Received Thursday, September 6, 2007
I saw your l-a-z-y nanny at the playground today. It is a hot day and you might know this is your nanny by this description. 1)She was leafing through a rolling stone magazine that was in French. 2) She was about 5'7-5'9. 3) She weighed about 200-230lbs. 4) She wore dark denim jeans and a ribbed tunic with 3/4 length sleeves in the color of peach. 5) She had short medium brown hair pulled back into a very neat, short pony tail. 6)She was African American.Now I suppose you want me to describe your kids, right? Well I can't. I have no idea who she was watching. She also had a People magazine and a Teen Cosmo. She flipped through the magazines. My job was not to watch your nanny, but I did notice her leave the playground and return at one point. She was gone about 5 minutes. And another time I witnessed her yelling in a general direction, "Boo, I'm hot. You ready to go". and "Booooooo". No sign of Boo. No response I noticed, so she goes back to her magazines. The playground is busy enough. Then periodically she screams "Boo, come on now" in a load and scratchy voice. But she is screaming it down at her magazine. So if your child has a nickname Boo, please do some playground surveillance of your own. See what's up.
Do you think that she was talking to her own child? I don't know too many people who call other people's children boo. I know plently who call their own kids that and even their significant others for that matter.
ReplyDeleteBut she very well could have been a nanny, if it was then shame on her. Shame on her anyway if she was the mother.
For all we know, she could have been there with her sig. other and a child, and calling out to the other, not the child.
ReplyDeleteShe could have been a sister, mother, nanny, aunt, with a friend or relative and their child... or even some crazy women who doesn't even have kids there.
you are not allowed to be at a NYC playground if you do not have children. And as a mother myself, I always know who is the other mothers. I can tell who is a stepmother and who is a nanny.
ReplyDeleteI love this blog VERY MUCH!! I think it has been existing for more than 1 and half years. I just want to thank everyone in this blog: readers, commentors, publishers and anyone who keens on keeping this blog running and getting better and higher in search engines! Thanks...
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but you cannot tell who is a stepmother or who is a mother.
ReplyDeleteBeing a mother doesn't give you any insight to this. There are plenty of mothers who act like that, and plenty of step mothers who love and care for the child as if it were their own.
So like it was said, she could have been a mother, a sister, and aunt, a nanny, with a significant other and their child or children. "Boo" wasn't seen, so there is no way to say that Boo is a child. And if Boo was the sig. other or relative with the child, then it is perfectly understandable that she left and came back and didn't get worried when Boo didn't come running.
Maybe, she was their with her husband. Maybe, she was relaxing while he was chasing the kids around. You don't know. When my husband and I go out with my son, he usually is the one chasing my son around. They get to spend time together that way.
ReplyDeleteIts funny, how you think she must be the nanny. Could be the mother.
Unbelievable. O.P. like you stated you had no idea who she was watching. Duhh, you have no idea who she was with. Come on now, didn't you even think she was at the park maybe with a relative or husband that was watching the child.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you were watching her every move.
3:34
ReplyDeleteWhat are you psychic?? How do you know who may or may not be the mother. Do you go up to each woman and say are you the nanny or is that your kid. Your not allowed in the cities parks if you don't have kids. Maybe, thats true, but its not like someone is standing guard at the entrance.
I live in the city do you know how many people come and go. Whos really going to watch whos entering. If you are truly watching your child your not going to pay attention to whos coming in and out.
Shame on her if it was her charge or her own child she was neglecting, but I know way more people that refer to their husband as Boo than even their kids and I have never heard someone call someone else's child Boo. That is typically an urban slang type pet name for one's s/o. So I think it is more likely than not that she was there with her family and telling her husband to get the kid(s) and get going.
ReplyDeleteeww. booo. for an SO?
ReplyDeletemaybe the parents are french since she is reading a french magazine.
she sounds like a bronx nanny.
they might use their slang on their charges to expression or fain expression of endearment.
How was the mother ignoring the child, if the child was being entertained by the other parent. Do you entertain your child personally, 24/7...?
ReplyDeleteOP-there was no other parent there. I didn't describe the child because she was so disconnected and spoke to the playground and not to any child. I have an idea who the child was. But because I am not certain, I thought that would only confuse things. She was a nanny. I'm sure. I could base that on the ethnic make up of the children on the playground at that time.
ReplyDeleteCharge !
ReplyDeleteSince when is boo urban slang? Bubu, or boo boo, or just boo, is along the lines of baby boo or baby boo boo, etc. and is something people call babies as a warm nickname.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, why not just trust the OP, trust the sighting, and suppose that the OP has judgement as good as your own. Why bother attacking her? Please don't. Instead, just hope the mother (or other parent) of this child sees the posting and knows how the child is cared for.
