Puerto Rican a puerto rican if they appear to be in fact Puerto Rican and that all children must be described using words like adorable, precious and beuatiful.

    Who got ran over by the PC wagon?

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  11. Nice going OP, The parents will be pissed at both you and the nanny. You probably have really ugly kids, but you are trying to make yourself feel better about your genes by using crazy terms to describe others.

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  12. Whats wrong the post?? Lets look at the issue at hand. Nanny got pissed off because the little girl was drinking to much water? Thats sad. She called her a pig, what gives her a right to say that to a child or anyone. Second, thats disgusting, she took the bottle and drank from it. Who knows she probably does that all the time. Takes sips at their drinks, I would be pissed off at the whole thing if I was the parent.

    I hope they see this post and fire her.

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  13. A Puerto Rican accent is distinct from other Latin American accents. "Complected" IS an English word. I thought the post got across the OP's general disgust at the situation. Not everything has to be presented in a nice and sweet manner.

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  14. Bad nanny. She should be fired, and not allowed anywhere near kids.

    Also, light brown slacks! Not good on anyone with an extra wide rear. Black slacks would have been better.

    As for OP, you need to get out more. Volunteer at a cultural center or something.

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  15. I don't see what's wrong with a nanny and her charges sharing things. I do it all the time! I share my lunch, my drinks, whatever. I hardly think drinking out of the same water bottle is what would piss the parents off. Now, the manner in which this "nanny" spoke to her charges is completely uncalled for. And reprimanding a child for drinking too much water in insane! I always wind up chasing my charges around the park to try to get them to drink water!

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  16. 2:26, you really summed it up. This sounds like a horrible nanny being very mean to kids and unprepared to boot, since she should be responsible for making sure there is enough water available for them to drink.

    Apparently, it's also incorrect, even if the ethnicity is undisputed to say 'an Irish child", because one should always use the "person-first" terminology, and say "a child that is Irish". Or does that line of argument only apply when discussing the special needs of a child, and NOT the ethnicity, skin color, country of citizenship, height, eye color, etc?

    Getting run over by the PC wagon indeed...

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  17. Perhgaps Tubbs should have packed an extra gallon of water for herself? Before you take children out, you are responsible for making sure you have provisions, warm clothes, sun block or water on a day like this one where it was- 94 and humid.

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  18. Wow! Cali Mom, you sure know how to hold grudge. I know exactly which wise **s you are getting back at.

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  19. What's with everyone attacking the poster? This is definitely a bad nanny siting and should be posted here. Today was unbearable in NYC--one of those real nasty muggy hot and oppressive days we sometimes get in August. I kept my kids indoors doing air conditioned activities after 11:00am. The fact that she brought her charges out with inadequate water on a day like today is ridiculous, let alone the way she spoke to the little girl, yanked the bottle away (a good way to damage little teeth, BTW) and failed to interact in any way with them. She should not be working as a nanny or with children in any capacity. The description is good enough that the parent should able to recognize thier children and "nanny" (she is not worthy of that title). Hopefully one of them sees this.

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  20. Good posting, OP, but frightening and offensive description of all involved. I suppose you are a super model and your kids are perfect visions of beauty???

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  21. Henry:
    In her 8:47 AM post, OP did not say Puerto Rican accent, she said "when she spoke to the child, she had a Spanish accent. From that I got Puerto Rican appearing." Everyone with a Spanish accent is not Puerto Rican.
    Someone who knows this nanny skimming through the original post, seeing Puerto Rican, might think no, that's not so and so, she's Mexican.

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  22. I have to side with OP here. Not all kids are adorable. I mean, she didn't say the girl had a nose like an elf and pubic head. That would have been mean.

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  23. in my esteemed experience, someone who likes like an AA but speaks with a spanish accent is usually puerto rican.

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  24. 5:47, lol. Yeah, YOU, obviously. Have a nice night.

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  25. Hmm, not sure how my name dropped out. 5:47, above post was me. Your favorite :)

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  26. Puerto rican, beady eyes...who cares? This nanny is a turd and needs to be fired.

