Monday

Mountain View Park in Burbank, CA

Received Monday, October 15, 2007
The two older children's therapists and I decided to take my three charges out to the Mountain View Park on south 3451 South Griffith park drive in Burbank. Sorry for the low quality image, but after watching her for weeks, I decided to snap a photo with my mobile phone which has a pretty low quality camera.
http://isawyournanny.blogspot.com
While the two therapists took my five year old charge, to go play on the large structure meant for the kids her age and older, I went with the other two who were four and 2 to the swings along with the four year old charge's therapists. which thankfully are in close range to the structures. I, the nanny, was swinging the 2 year old while the four year old's therapist was swinging him. We were having a great time, making jokes with the two of them, making silly faces with them. I also was keeping an eye on the five year old, and how she was doing with the therapists, in case they needed help, or wanted a break we could switch. I then saw this one little girl around the same age as my 2 year old charge, judging by height and body structure, at first i thought it might be the other dad's youngest daughter, ( I met him right when we came to the park and my five year old charge went right to her, I found out she was the same age as her.) turned out it wasn't, because I saw this girl's nanny nearby, doing nothing else but talking on her cell phone, just walking back and forth,with her head down to the ground, not once glancing up to look at her and would request that they hang up and go play!.

As she is doing this, this little girl does the following:

--Climbs up on this HUGE structure which is not at all safe for kids her age to go on with out adult supervision(there is another one that is for kids her age that is right next to it) this nanny doesn't pay any attention and just goes on it. several times she almost fell off, but thankfully the dad of another child was there to help her.
--The little girl would go to the other dad constantly cause he was the only one there that would help him, on the slide this nanny even saw her go to him, and didn't do nothing!!! Not even an introduction to tell the little girls name or anything!! what does this have to do with anything? well hmmm what if this guy had no child? and wasn't a father. What if he held her hand and took her away? I know that she would go with this man, because why?! he was nice etc. and that is how most child perpetrators are!! I know this person wasn't a child predator but seriously!! this nanny just walked back and forth head to the ground. the father then looked up at her like "hey is this your kid?!" then looked at me, with a look like "can you believe this woman?!"
--Then the little girl, went into the bathroom that was on the other side, I saw her, pulling on her diaper, signaling that she had to go potty(I knew this cause currently my own two year old charge does this as well, and whenever that happens I put her on the potty). All this woman did was go running around and brought her back so she could make sure that she was around so that she could still chat! Because she could take her to the bathroom and help her with a phone, stuck to her ear.

I told the four year old's therapist what if i go up to her and take her phone and say hang up and do your job. she said don't she might say that you were trying to hurt her or something of that nature. I figured i should keep my distance, i mean there is this place ;)

Just after that bathroom incident, and when she turned her back to the child, this little girl went to the bench and climbed it and fell down! the thud was the thing that brought her running, but she didn't put down her phone to go pick her up even then.

When taking my 2 year old charge out of the swing to go change her diaper, and her brother went with the therapist to the structure, then the five year old and her therapist went to the swing that my 2 year old was in, what i saw almost baffled me!!. Right after I changed my 2 year old charge she started running to the swings again, i caught her just in time and pulled her away from that nanny who was yep you guessed it still on the phone and didn't see the other little girl(my charge)running over, and almost clocked her in the head!!. If I had not pulled her away she would have gotten seriously hurt!

The nanny was wearing a creme/white long sleeve sweater, with jeans, she had long black hair and the skin tone of either Iranian or Armenian descent, she spoke English and seemed to be in her early-late 20s. she was around 5'8. the stroller she had was a Maclaren with another huge bag. The girl was around 20 months-early 2s, and ha blonde hair blue eyes and was Caucasian. She had on a magenta sweater and was wearing jeans. with no socks or shoes.

45 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's no question that this nanny was not doing her job of caring for her charge and providing supervision.

Most likely you, the OP, will get criticized for 1) not minding your own business and 2) neglecting your own charges and stalking the other nanny. I just wanted to pre-empt those types of comments and let you know that 1) you did a great job of reporting what you saw and 2) it is very possible to push kids on the swing and still see a bad nanny siting. Most good nannies and parents are able to keep an eye on the kids and still be aware of their surroundings, like whose is coming and going, and who is doing nothing by talking on the cell phone.