Boo was a baby nickname before it was ever Urban slang. I suppose shorty always means a cute girl and never means errr uhhh A SHORT PERSON. I trust OP's judgment. Why take the freakin effort to send in a sighting? It must have felt a certain way to OP.
ReplyDeleteBoo is a pet name for people to call there sig. other. Trust me on that. It is just like calling your husband honey or darling. I rarley hear this phrase given to children. Usually I hear papi or mama for children but not boo. If I heard her say that I would assume she was talking to her husband. But it could have been a child, more often then not her child. And just because she doesn't match the color of everyone elses skin doesn't automatically make her a nanny.
ReplyDeletethis is rap culture, you speak of. in the real world- where I live "hia boo" is something a mom or dad say to their baby. My son calls his little sister baby boo.
ReplyDeleteStep away from the BET. Turn down the MTV. There is a whole wide world out there.
You know how white people are: just because you are black you are the nanny. It happened to me twice, once when I was working in the finance department for a large synagogue on the upper Westside, my sister worked for the synagogues Hebrew school which was located on another block. I went over to meet my sister for lunch and was immediately told by the new security guard that didn’t know me, "that care givers must enter over there". Also a white friend of mine who I've known for 10 years had a relative that assumed I was her nanny when I went with her to pick up her child. So stop judging, just because she was black at a kids park in the middle of the day does not make her a nanny, she could have been there with her own kid, niece or a friends child. Like myself, some black mothers are stay at home moms with working class or well to do husbands.
ReplyDelete"the ethnic make up of the children" suggests to me that the children were all white and the nanny was black. Everyone calm down. this is just a fact. I think OP, like myself could probably tell a biracial child. It isn't just the race of the nanny vs that of the child. It is other things. Do I make mistakes? Yes. I seem nannies that are so connected to and good to their charges, I assume they are the moms. So if there was a false positive it would be to the benefit of a positive i saw your mommy sighting when in actuality it would be a nanny.
ReplyDeleteOk, I have a neighbor who calls both of his daughters Boo, so I think it can be a nick name for children.
ReplyDeleteIsn't boo short for jigaboo? Thats a horrid thing to say to a kid!
ReplyDeleteBoo is a term of affection used to describe a child, a boyfriend, a spouse, etc.
ReplyDeleteIf she was reading French she could be from anywhere. Did the accent suggest West Indies by any chance?
here's an idea....put your child in a daycare center where they can socialize with other children and stop leaving it up to others to raise them. Being with a nanny all day is BORING.
ReplyDeleteThis way you won't have to worry about what they call your kids or if they pay attention to them because at a daycare center they have to follow the rules and regulation of New York State, so they won't be off reading magazines or sleeping.
NGP...if you think day cares all follow the rules and get punished if they dont, you are sorrily naive. I have worked for several. I choose to stay home and raise my own kids, but if I needed child care, I'd sooner entrust my kids to a group of chimpanzees than have them spend one day in a Day Care Center.
ReplyDeleteBut would you leave them with a nanny?, and if you would have read my first comment you would see that i also stay at home with my son.
ReplyDeleteNGP...I did see your first comment. That said, you are even LESS of an expert on Day Care.
ReplyDeleteAnd, no, I would never have a nanny. Not because I have anything against them or think there aren't any good ones. It is because I choose to raise the childen that I chose to give birth to.
I never proclaimed to be an expert on daycare...I was just offering another solution seeing as these people have so many comments on how the nannies behave. NO ONE can raise your child better than you can so my point is "stop complaining about the job that someones is doing because it's more than the parents are doing." and as a New Yorker and former working girl, I know that a lot of these parents don't even go straight home after work because they are out on the NY scene socializing to further their career therfore leaving the nanny to raise their kids for 12-16 hours a day..and they expect Mary Poppins...not going to happen. 16 hours with my own child is tiring, so can you imagine it with someones child.
ReplyDeleteNGP: I see your point...I misunderstood. I apologize if I was harsh.
ReplyDeleteJust knowning what I know, I could not be more anti-day care. I have two small children (35 months and 17 months). I am worn out by the end of the day as well, so I am sure many nanny's are as well. Particularly the ones whose employers never pitch in with their own kids and stay away as much as possible.
It's very sad to me that people have children if they dont want to care for them....even if they HAVE to work, they could still connect better than many do for sure.
Even in day care, there were plenty of parents (mostly moms) who were stay-at-home or would still bring their kids in if they are off work from 6AM-6PM. It's infuriating.
Okay. NPG, don't bring race into this. She didn't say "I saw a black woman so I assumed she was a nanny." There are plenty of white woman being called nannies on here with no proof.
