Received Thursday, March 27, 2008
Your au pair? Your son(s)? Today, (3/27) at around 2 PM in McMichael Park throwing rocks at squirrels and birds. I spoke to the au pair and suggested that she was encouraging cruelty and she answered in a thick accent that I think could have been Dutch, "who is it hurting, a rodent". Their real target was the squirrels. The poor squirrels. The littlest boy was being taught how to throw by aiming at the animals! IS there anything that shows what a bad omen this person is than she is teaching them that? The little boy was only about 2. He had blonde hair that was not short, denim jeans with an elastic waste band, hiking boots and a blue jacket. His brother had darker hair, I think it was the brother. His coloring was more olive. His hair has a wave to it and he was wearing a l/s collared shirt sticking out of a sweatshirt and he had a jacket tied around his waste. The nanny was a very young white gal. I think 18-22. She had blonde hair, cut chin length like a bob. No make up at all. A fuzzy blue sweater. I told my husband about this. Believe you me, he is a real animal lover and he said I should have called 911 and had this person arrested. Since I was the only person who said anything, I didn't say more, but boy I regret it now.
Awww how sweet. Little sociopaths in the making!
ReplyDeleteUgh that's disgusting. Poor little guys...the squirrels and birds that is.
You should have started pelting rocks at the au pair.
Future serial killers.....
ReplyDeleteHow horrifying! I agree with Jersey, I'd have felt like throwing rocks at the au pair! I hate to tell your husband but I *seriously* doubt that 911 operators would take any action on a call about people throwing rocks at squirrels.
ReplyDeleteIt's a caregiver's job to teach children empathy. I didn't let my charges kill bugs or pull bark off trees and explained to them that they had feelings too and there was no reason to harm them. Kids are so easily taught cruelty these days and this young woman is doing those poor boys a disservice.
ReplyDeleteTechnically nanny, darling- it is the parent's responsibility to teach their children empathy. The nanny however, should most certainly serve as a proper role model and guiding force in continuing the evolution of correct character.
ReplyDeleteTechnically Helaine, darling, a parent falls into the category of caregiver. Whoever is caring for a child at any given moment carries that title.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer the title Mother and you best believe, I wear it well.
ReplyDeleteAlmost as well as you wear your Gucci scarves, I bet.
ReplyDeleteIf she has no regard for the lives of animals, how must she really treat children? This is scary, I hope the parents read this.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the care givers that are with the kids 10 to 14 hours a day would be teaching the children more than the parents. The parents leave at 8? get home at 7? kids have probably eaten, they get a bath and go to bed by 9? So what then are parents teaching them and when do they have the time?
ReplyDeleteNannies do the homework with them,take them to parks,play dates,school and most of the rest of their activities. Parents have them Saturday and Sunday, maybe.
So it is really the care giver the children are learning from. These kids very little of their parents.
Helaine pookie, I brought up the nanny's responsiblity because that's who this post is about. It is both parent and any nanny worth her weight, job to teach children to grow up to be decent human beings. So get off your high horse.
ReplyDeleteNanny should act as an extension of the parent when she is with the children. That would mean teaching and using manners and discipline that were in line with what the parents use so that there is consistency in every way possible for the children. This behavior was definitley nanny's responsibility...and she blew it big time.
ReplyDeleteIf she is simply keeping them alive and not bothering to keep them morally upright and well behaved when she is with them...which is the vast majority of their waking hours in many cases...how in the world are these children going to learn right from wrong, and to have feelings for other people and living creatures?
This is not a good PROFESSIONAL nanny at all.
squirrel hunting is a sport here in Texas.
ReplyDeleteI know this has been expressed by everyone who has left a message previously, but I wanted to put my two cents in:
ReplyDeleteWhat a positively disgusting, outrageous, HORRIFYING excuse for a caretaker! I don't know how she learned to be so cruel, but it clear she lacks basic human decency.
Yuck.
I hope the parents see this and that they have a long, long talk.
On another note entirely: Isn't it intriguing how a careTAKER and a careGIVER are the same thing? (Don't worry, I'm not looking for an answer to that.)
Elizabeth:
ReplyDeleteIt always strikes me funny when a nanny is referred to as a caretaker. To me, a caretaker works in a zoo, a nanny is a caregiver.
Well most nannies look like they belong in the zoo.
ReplyDeletelove the site
ReplyDeleteFunny, I always thought of a caretaker as like a groundskeeper. Someone who takes care of property, not people.
ReplyDelete10:58-what is that supposed to mean?
ReplyDeleteA caretaker is someone that watches over the house/ grounds, not the kids.
10:58, you are an idiot.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were at the beach at Sandy Hook, my daughter found a wounded horseshoe crab. It turned out a young boy was smashing them with rocks and/or pulling their legs off. My daughter went to explain to the boy why he shouldn't do this and his father stepped in and told her his boy could do as he pleased to those things and she should mind her own business. My 13 year old daughter, looked the father in the eye, and said "if I see him harm one more animal, I am going to the park ranger and reporting you both!" My husband and I backed her up by saying while she did that we would follow him to his car if he tried to leave and give his liense plate and a description. The fine for harassing wildlife in National Parks is quite large. Some people are gross, some or stupid some are both.
10:00
ReplyDeleteThat's a fantastic story. What great girls you have raised. You must be very proud of them.
10:00, that IS a great story. I'm from that area..my dad has a boat and we always went to the little beaches and inlets in the sandy hook bay (still do actually). Those poor horseshoe crabs were always washed up with the tide and couldn't get back to the water on their own...I would make a morning of walking the beaches and bringing them all back...I still do it when I see them now. As weird as it sounds, I have a soft spot in my heart for those ugly, prehistoric looking little guys, haha.
ReplyDeleteGood for your daughter...AND for you and your husband :-)
Thanks guys, I only have one daughter, Mom, she wants to be a marine biologist. She just passed her SCUBA exam, quite a feat since she happens to be autistic. She is very into ocean conservation as well as respecting all wildlife and nature. I am very proud of her, she is my hero and, I believe, an angel God has sent my family to teach us many things, including a new found appreciation for sharks, which she loves. She recently told me sharks are like people with autism, misunderstood and very important to the world. I tend to agree. :D
ReplyDeleteAwwwwww. So often we discount people who don't fit into our society's "box." Your daughter is proof that every person has something valuable to offer if we only look at what they ARE instead of what they're NOT. Sounds like your daughter is lucky she got you for a mom.
ReplyDeleteHer comment about the sharks just goes to show how insightful she is.
Beautiful.
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIf you go to sharks.org, click on Education then kids making a difference, you will see her as an honoree. Her name is Tori. They Also published a school report she had done 3 years ago in the form of a magazine. Of course, some of her research is outdated since that's the way science works, we are always learning! But, it is being used as a teaching resource in several classrooms and she is working on a second one!
Makes you wonder if the dad is smashing the boy and pulling off his legs at home (loosely speaking, you know what I mean) and that
ReplyDelete1)this is why he thinks it's fine for his kid to do it and
2)this is why his kid is doing it in the first place.
As for the original post, I think it's terrible that an adult who is supposed to care for and teach these children is allowing and encouraging them to harm animals. This seems to me a cultural difference as well. I wish more parents/employers would think about the ramifications of what might be okay in the sitter's home country might not be okay according to the parents/employers.
I just looked at Tori's picture at sharks.org. (I meant to do it sooner but got busy.)
ReplyDeleteShe is beautiful and looks like a real sweetie. Again, you must be proud to be raising such a compassionate little girl.