I was out on the Great Lawn yesterday, (4/18) enjoying the day with a whole lot of folks. In the crowd was a nanny laying on a lime green towel, laying on her side facing her charge. Her charge was about 10 months old and she had stripped her naked and had her sitting in the full sunlight. The child was a female, Caucasian, light hair and eyes. The nanny was young, Caucasian, dark hair in a pony tail, wearing aviator sunglasses and capris leggings in an olive color. The temperature was about 85 degrees yesterday, she may not have known how hot it was at the time, but she was shading her eyes and body with clothing and sunglasses. Oh, and how do I know it was the nanny? A gaggle of teen girls at one point surrounded the girl and were cooing about how cute she was. The nanny said, "she isn't mine, I'm her nanny".
Saturday
Central Park Great Lawn in NYC
Received Saturday, April 19, 2008
I was out on the Great Lawn yesterday, (4/18) enjoying the day with a whole lot of folks. In the crowd was a nanny laying on a lime green towel, laying on her side facing her charge. Her charge was about 10 months old and she had stripped her naked and had her sitting in the full sunlight. The child was a female, Caucasian, light hair and eyes. The nanny was young, Caucasian, dark hair in a pony tail, wearing aviator sunglasses and capris leggings in an olive color. The temperature was about 85 degrees yesterday, she may not have known how hot it was at the time, but she was shading her eyes and body with clothing and sunglasses. Oh, and how do I know it was the nanny? A gaggle of teen girls at one point surrounded the girl and were cooing about how cute she was. The nanny said, "she isn't mine, I'm her nanny".
I was out on the Great Lawn yesterday, (4/18) enjoying the day with a whole lot of folks. In the crowd was a nanny laying on a lime green towel, laying on her side facing her charge. Her charge was about 10 months old and she had stripped her naked and had her sitting in the full sunlight. The child was a female, Caucasian, light hair and eyes. The nanny was young, Caucasian, dark hair in a pony tail, wearing aviator sunglasses and capris leggings in an olive color. The temperature was about 85 degrees yesterday, she may not have known how hot it was at the time, but she was shading her eyes and body with clothing and sunglasses. Oh, and how do I know it was the nanny? A gaggle of teen girls at one point surrounded the girl and were cooing about how cute she was. The nanny said, "she isn't mine, I'm her nanny".
I hope the poor baby didnt get sunburned. The nanny must be very immature to not realise the danger of sun.
ReplyDeleteThis is where the touchy ground of "minding your own business" and politely striking a conversation with the nanny comes into play.
ReplyDeleteI have a very close friend who is battling Melanoma and Melanoma can touch anyone at any time regardless of race or color.
Although the young nanny's intentions were probably not to be abusing the child, it is more likely the lack of realization that the baby should not be fully exposed to the sun.
Unfortunately, too many young people do not understand the reprecussions of what the sun can do, not to mention the possibility of the child getting sunburned.
I have nagged my young daughter about sun exposure and sun bathing and that one sunburn can be enough to cause Melanoma. She (as most young adults do) "whatevered" me as if I didn't know what I was talking about.
Now that she has her own daughter and been through school to be an esthetician, now agrees with me and understands what my concerns are.
I find that striking a conversation and providing a story can help lighten a potential tense and accusotory tone in a situation like this. Like I mentioned earlier, it is highly unlikely that she intended to hurt the baby.
Baby skin is so tender and sensitive but that thought probably didn't cross her mind. I'm sure that if someone had politely said something, she would probably have rethought her decision.
This must just be a case of ignorance. She must have meant well for the little girl to enjoy the sun but she obviously doesn't get that that such sun exposure can burn you so bad.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all maybe she already had sunscreen on her so in that case the baby was fine. How long were they out there? I'm not saying she probably shouldn't have had a shirt on the baby. But I live in Florida and I've been taking my 21 month old charge to the beach since she was 7 months old. There were lots of times she was at the beach playing when it was in the 80's, with only her diaper and bloomers on. And lots of sunscreen. Don't judge till you know the whole story. I"m not saying it's ok to let the baby bake in full sun. But if she is out there for 30 or 40 mins with sunscreen on the baby it is not going to hurt her.
ReplyDeleteI agree, how do you know she wasn't covered in sunscreen? I run a home daycare and take the older ones to the park almost every day. Were in texas where the sun definately bakes you. I just lather up the older kids, plus the 7mo old baby, and they're fine. No ones ever even gotten a little pink.
ReplyDeleteSUN = BEST CURE FOR DIAPER RASH .... My mom used to strip us down naked when we were babies and went to the beach, to cure diaper rash. I am a nanny and cannot judge this nanny since I do not know the circumstances... But when I used to nanny for family where every Monday the twins would have horrendous diaper rashes from shitty care their parents gave them over the weekend [their diapers were always soiled when i arrived--they were too lazy to put on cream and too lazy to change diapers often]...
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't 85 degrees out yesterday. More like 75 degrees out.
ReplyDeleteTo the moron who just posted,
ReplyDeleteDo you really think I would submit a post if I didn't know the temperature?
Yesterday 84 °F / 28 °C
Got it?
The nanny had glasses on and was shading her face with her hands. I think this was wrong. Unless you are this child's parent, take a chair.
Well I live in NY and it wasn't 85 degrees. Maybe, that was SUPPOSED to be the high but it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteMay you trip over a knife.