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  27. 11:28: My neighbour is Puerto Rican. he doesn't look BLACK (not AA)at all and the accent is quite different from a Spanish accent, assuming you mean someone from Spain and are not using 'spanish' to insinuate that all latinos sound the same. The accent is also quite different from my Mexican neighbours as well.

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  28. Cali Mom, you are everybody's "favorite."

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  29. I thought only bugs, rodents, and mythical creatures had beady eyes. We sure are evolving fast!

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  30. Oh no, 133 ... beady eyes are present in some humans-
    George Bush
    Sean Penn
    two examples

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  31. There are both White Puerto Ricans and Black Puerto Ricans, they too had slavery.

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  32. Could have been a number of things however, Belizian (SP)? Although it doesn't matter she was rude and ill prepared.

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  33. Ok, there is a ton of identifying info in this post. The nanny is fat. She has a double chin. She was wearing brown pants. And a flowered shirt. Her shoes had a criss cross design. Her hair was short and curly. Wet looking.

    Get over the PR thing. Maybe you think you are being funny but you are brushing aside and minimizing the horrible way someone's child was treated. Shouldn't that be the focus?

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  34. The OP is NOT minimizing anything, but rather, lambasting and ridiculing someone she feels utter contempt for with a modicum of humor. This is America. This is what we do.

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  35. what were the children wearing? although I agree you cannot describe everyone as "beautiful," I think hair & eye color and clothing may do the job just fine :)

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  36. sorry, I just read what the children wore at the bottom, I had read the post a few days ago and then no reread it after I read all the comments. But I still think a child's mother might be offended even if it is true :) But other than that good sighting because that little girl does not deserve to be treated like that.

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  37. I have no problem with the OP. Her descriptions were pretty vivid. I have a problem with the idiocy of the ORs debating the veracity of the Puerto Rican claim without so much as mentioning the torment being inflicted on the small child.

    And "Spooky", you might want to read everything three times before you attempt to comment.

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  38. Oh, I am an expert reader liz, and that's why, after having read your off-base post, I chose to comment. Again, the OP did not in any way minimize the inept care given by the selfish nanny to her very young charges, but rather punctuated it by providing the readers a vivid depiction of this monstrous nanny and her actions.

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  39. Spooky,
    Who is Liz?
    In both of my posts, I decried the comments of the ORs. Not the OP. Anyone responding who waxed on about whether she was Puerto Rican or Guatamalan or Cuban- who cares. The OP's description was quite solid.

    Are you in NYC? My sister teaches a reading comprehension/ESL class.

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  40. So what if she looked Puerto Rican? We all know what OP is talking about. Actually, more likely, with that "look" the nanny is Dominican. I realized that most of the Afro-Caribbean types in Puerto Rico (where I've been several times) are actually immigrants (many illegally) from the Dominican Republic. A valid description that conveys what OP saw is the goal here. Should we NOT acknowledge that there are racial differences? Leave it out of descriptions? Puleeze, grow up.

    Who got run over by the PC wagon, indeed?

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  41. OP, Long story short: Never tell anyone that they have an ugly kid, it is not wrong, but you just don't do it. For example, if you are at the playground, you don't say, 'your beady-eyed daughter is so nice to the little ones'. It is as bad as saying 'are you related to your husband, your kids look a little inbred'.

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  42. Hey has anyone stopped to consider that perhaps the child had already had three bottles of water? It's a given that a nanny should be more sensitive in how she communicates wiht her charges but nobody here knows, do they?, how much water or other beverage this child had prior to the incident? Perhaps the child really had had enough and it was time to cut her off. (though yes, the nanny SHOULD have communicated this much better to the child but can you really tell me that you've never had a bad day and spoken harshly to someone? I don't believe that what might well have been an isolated incident is grounds for firing)

    I'm new to this site and disgusted by the judgemental attitudes of people who really have nothing better to do than make nasty comments. Nannies have a difficult job and like everyone else they are not perfect. They have bad days. So do moms, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

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  43. I didn't know a child could drink too much water on a hot day.
    This nanny sounds horrible. And I am usually one of the posters who tries to give the nanny the benefit of the doubt. I don't give a care how she was described or how the children were described: the point of this post is serious. The child was denied water, probably stung when the bottle was ripped out of her little mouth, and this nanny was negligent in not having enough water.
    Sorry but I think it's a great nanny siting and this nanny should be fired or at least spokent to.
    As one poster said, I am always trying to GET my charges to drink tons of water in the heat, especially on the playground. And when the water is gone, we fill it up or go home. Water is not cake. A child should have as much as they want in the heat.

