Received Friday, October 5, 2007
I oberseved an incident that was odd, but may not be bad. I am reporting it because if it were my nanny and I chanced upon it, I would be someone unhappy. I was at Bryant Park and there was a nanny and a little boy with straight, dark hair that was grown to a longer length and fell in the front. The boy was overweight and yet dressed in very trendy, high end clothing and had a blue bead necklace on; the sort one would make in camp. The nanny was a squatty, Hispanic or Native American woman in her fifties wearing a light blue t-shirt, blue pants and generic white canvas tennis shoes. Her hair was thin and in a pony tail. They were sitting on the ground with a plaid pink and yellow canvas bag and having a picnic. Inside the bag was half a loaf or so of rainbow bread. The nanny opened the bag, pulled out a slice; pulled off the crusts, threw the crusts down and rolled the bread part in to a ball and she handed it to the boy. The boy would then eat this little ball of bread. She did this about 10 times. So the boy ate about ten balls of bread, possibly more. Some of the time I observed the nanny sitting with her palms down on the grass. They were not up on a table, they were sitting right on the lawn. And, although there was a blue towel on the ground, the nanny was not really on it at all. It made my stomache turn to see her roll the bread in her dirty hands. The nanny was drinking out of a one liter bottle of pepsi. That is the very large bottle and anytime the boy asked for pepsi, she gave him some. The boy was about 4. It is hard to tell because he was overweight and may also be tall for his age. Let me stress, I know this is not a bad nanny. I just SAW this nanny and it made me appreciate my nanny who would never give my child a slice of white bread let alone multiple balls of white bread.
56 comments:
oy vey
yeah, that is gross. if it was my child, I would want to know.
The nanny may be partially to blame for the boy being over weight. That is really sick
I wonder what mommy thought they were having for lunch? Maybe she gave the nanny $20 and nanny pockets the rest?
disgusting and shameful. BAD nanny. kid could learn some self-control too, though.
Kid could learn some self control?
He is a 4 year old given pepsi and rolls of bread.
How on earth is he going to know self control when he is being taught to over indulge?
The part that bothers me is that her hands were dirty. I used to have picnics on the floor (not benches) and when I was a kid, I would roll bread into balls to eat or put it through a toy to make "fries". I don't see why you would think its bad for your nanny to give your child a slice of white bread.
get a life as a nanny i have seen parents drink straight out from the bottle so what
go wash your face and leave nannies alone
5:40 so, if the parents do it, it is ok for the nanny to do it?
Once again, nannies and parents are not the same.
Not a bad nanny per se, but unhealthy and gross.
Dude,
It's hot as balls outside.
Forget dirt.
What about the sweat coming out of the nannies palms.
You have to roll the bread around your hand for a bit to get it to look like a ball. And by then the ball is cloaked with epithelials. That's like a ball of nanny DNA.
The dirty hands and the ten slices of bread worry me. I don't see the issue with white bread though. The pepsi probably wasn't a great idea either. I don't think soda is so bad as an occasional treat, but it dosen't sound like that was the case.
Gaah how horrid.
5:40, I have seen parents shower with their children. As a nanny, I would never even consider that.
Nannies are NOT parents. Just because parents do it, doesn't mean nannies can.
And I have also seen parents slam their kids against walls... that doesn't mean all parents think its okay.
I am more concerned about the 10 balls of bread. A four year old should be eating at most 2 slices! My husband, a grown man, would have a hard time eating 6 slices let alone 10! Maybe I'm too critical but I consider overfeeding children to be child abuse.
"it made me appreciate my nanny who would never give my child a slice of white bread let alone multiple balls of white bread"
LMAO like a slice of white bread is so horrible.
That said...what this nanny was doing was unsantiary and gross. However there are some kids that refuse to eat different foods for a variety of reasons, my daughter was one of them, my current charge is another. It's because of Autism and my charge's school is working on it. So maybe all the kid will eat is that bread and one or 2 other things it IS possible and is a problem but one many parents of special needs kids face and fight with.
Again, having said that the nanny was very unsanitary. I always keep a bottle of Purel in my bag and use it before handling any of my charges food.
I guess the rolled ball tasted salty like a pretzel. With all that sweat coming off her hands.
Gross!!
exactly why we have problems with obesity...
because of pretzels?
OK-the dirty hands are gross-but, give me a break about white bread! "Oh, my nanny would never give my child white bread." ugh!
