Received Sunday, November 11, 2007
Child is white, has curly brown hair and is wearing a pink and white knit cap and a pink coat with puffy squares. The nanny is Hispanic of about 45-50, heavy bodied with a large forehead and a long, straight pony tail. She drifted to sleep in the middle of the playground and was woken by your little girl tugging on her knee length, lt. blue jacket. Is this a negative nanny sighting or an overworked nanny who needs a break. Either way, parent- do the right thing-your little girl is paying the consequence and seems lonely. She did not join in with the other children and seemed desperate for attention; both before and after she woke the nanny.
28 comments:
Wow, so dangerous to not have your eye out on the child. But I am glad finally a poster that recognizes the nanny may be overworked. I don't know how some nannies do it!! I read help wanted posters for childcare. Some jobs start at 7 and ends at 7. Besides childcare, most I noticed want other things done. They want laundry washed, dinner started, errands ran, etc. If you are working such long hours you need to be able to relax at least an hour a day. If theres young kids that are taking naps, I think you should be allowed to nap too. A half hour does help!!
And what about boredom! That makes you tired as well. Isn't it boring watching kids all day!!
It isn't clear if this happened on Sunday, but if so, the nanny may well be worked to death.Still, she needs to stay awake in the playground.
It is possible this is an exhausted mom.
nanny was black and child was white, so me don't think so, man
I am a nanny and there have been times I was so over worked and exhausted (my charges are 6 months and 2.5 years old) that I literally have held my eyes open with my fingers to wake myself back up, jumped up and down, and drank so much coffee that I've given myself a stomachache...basically, what I am saying is, when someone's innocent life is entrusted in your hands you do whatever it takes to ensure their safety and take care of them, and that involves not falling asleep even when you are putting in a 14 hr. day on 5 hrs. of sleep! If you care enough, you will do what ever it takes to stay a wake. I feel sorry for the nanny if she's half as tired as I am lol, but if mommies can do it we can do it too!
3:19: Have you ever spent time with children? You really think it is boring watching children all day?
I can tell you, while it can most surely be tiring, it is NEVER boring.
I'm with Meme on this point....caring for children may be alot of things but it is never ever boring.
It frustrates me as a nanny to read of others falling asleep in public places. I'm not at all opposed to a 15 minute catnap while the child is at home, safe and sound in their own bed taking a nap but dang it there is a time and place for everything and the playground aint' for napping.
I am a mom, and at times it does get boring. Maybe, thats not the word, at times lonely
I am a professional nanny and some of the expectations of other nannies I meet are ridiculous. Often, the women are taken advantage of because they are young, uneducated, foreign, illegal or all of these combined.
I have walked out of interviews where the parents expected me to watch their children 12 hours a day, and while the kids napped or went to activities I was expected to clean, cook or do laundry. If the kids were at practice or dance I was to shop. I wish these parents would use some of their 6 figure salaries to BUY A CLUE! I am a nanny and that's all I do. I care for the children. I will clean up after them (Though I certainly expect the children who are old enough to pitch in) I will do their dishes and mine and any pots I dirty preparing the children's meals. If they want a housekeeper, they need to hire one. If they want an errand girl they need to hire one of those too! And I tell them that! That is not to say I won't pitch in and occasionally do the dishes the family might have left from breakfast or pick up the dry-cleaning on occasion on the eway to or from ballet. But it's on MY terms. The family knows it's not to be expected o me all the time. And they love and respect me more for my firm stand.
10:29
But it sounds ike the differences you describe are a result of the fact that you are a bonafide, professional, qualified nanny. It sounds like some of these others are more like untrained babysitters who call themselves nannies. They take these bad jobs because they are not qualified to get the good ones, like you did.
They work for parents who want or need to save money. Experience and training can make all the difference in getting a great job no matter what profession you choose.
MOM
" untrained babysitters who call themselves nannies. "
ITA, but the real problem is the PARENTS call them nannies. If parents didn't hire fake nannies we wouldn't have all these distressing sightings!
7:49
OP said the nanny; was Hispanic, not black. That means she comes from a Spanish speaking country. She could be any color including white, and if her skin is darker than the child's the child could look like the dad. Live and learn.
11:40
I couldn't agree with you more!
eric's mom,
I suppose it depends on the age and neediness of your kids too. My kids are little, so never a boring moment here.