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  44. Anyone ever heard of water intoxication?

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  45. Yes, I have heard of water intoxication.

    I have also heard of Parkinsons and Epilepsy, but Louise Woodward had neither of those. I am guessing you would defend her by suggesting that she did or might have.

    Some people just shouldn't be around children.

    The end.

    And one final thing with regard to water intoxication, when the humidity is sky high as it was that day, one would have to drink substantial amounts of water before they fell ill. And had they already been on some sort of a water binge, they would no doubt not be frolicking around the playground and nasty nanny. They would be showing signs of malaise.

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  46. I say the poster who thinks the child was suffering from water intoxication from drinking a few sips from a small bottle is probably that nanny in the sighting.

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  47. Anyone ever heard of water intoxication? Breathe people, I am not defending anyone, I am asking if anyone has ever heard of water intoxication. Good grief, some people need to up their meds.

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  48. 12:07 PM
    FYI Dehydration is a greater danger in a dry desert climate than in high humidity. You are so right about water intoxication though, malaise and disorientation would be apparent.

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  49. Puerto Rican appearing? I'm Puerto Rican, I guess I must look like a fat water balloon, eh?

    Besides your semi-offensive description (Hey, I'm sensitive) that nanny does sound awful. It's not right to treat a child that way.

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  50. I never respond to these but I can't help myself today.


    OR...Are you serious? Honestly, get over it. Do you really have nothing better to do with your time then nit-pick about posts people make on I SAW YOUR NANNY? Get a life please.

    OP, there was nothing wrong with your post. Not all people are beautiful, so why should you have to describe them that way?

    As for the Peurto Rican thing, get the hell over it everyone. Does it really matter how the OP describes someone? The point was not to be PC, the point was to inform the parents.

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  51. this nanny should be fired at once, just for the way she spoke to the clid. forget the dahm water already

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  52. Everytime I read a post about this park, it still cracks me up that Diana Ross has a park named for her.

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  53. Although it may be true that there ARE more Puerto Ricans up north than other "spanish looking people" but for ALL of you -THE WORD IS... LATINA - It covers all hispanic women. Spanish people are from Spain. Why do people insist on using spanish instead of latino.

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  54. Because they are misinformed. You tell it like it is!

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  55. com·plect·ed (kəm-plěk'tĭd)
    adj. Informal
    Marked by or having a particular facial complexion. Often used in combination: "A white-haired and ruddy-complected priest stood on the deck of one of the trawlers" (New York Times).

    AND...

    Anyone in New York City knows a Puerto Rican when they see one.

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  56. AND...

    Anyone in New York City knows a Puerto Rican when they see one.
    1:30 PM

    AND...

    the ignorance continues!

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  57. 8:23: It's never ending here. Hadn't you noticed?

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  58. I can tell if someone's Puerto Rican (Puelto Lican) with my eyes closed, and I'm a freakin' gringa. I can also ID someone from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, El Salvador, Colombia, and Cuba. Very distinctive accents. Also very distinctive "looks". I'll bet if I lined up a typical Jersey mom with a typical LA mom and a typical Minnesota mom, you could all tell me which is which. Sorry, but some stereotypes are actually based on the common physical characteristics that people share based on their heritage. There is nothing racist about saying that people from different Latin American countries have different accents and often share common physical characteristics with their fellow countrymen.

    -RF

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  59. How come no one would take offense to someone saying "The nany was an Irish-looking girl in her early 20's).

    You know it's true. DOUBLE STANDARD.

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