Anonymous said...

Is this the same author that wrote this post: "You're a piece of trash Princess Caraboo."

Quinn said...

I still don't understand why these people take nanny jobs when they would be better suited to be receptionists or something similar; they could chat/text on the phone all day. Plus, no children would be annoying them!

Do nannies like this really snow over their employers so that they have no idea they have hired a bum nanny?

I just don't understand!

Anonymous said...

Thank god for bad nannies. My wife stays home with my infant son, and gives him all the love and attention he deserves.

When my well-adjusted, confident son competes against your neurotic, self-doubting child; my son will wipe the floor with your kid, in academics and sports.

Anonymous said...

You get what you pay for.

Anonymous said...

2:30, I am very happy for your son, and God bless your wife for being his everyday Mommy. But PLEASE don't wish bad on any of these children. They are the innocent victims.

SAHMs do not want anything but for EVERY child to be loved and secure, and raised by it's own mommy whenever possible. (Yes, dad is OK if necessary, but MOM is best in the first 5 years. Proven fact.)

Anonymous said...

Alot of cheap caregivers are nannies because its easier to be a bad nanny than a receptionist. At a receptionist or other administrative job, you have adults who are supervising and judging your work. The kids are too small to complain that their nanny is neglectful and/or abusive.

Having said that, check out all the ads on Craigs List for parents looking to hire a "nanny" for less than $300 a week, always under the table and with no medical or other benefits.

In some cases, the bad nannies are fired daycare workers who couldn't cut it in a daycare with other caregivers watching their behavior.

Anonymous said...

Dad,
I am so happy for oyur son, and God bless oyur wife for being his everyday, loving mommy.

But please don't wish anything bad on any other child. We moms want them ALL to be loved, cared for, and well adjusted.

(Or were you just trying to shock some of these poeple who have abdicated responsibility for their children back into reality? If so, thanks for that. We who put children first can use all the help we can get in our quest to see all parents do the best for their children. Some of them are really hard headed and only become angry and insulting when confronted with the truth about what absentee parents do to children's psyches.)

Anonymous said...

3:12 you are right however, some become nannies because they are tired of co-workers scrutinizing them for their gender by nit-picking at small unecessary things, such as givng a child a hug etc. The children love them as do the parents and trust them with all their heart cause the kids always talk about them and the parents tell them this at home.

I know of several people who have had those experiences They and are now afraid to go into the child care industry again cause of people like that who, will claim they something they didn't do, to the parents just cause they dont like them. and can have that advantage because they are male. :(

Anonymous said...

2:30 what about you? do you just avoid your son and do the MAN work? and if you are nurturing is that the occasional hug etc.? You know many of those sterotypes of males come from this type of stuff. making it harder for REAL nannies both male and female to find jobs and in turn these nannies are tunred away cause of their gender, and also the kids and the parents lose the advantage for having a great nanny because they look at gender NOT qualifications.


as for academics and sports what if your son decides to go into say art, or do dance, and in academics what if he does average? but excels in a different area of non traditional academics such as say being a musician, etc.?

does that mean he failed?

Anonymous said...

skyhigh

nope I am not.

Anonymous said...

The OP wrote WAY to many details about her own children, what an idiot. And maybe the bad nanny talked on her phone to much, but you could have just put your whole family of chagers in jeporady. I'm sure its not to difficult to pick you out at the park.

Anonymous said...

this post is to long for what it is. i don't have time to read something this long with run-on sentences.

Anonymous said...

2:30,

I am a SAHM to my two kids, but I must caution you on your bravado in asserting that your son will be well adjusted and confident, good at sports and academics. I certainly hope that he will be. But it takes a lot more than a SAHM (or other loving, dedicated caregiver) to end up with a child like that. Such a caregiver is a great start. But life is complicated, after all. Your son will also need lots of good luck, the right genetic mix and decent brain chemistry, school teachers who enhance rather than detract from his growth, friends and schoolmates who do the same, and more good luck along the way . . . just to name a few of the ingredients that could affect his ultimate self image. I wish him the best, but please, for your son's sake, don't oversimplify.