I am a nanny and this grosses me out! Maybe I am just a germophobe but the thought of feeding any of my charges balls of dough I rolled with dirty hands makes my toes curl. ewww. Don't even get me started on the 10 slices thing.
In reference to the white bread comment...I give my charges a bread called white wheat it's whole wheat bread but it's white. They eat it a lot easier than regular whole wheat.
whole grain bread would be the best option.
white bread is gross and isn't good for you, especially when eaten 10 slices at a time.
Gross, gross, gross. I am a little OCD about keeping my hands clean, but even though I keep them clean, I'd never roll ten balls of bread (white, whole wheat, or twleve grain) for anyone. That is just gross.
She is being unfair to him by feeding him lots of bread when he is overweight. If he ate numerous slices of bread, he probably isn't a picky eater. She could have given him some baby carrots and one slice of bread.
kelly, i know alot of kids who will chow down on bread, and are picky eaters.
the biggest issue i see is that it was unsanitary, and quite alot for one kid.
get over it...stop nit picking and take care of your damn kids if you think this is so horrible
ugh. 10 slices of bread is waaaaaaaaaayyyyyy excessive.
I agree with the poster who suggested that this child may have autism, or some other issue, causing him to fixate on one particular food. I care for several preschool-aged children, and I can't imagine any one of them happily eating bread I'd rolled up in my hands. Even at 3-5 years of age, this would really disgust them.
Even if balled white bread is all the little boy will eat, the nanny could certainly offer it in a more sanitary fashion.
Giving children white bread and soda is just the beginning. I have seen 2 year olds who throw a fit if they have to eat anything that isn't fast food or drink anything that isn't soda. This kind of diet is so bad for little children's brains and bodies. It is disgusting. The nanny may not be to blame. The parents may have reinforced these unhealthy habits from a very young age.
I can't imagine any parent leaving directions for their nanny to feed balled up bread and soda to their kid off a dirty ground no less.
I don't care what the disability (and I think it's a stretch to say it's autism), good health is just common sense.
People forget that a lot of kids are picky. You're kids or charges may not be, but there are a lot of picky people out there. When my nephew was about 2 there was a time when he would only eat hot dogs. Personally I think hot dogs are gross and shouldn't be given to kids but thats ALL he would eat. Thankfully he grew out of this stage quickly. I don't think the big probalem here is the white bread, yeah I know a lot of people disagree with that, I think the problem here is sanitation. But then there will be the people who are against hand sanatizers (spelling? sorry no coffee yet) because they can be hazardous. I don't think this is the most awful thing but yeah, she should have atleast had her hands on a blanket/towel instead of the ground.
no, not a bad sighting but an interesting one anyway. i find it fascinating what nannies do with children, so much of it is because of the difference in their cultures. bottom line is and no one heeds this advice, your nanny shouldn't be anyone that
1) you yourself could spend a day with without gouging your eyes out.
2) someone you could sit down and have lunch with.
3) someone who regardless of background is somewhat americanized. i know a lot of caribbean women who seem americanized but they don't get the american way of bringing up children and roll their eyes at everything the mom wants the child to eat, not eat, do, etc. I would beware of that.
There is always a way to slip a healthy habit into a kid's lifestyle. If the kid will only eat bread, then is it better to bring only two slices of bread to the park, and show the kid that there are only two slices of bread available. Also bring a yogurt and lots of sprinkles, and ask the kid to put the sprinkles in the yogurt, then ask him to taste the yogurt to make sure the everything tastes okay. My two cents :)
Kelly, I think both of your suggestions are good ones, and would certainly work with most children. However, I do want to highlight, in a general way, the fact that kids with special needs don't always respond to such alternatives.
We don't know that there is anything wrong with the child in the original post. However, it could explain a situation that sounds decidely bizarre.
If a child has special needs, however, a preferable childcare arrangement would involve a caretaker who had experience with his condition. Someone who has a basis for understanding the child's problems might be best able to help him.
even if my child had autism and would only eat balled up white bread, there is no way he would be getting 10 slices and I wouldn't ball it up with dirty hands.
Huh...all the hulabaloo about bread and pepsi and dirty hands struck me as a tiny bit over the top.
The I read the post about the 2 yob who smeared poop all over a playground while sitter did nothing, and I realized the hysteria over this post was REALLY over the top.
No, it's not a good thing to make and feed a kid bread balls without washing your hands, and to give a kid pepsi, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not the end of the universe.