ReplyDeleteAnd, stop jumping all over moms who decide to work. That doesn't mean they aren't raising their children. The parents of the children I've nannied for were wonderful parents. They didn't want their child to be in a daycare, because most are terrible. So they got a nanny.
How is being with a nanny all day boring, but being with parents all day is not? Nannies can play and have fun just like parents can.
You are a bit too judgmental to be telling someone else not to be judging black women.
Apology accepted...let's just hope all these kids remain safe. Have a good night.
ReplyDeleteNGP...thanks. agreed. you too!
ReplyDelete10:16. No matter how great and fun a nanny is, she's still not Mommmy.
ReplyDeleteDepends on the mommy.
ReplyDeleteNo, it isn't mommy.
ReplyDeleteBut moms that work are just as wonderful parents as moms who stay at home with their kids.
I'm sick of SAHM jumping on working mothers. There is nothing wrong with working and having a nanny, it does NOT mean you aren't raising your children.
I know!
ReplyDeleteAnd there are so many sahms with nannies. Or multiple nannies to be attacked!
Leave me alone!!!
For the record, 10:34 seems to be trying to pretend that he/she was 10:26. Not so. It was me and I would have been more intellegant then to say "Leave me alone!"
ReplyDeleteThat said, 10:32, you cannot say EVERY mom who works cares for her children (emotionally or physically) as well as every SAHM does, any more than I can say all working moms are bad, which is not what was said at all.
I am well aware that some moms HAVE to work and that is fine. My issue is with working moms or even SAHMS who choose to spend to time away from their kids when they have have the time to spend with them. That is not good parenting.
take another chill. I am 1034 and no one else. I was just interjecting that I find it odd that there is any debate at all. And if there was going to be debate or judgement, why not judge the sahm with a nanny. or two nannies. a mom who doesnt have to work and still outsources the care of her children. and yet still has the audacity (go obama) to call herself a mom.
ReplyDelete1040, You can also not say that EVERY sahm cares for their children emotionally and physically as well as every working mom.
ReplyDeleteStaying at home or working has nothing to do with it. It's what you teach them, how you comfort them, the lessons you teach.
I, for one, will be teaching my daughters they can excel outside of the home, whether or not they have kids. I could not stay at home day after day, I would HAVE to work. And there is nothing wrong with that as long as when I am home, I don't neglect my children or abuse them.
If everyone spent every second with their kids that they could, and never chose to take a break or get away, they would not raise healthy, independent children. (I'm not saying go out every day. But going out every Friday with your husband when you COULD stay home is fine. And working when you COULD stay home, is also fine.)
There is a huge difference between working and neglect. I have personally met some very lazy sahm's, some wonderful sahms, some terrible working ones, and some wonderful working ones. The good ones were equally wonderful, the bad ones were equally bad.
I don't understand why every mother has to try and better than the next. It has nothing to do with being a mom, it is the person you are. If you are a nasty SOB well then I guess you'll rub off on all kids not just your own. Who cares who stays at home and who works, who cares who hires a nanny or sends to daycare. I feel that for some dam reason every mother on Earth feels like they are owed something. Giving birth has been done for centuries, you all are not the ones who invented it. So get off your high horse and worry about what really matters, life and the people in it.
ReplyDelete10:49...I think I clearly made the point that you are saying I cannot say. Here is copy/paste of the protion:
ReplyDelete"That said, 10:32, you cannot say EVERY mom who works cares for her children (emotionally or physically) as well as every SAHM does, any more than I can say all working moms are bad, which is not what was said at all."
I also touched on the understanding that some moms have to work and that is fine. Here it is again for you:
"I am well aware that some moms HAVE to work and that is fine. My issue is with working moms or even SAHMS who choose to spend to time away from their kids when they have have the time to spend with them. That is not good parenting."
Read more carefully before you attack please.
How do you know she was a nanny. You have nothing better to do with your time than to sit in a park and watch someone with some magazines a assume that they're a nanny. She might have been there with her own child and she was she should have been watching her child better, but if you thought her actions were so bad why didn't you tell her. She is the only one who can change her actions.
ReplyDeleteShe didn't say anything because she didn't want to get her butt kicked
ReplyDeletesometimes it is prudent to remain silent
ReplyDelete3:16...do you read the other comments at all, as your has been said already multiple times? You could really save yourself and those of us who do read the comments some wasted time.
ReplyDeleteI was a nanny in Brooklyn, NY and people thought I was the kids' mom. I am white if it matters. I had nicknames for the kids and I called them by nickname. The kids liked it. Plus, I have a sister and she has boo as a nickname for her son. Her daughters nickname is "mommy"
ReplyDelete