Anonymous said...

Good grief, this post is a novel!

Anonymous said...

OP says: "...she had long black hair and the skin tone of either Iranian or Armenian descent, she spoke English and seemed to be in her early-late 20s."

Wow, that's weirdly specific, but wildly inaccurate. Lots of people who are neither Armenian nor Iranian have that kind of skin tone.

And if you were so concerned, why didn't you call the police or child protective services instead of posting to a blog?

Anonymous said...

2:30
I hope your wife will love your son for whom he is since you seem so invested in what he accomplishes. that is a lot of pressure for a child.

Anonymous said...

8:49 PM
I don't know about the police in Burbank, but in NYC they would be beyond pissed if you called to report a nanny on the phone.

Yes, this is a negligent nanny, but come on, be realistic!

Anonymous said...

I'm wondering why the OP's charges require therapists? Maybe it's something to do with their over protective nanny who feels it's her personal mission to police the behavior of all nannies?

Anonymous said...

4:33?! errr how did she/he put them in Jepordy?! didn't you read everything, also she/he seemed to be saying what happened, from the time they got there, and to when she/he saw what was happening, furthermore she/he didn't give any details as to who or what the kids looked like, what they had on etc. the only things that she/he stated about them, were their ages, and that they had therapists, and that they were either boy or girl thats it. Nothing really identifiable at all,because hey, there are kids out there that have therapists that take them out to the park etc, such as ones who have either cerbal palsy, mental retardation and the such. So duh tons of kids who are boy girl. How can you tell one from the other?! She/he didn't give their full or partial physical or any other truly identifiable description at all. Please learn to read.

Anonymous said...

I am just confused about why it was necessary to go on and on about her charges and their therapist(s). Sorry...but my mind went in the direction of..."What on earth are 2 3 and 4 year olds doing with a therapist???

Before you go off on me...I am sure others find that a tad strange too. If I could afford to hire 2 therapists and a nanny...I would be a sahm...obviously the children would need me more than usual. This is just too confounding for me.

Anonymous said...

Seriously, 10:21 . . . is your world so limited that you can't conceive of a family situation that might require mom to work even though she can afford therapists? Maybe mom's job provides the health insurance? Maybe there is no dad in the picture? Maybe without mom's salary, there would be no therapists, but also no house, car, food . . . ? Welcome to the rest of the world.

Anonymous said...

I'm still trying to figure out what the heck the picture is.......this is the most screwed up post I've ever read on here.

Anonymous said...

The therapist could be a physical therapist or an occupational therapist or a speech therapist. SAHMs are great, but they sometimes require the help of the above experts, if their children have special needs. So it's ridiculous to post that the mom should just stay home because she can afford a therapist. She would still need the therapist regardless of her working status.

Anonymous said...

true, but if her kids are so messed up as to requite TWO therapists EACH, perhaps she should be there to work with them also? (If at all possible. If she's alone in the world, bless her heart.)

Anonymous said...

I wish I had the time to read this very loooong post.

Why, I'm Jenisis, of course said...

Oh, no no nooooo. This post just won't due. It took too long to get to a very limited point.

Anyway, to the dad that thinks his kid will rock because his wife stays home with him...shyeah right! Just because you're a stay at home mom, it doesn't mean your kid will be any better than any child growing up with parents, foster parents,nannies, in daycares, or in a therapist office. I grew up with 2 kids that had stay at home moms, and to this day, both of their parents are still paying for their kis therapist bills, and juvi. court fees. Don't be so blind, and quick witted to judge and think you're right because your wife is with your kid. Heck,just because a kid is with their mom all day, doesn't mean she's doing a bang up job. Everyone is diff.

Anonymous said...

It could be a child with autism. My nephew has high end autism called Aspengers ( I don't know the spelling). Hes in a special program in kindergarten. Theres a shadow for every two kids. They keep their eye on them, and help them out. My nephew is a runner, so they need to always watch he doesn't take off. He doesn't understand danger.

Anonymous said...

sweets you got too much time on your hands to be such a busy body. Christ...what you wrote was nearly an opus.