I'm sorry, this post lost me at the description of the child being overweight "and yet dressed in high-end clothing", as if someone who could afford expensive clothes would never be overweight, or suffer an overweight child. Please. That's just an all kinds of offensive assumption.
You people are all psycho. A few pieces of bread and a few sips of Pepsi fed to someone else's kid is someone else's business. As for germs, again, get over yourselves. If your kid goes to a public playground I'm sure they're exposed to worse.
10 slices of bread is over the top. It is as bad as letting a poopy child in the sprinkler, and both scenarios are worth talking about. if anyone has a problem with decent people showing disgust over stupid behavior, they can skip all the comments. Just because there is worse bahavior out there doesn't mean that we have to tolerate stupid behavior.
re:
"this post lost me at the description of the child being overweight "and yet dressed in high-end clothing", as if someone who could afford expensive clothes would never be overweight, or suffer an overweight child. Please. That's just an all kinds of offensive assumption."
Maybe OP was as shocked as I am when I see an obese woman rocking tights and a designer frock. ??
Well, 10 bread ball;s and as much Pepsi as he asked for is not something I'd really want my child to eat, BUT...unless the OP never took their eyes off the nanny, we don't know that the nanny hadn't cleaned her hands with sanitizing gel before she did this.
No matter how we look at this case, that kid ate whole lot of bread, hands down. Competetive eaters can eat 10 loaves of bread in a few minues. However that does not justify any of us or our children eating nine loaves in a few minutes. Bottom line is, overeating is just that, no matter who is doing it. It is not healthy, and we can close our eyes and defend it all we want, but it still remains unhealthy.
jaquawn's bread ball donut recipe
1 regular sized bag wonder bread
crisco or vegetable oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. granulated sugar
instructions:
1)removed crust from bread.
2)roll each piece of crustless bread between palms until you have made a very tight ball of dough, approximately 1 1/2 inches in size.
3)fill deep frying pan or fry cooker with enough crisco or oil to allow submersion of balls. heat oil until very hot.
4) drop balls of dough into hot oil. allow to cook for 1 minute. removed with tongs and let drain on paper towel.
5) roll fried bread ball in combination of cinnamon and sugar.
Enjoy.
I forget to include a picture.
This custom started in Yugoslavia . My great aunt Tomaslava who was from a small village there called "Grabovac" used to make those rolled up balls of bread for me as a child.
Most of the people in her village were quite poor and they ate bread balls, I think, as an alternative to the constant diet of bread/lard sandwiches. One thing she did do, of note, is that she added salt to the bread before rolling it so it was almost like a snack of sorts. Well, at least for a five year old, it was.
12:53, but did your aunt do it with her filthy dirty hands??? I am not as adverse to the bread balls (although they are not something I would want my kids eating regularly) as I am to the filthy hands.
12:53, I think the Papagos would strongly disagree with you.
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Maybe OP was as shocked as I am when I see an obese woman rocking tights and a designer frock. ??
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Yes, because everyone knows fat people are all poor, with no sense of style. Seriously, what is wrong with you people?
have another shot of tequila maggie, and go lay down.
No way, Jaquawn! Are those bread balls for real? What do they taste like? :)
Well one thing we have certainly learned from this post is the OP's prejudice against fat people. He was overweight yet dressed in designer clothes? I guess the fat little kid was supposed to be dressed in a burlap sack. Heck, shouldn't all fat people dress in rags? Why would they waste good money on clothes when they could spend that money on even more bread balls?
Makes you wonder why she really posted this...was it simply to voice her distaste for overweight children?
For goodness sake, calm down. What is the big deal?
Well, if the kid's overweight, isn't it up to the parents to notice & inquire about what the nanny is feeding him and adjust his nutrition accordingly? If they can't be bothered to do that, why are they going to do anything (presuming they even read this) about something posted on a blog?
What?! She didn't use hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial soap, and a liter of isopropyl alcohol first?
All nannies should be required to wear latex gloves by law. If it helps one poor defenseless child from getting a germ in his mouth, it will be worth it.
I think the concern was more over the copious amount of bread the child was eating.
I also think it would be helpful if employers had their nannies wear scrubs while on the job. The are durable and great for walking, playing in the park or just about anything. My nanny was very receptive to the suggestion and I purchased her 5 bottoms and 5 tops in a really great shade of purple.
you are all disgusting people for your participation/support of this website.
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