Saturday

Barnes & Noble in Park Slope, NY (Brooklyn)

Received Saturday, January 19, 2008
This is an odd sighting that I know I would want to know about if it were my nanny, so don't shoot the messenger. I was at the Barnes & Noble on 7th today, (Friday, 1/18) and I observed a nanny watching a little girl with a page boy hairstyle, thick dark hair, blue eyes, wearing floral leggings and a denim skirt and a ice pink jacket with horizontal ridges. This little girl was about 3 and as darling as could be. I noticed her because she was by herself. Granted, there are a lot of Moms around but I was very uncomfortable with a little girl by herself roaming around what is a very large store (with stairs). She left my sight for awhile and about ten minutes later, I heard a woman saying, "does anyone belong to this little girl". Heads started looking around looking for the person responsible for her. Finally, we saw her sitting in a daze. A white woman with goth style makeup, very pale face, black hair with pinkish tips on some parts was sitting there in a stupor. She nodded awake and said, "oh ah yah" or something to that effect and claimed the girl. Then she stood up, grabbed a black and green leather shoulder sack and said, "lets go find some good books to read". In her voice, she mustered some enthusiasm, but she dragged behind the girl. She was so out of it. Hungover, sleep deprived- I don't know. In fact I don't care. But at a minimum, you people need to hire people to w-a-t-c-h your children. That is the basic definition of a babysitter. Isn't it?

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any possibility that this could have been the mom?

Anonymous said...

yeah i think that was the mom

Anonymous said...

That description sounds exactly like a mom I know who lives in the neighborhood (and has a daughter) . Are you sure it was nanny?

Anonymous said...

Ack, here we go ... Barnes & Noble.
Again.
Mom or not, can't these Employees kick people out that are ignoring their charges/children?

If it is the Nanny, didn't the last time someone posted about this place become popular enough that the Parents would know to come and check on their kids to make sure they're being properly taken care of?
Poor little girl.

Anonymous said...

couldn't the OP ask the litte girl where is her mommy? Maybe then the little girl could of given you a clue if it was a nanny or the mom.

Anonymous said...

OP yes. it was discussed that when they were shopping the little girl around looking for her owner, they were looking for her babysitter - not her mommy.

Anonymous said...

At least in Barnes and Noble there is the possibility of the cameras catching someone if they walk off with the child. If they kick them out and she is on the street not watching out for her, there is not always a street corner camera to catch it.

Anonymous said...

I don't think it matters where this Nanny is ... this little girl is going to get neglected anyway.
This B & N is a notorious hang-out for these poor children and their lazy Nannies, but that doesn't mean it's o.k. for them to hang out in there.

Anonymous said...

The description of her behavior sounds a lot like someone who is using heroin.

Anonymous said...

OMG! Goth style makeup and black hair with pink tips? Gross! Apparently Hot Topic is now a nanny agency...*LOL* Good work OP! Park Slope is in Brooklyn, right? Would it be possible for you to follow this nanny home and contact the parents?

Anonymous said...

Sounds like this nanny would be easy to find.

What is with that Brooklyn Blog saying this post reeks of racism.
Pink hair and black hair and goth-
are they a race?

Anonymous said...

Goth girl?! Forget about the B&N incident! Imagine all the crappy music this kid is subjected to! The Cure, Jesus & Mary, Type O Negative, UGH!

Anonymous said...

Geeze, some of you need to settle down about this girls appearance. This sighting has nothing to do with how she chooses to express herself physically. One of my closest friends is an extremely intelligent artistic person (with a Masters in Psychology) and she does stuff like this with her hair on a regular basis. Some people are creative, some people aren't. Some people like to stand out, others like to "blend" or "fit" in. There is nothing wrong with expressing yourself, and those of you screaming about what style of music she may or may not listen to, and clothing stores (that are just "ewww" haha) sound ignorant, judgmental, and exceptionally bitc...uhhh..."catty" yes, we'll call it: ''catty". This girls behavior regardless of her clothing, make-up, or hairstyle is completely inappropriate-end of story-case closed! ;)

Anonymous said...

I like "The Cure" ... and I'm 35 and dress pretty conservatively.

Anonymous said...

11:57-I used to like the Cure in high school...and I'm a few years younger than you. *smile*

OK, picture this: It's the 80's. I would spray my bangs with spritz, blow dry it until it stood up, and spray some more. I went through 3 cans of hairspray per week. I didn't do the goth or punk look, just my hair. I was a cheerleader and I did poms, so no, I didn't dress like a punk rocker. My Guess jeans, Swatch, Forenza, Benetton, Outback Red, shaker sweater with a long strand of pearls tied into a knot, stirrup pants and slouch socks. Oh and Reeboks with the double velcro straps across the ankle....

*LOL*

Anonymous said...

I'm 29, LOVE the Cure, been a nanny for 5 years, have visible tattoos, haven't dyed my hair in a while, but still know how to take care of a child. I am very lucky to work for a few families that understand that appearance, while important (in some circles more than others) is not the true measure of a person's worth. Most of my tattoos are family/pet related. Sorry she seemed high, but don't judge everyone else with F***ed up hair/skin upon your sighting.

Anonymous said...

wow ... and there you go. good point, 5:16

Anonymous said...

I thought posters were supposed to be descriptive so as to help a parent recognize their nanny and/or child. I did not sense that the OP was being judgmental about the woman's appearance, rather was concerned about her behavior and inability to monitor the child entrusted to her care. Take it easy on posters or no one will want to post. Then, you'll complain that it's slow around here.

Anonymous said...

Hey I live in park Slope and BN is a haven for Nannies and moms. On the surface it seems like a great hang...It is fine to take a book off a shelf and just read to a child. Trust me if you do that you get a crowd of kids around you who want to hear you read. But.. The flip side is adults let the kids run wild in there and they socialize with each other and ignore the children. It would be unlikely that a kid could just walk out of the place alone.. there is a security guard by the door. Geez... all of us need to just pay attention to our kids when we bring them out in public.

Anonymous said...

As one who has spoken to the people that work in B&N, (not management) they feel that their hands are tied regarding the disruption of their place of business (yes, B&N is a business). Whenever theyve tried to "modify" any of the nanny behavior, the nannies inform their employers and the media and elected officials are called. And all hell goes loose on the park slope parents board. I witnessed Channel 7 news interviewing an irate mom when B&N tried to ban strollers in the childrens dept. due to the overcrowding.

One other time I was there and there was a nanny sitting in the area where they do childrens readings and she was eating her lunch from a popeyes chicken box. Try and do that in the library and see how fast they throw their butts out.

Can't these nannies show a little common sense, I'd rather not pick up a book covered in fried chicken grease.