Lighten up

Anonymous said...

geeze get a life, why such a dramatic longggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg post!!

Anonymous said...

There was no way I was going to finish this post. Too much info.

Anonymous said...

OH THE DRAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hiptowaist said...

It's sad but it seems that Autism has become an epidemic that coincides with childcare and daycrae not too mention diet. I've seen it reversed or at least alleviated when parents start to focus on their kids and don't leave them with nannies or ignore them to blog on the computer all day. Something to consider.

Anonymous said...

Darkseaweb,
I don't know about that, but I do know that I have seen deep pock marks and acne scars reversed or at least alleviated when ass eating cowboys climb down off their psuedo horses and plant their slim-shady asses on the treatment tables of prominent dermatologists.

Anonymous said...

12:53, I had to go get the Windex for my computer screen after reading that. ROFLMAO!

Anonymous said...

What is theat stucture that appears to be a giant purple hairpin?

Anonymous said...

I occasionally baby-sit a boy who is autistic and his therapists do outings with him. He has two separate therapists; they come on separate days, and one overseeing therapist that comes sometimes when there is already a therapist there... to oversee.

This would account for two therapists on one outing, along with a main caretaker, babysitter, nanny, or his mother.

Anonymous said...

Autism has nothing to do with parenting, or if a mom has to work. My sister is a SAHM and her son was diagnosed with it.

Anonymous said...

Obviously. Whoever said that was just being extremely cruel and ugly and trying to stir up trouble.

Anonymous said...

lol...10:39. No..my world isnt small at all.

I do work...and I have always had to work...and...I raised 2 great kids with some help from wonderful people.

It is only my opinion, that if I had a child or children that needed therapists...I would stay home. A perfect therapist, wont and cant make up for mommy. If you dont like how I think, that is your perogative. I can only post based on my experience, and my views.

Anonymous said...

yet 11:15pm do you even KNOW what autism is or entails? or do you have any hands on experince(not just one day or so) with kids or adults who HAVE it?

cause if so then maybe you'd see what a therapist is needed for. Also do you know what these therapists even do?

Anonymous said...

I am not 11:15, but I have friends with Autisitc children (several, as it seems more prevalent than ever.) It is a devastating illness with a huge range of symptoms, from almost unnoticeable to outsiders, to near catataonia...and everywhere in between. Some of the kids go on to lead normal lives and others can never be left alone for a moment for the rest of their lives.

All but two of the children I know with this have dedicated stay at home moms. And their families are devastated by the diagnosis. Care for the more severely affected kids is nearly impossible to accomplish without outside help. Even with help, it is a neverending struggle for the parents....day in and day out.

Just wanted to get this out there because I found the comments of the past few days very disturbing. It is bad enough when a child has any kind of illness or birth defect without heaping unfounded and hurtful blame on their parents, who are already devastated enough.

I am the first to say I wish parents would raise their own children (when possible). But nothing is ever just plain black and white, and this is one of the instances where outside help is an absolute necessity.

Anybody with healthy children should be thanking God for the blessing.

Anonymous said...

ooookay and the parents with "non healthy"children should leave their kids at a door step in abasket?

wow thats really sweet


btw to get this thread going more and to add a bit of heat to the stuff...

the nanny is a actually a guy, who happens to be a friend of mine(no I'm not him, trying to hide my identity, I am a friend of his that has known him since college), we've been best friends since high school some think we are husband and wife , eww!! thats like me liking my brother!! I've gotten to witness him in action first hand, when he and I were classmates in a child development class and were in different classes(he was with the two year old s I was with the 4 year olds, he also did the four year olds as well and they loved him as much as the twos) and hes awesome and the kids and parents equally enjoyed him. And still do!! this(his post and the dumb ideas people have about guys being nannies) just proves that gender means jack when it comes to whose a good candidate for your kids.

Also to the morons who were talking about how long it is etc. guess what, stop being lazy like that nanny and just read it, there are no short cuts to anything! and lol at him having too much time on his hands lol he wishes he did!

GO GET EM R!!

Anonymous said...

huh wha?
who's the guy?
how long is what?

Anonymous said...

the OP is a male nanny, (a friend of mine since high school) read the post.