Yes, my son is little too. Hes almost 2 : )
We live on the East Coast, so now we can't go out as much. Example: the park, etc.
I wish it was still warm out!!
I live in the mid-west and mine are just barely 3 years old and 19 months. I know what you are going through! :)
Meme,
Are you in Iowa?
Actually I am in the Lake Michigan area.
So Meme your experiencing the cold weather as well! I have to admit I can't wait for the first snow fall!! Its beautiful
Your kids are close in age so I can see why you have your hands full : )
MY youngest two children played together every day like best friends. They slept together every night for years, because they wanted to and just liked being together that much. I honestly don't remember the two of them even bickering...ever...until the first got to the teenage phase.)It is a lot of work at first, but having two that are close is a real blessing in many ways. I didn't have to find an activity or playdate on a daily basis because they were just as happy to play with one another and their toys, so it was like a 24/7 playdate at our house.
(Now both are teens and they bicker daily. Arrrrgggh!)
Hi Mom
Yes, I would love to have another baby. But if I do, I know we couldn't afford it. It would mean I would have to go back to work full-time. And paying for two kids in daycare forget it! I will wait at least another year.
Well enjoy those bickering teenage years. Before you know it they will be out to college. Because I know how fast the time goes!!
Eris's mom,
I believe things work out as they are meant to. My first two children are a little over four years apart due to unexpected fertility problems. I found a lot of ways that that was also very nice. Like I had a full four years with my first son alone, and then my second son got me all to himself when big brother started kindergarten the next year. I got a lot of time to spend with each one of them individually as toddlers, which I loved. And it makes the sting of the first one going off to college a bit easier because at least the next one wasn't right on his heels ready to go too.
Good luck to you. I don't see how you can go wrong when your plans are made around being the best mom you can to your kids!
I am a SAHM and I have never commented on this blog, but have read it just to see what there was on here, and I must say I have seen some real doozies. But, I have to say to the person that said that they had seen ads in the paper that want a nanny for their child AND someone to do housework and run errands that maybe the person placing the ad should consider hiring a nanny AND a housekeeper. I was with my child all day long before this August when he started Pre-K and I wasn't able to get alot of housework done. I am able to now because of Pre-K, but that is the only reason. I think if you need someone to be with your child all day long and someone to keep your house clean, maybe you are working too much. I was a full time professional before I had my son and after he was born, I gave it up to be with him. I know I am going to probably be bashed for this, but I don't know why people have children and then go back to working 12 hour days or more. Why have a child to hire someone else to raise them? I fully understand that some people have or want to work and that's great, babysitters or nanny's are just fine, but if the nanny is pretty much raising your child and you want them to clean you house too, then there is a problem. Nannies are only human, they need time off and breaks just as you do. You should't expect to hire someone that is happy ALL the time and comes to your home (or lives there) and treats your child just as you would and cleans your home. That just isn't possible to expect of one person. You should really consider how YOU would feel after doing all of that and then think about your expectations for a nanny. And, please don't get me wrong, I fully understand that some people have to work 1, and sometimes 2 jobs to have money to live and support their children, I am simply going on the fact that if most people can afford a nanny, let alone a nanny to live with them, that they have good paying jobs, and probably don't HAVE to work as long of hours as they do to live.
Now, on to this particular nanny that fell asleep in the park. If she is overworked, then the employers need to give her a break. As I said before, nanny's are human, too. If she fell asleep from being up too late or being out, then she needs to recognize that childcare is quite different than a regular job, you have to be well rested to do this, and very alert to care for any child, let alone someone someone else's.
I also want to point out that in some of the posts I have read on here, people seem to expect nanny's to be superhero's who never get upset or have a bad day and never need a day off or anything like that. You need to realize that they are just like you, except they are hired by you to care for your children. If you need a day off every now and then, why wouldn't they? Same for breaks, time to shower, whatever. I think that being a nanny and a SAHM are alot alike, and parents that work should think about some of that..just a thought. Thanks..
4:06
Don't worry, I don't think you'll get bashed. Your post was very diplomatic. But just the same - don't forget to stick up for the kids that have an all around shitty nanny. They are falling asleep because they are lazy slugs. Not all of them are over-worked. That's why we have this site - to report those kind of nannys.
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