You sound like a stalker to me
ReplyDeleteThe issue here isn't the temperature ladies. There is nothing wrong with taking an infant to the park when it is in the 80s. It is the sun exposure we need to worry about. A baby over 6 m. can use sun screen. If the baby in the post was well slathered and not exposed for too long a period, fine.
ReplyDeleteIf the OP was concerned, she might have struck up a conversation with the nanny, and she could casually ask what brand sunscreen she used for the baby. If none, she could tactfully point our that this time of year the sun is getting stronger, and it is time to start using screen.
I was in the park with my charges yesterday too, what a beautiful day!
I can't imagine someone going up to a complete stranger and ask what type of sunscreen they were using for their child. I would be what the hell. Mind your own business. I would think the person was mentally ill. Oh heres another wacko in the city.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 1:05
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't talk to someone that came up to me and my child. I would be thinking, what do they want. Is this a psycho, thats going after my child?
And I wouldn't answer such stupid questions from a stranger.
If this were a post where the Nanny was perhaps yelling at the baby, then I don't think it would be too untoward to approach her. I think she'd understand you were trying to diffuse a situation.
ReplyDeleteThis scene is a bit different. All we can do is hope she knew better and before she left the house, put the sunscreen on the baby. And if the baby were exposed for less than an hour with a really good sunscreen, she is fine.
(OP doesn't state how long they were there.)
Either way, I don't think we have anything to worry about because one of two things will happen:
The Parents will come home and notice the child was sunburned, or they may somehow stumble across this post and question their Nanny about it.
I remember when I was a baby, my Mom told me the neighbors were always coming up into the yard where she had me naked in my playpen and asked, "aren't you ever gonna dress that baby"? lol
My Mom said I was always getting rashes so she'd put me out in the sun to cure it and that the only time I wasn't crying was when I was naked in my playpen.
☺
I too live in NY and it was near 80 something I was out in it and have a temperature gauge in my car which at one point CLEARLY marked 87 so...
ReplyDeleteI would never strip my baby naked in Central Park anyway put cool clothes on her and SUNSCREEN and leave it at that. I agree that if I were this child's mother I would not want her exposed to direct sun for a long period of time. I also agree with other posters who think this was just ignorance, not neglect so give the OP a break for God's sake. A stalker? What in the world? The comments page is for useful comments not crazy ones.
10:51,
ReplyDeleteMaybe in your alley or hut it wasn't in the mid eighties but not only did it make news how warm it was that day in NYC, I felt it as I spent the day tanning by my pool.
And boy, did I get some glorious color.
I am curious as to how the OP knew the baby did not have sunscreen on already.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is relevant if the child had sunscreen on already. The entire time the child was there, sunscreen was not applied and the two of them were there for nearly 2 hours. The child was naked for at least an hour and half of that time. I am sorry if you don't think it is at all a problem, but my 14 year old daughter has had to have four melanomas taken off of her body in the past 2 years. We live in NYC, too. Not CA or Miami. -OP
ReplyDelete11:35 the op never said she did or didn't have lotion on the baby.
ReplyDeleteWe don't know if the parents didn't say the baby needed a little sun. A little sun won't hurt the baby if she had lotion on.
1:05 AM & 1:08 AM
ReplyDeleteThis was not a mom, it was a nanny. Nannies with kids in the park do strike up conversations with other nannies, encourage their charges to be friendly, share toys, and yes, we discuss things like what kinds of sunscreen we like. When I was starting out, I appreciated advice from more experienced nannies.
i take all these posts with a grain of salt.
ReplyDeletewho knows what OP really saw.
OP may be on crack. who really knows.
If the baby was out in the sun for two hours, as stated, and had no lotion on she would have been had a visible sunburn before they ever left the park...in which case it wold be perfectly acceptable for a stranger, upon seeing the baby starting to turn pink, to go over and say something to the nanny about needing sunscreen. Since OP witnessesd two hours of park time and does nt mention that the baby looked burned, the good news is that she almst certainly had good sun lotion on (although I hope she was wearing a little hat anyway.)
ReplyDeleteIf the baby was burned upon returning home, you can safely bet it will tbe the LAST time nanny takes her out unprotected, whether mom and dad see this post or not.
This is a good reminder to us all that it is getting to be that time of year again. I once let my son go to the pool wiht friends after school (3:30pm or slightly later) on a spring day. because it was late in the day and (I thought) too early in the season I didn't put lotion on him. Too poor child got a nasty, painful sunburn. I still feel rotten just thinking about it.
My dermatologist said she gave her nanny two weeks notice that she would be terminated. She got her revenge by taking her two small red headed daughters swimming in the hot summer sun, unprotected, for hours. She said both girls were absolutely fried and in excruciating pain. What a miserable creature to do that to children because she was mad at the mother.
I doubt the nanny did that on purpose. There is no way to prove that she did.
ReplyDeletesounds like bs to me. you're all such a bunch of drama queens.
Okay, my issue here isn't the sun, but the lack of realization that there are total pervs all over this city! Do you mean she was completely naked? No diaper? Hello!? What an idiot!
ReplyDelete3:32, I wondered that myself, and then decided naaaaaa...because certainly that would have been a big issue all on its own.
ReplyDelete3:29 All I know is what the doctor told me. That was her feeling...that it was on purpose. Of course, it's the "perfect crime", because there is no way to possibly prove that it was malicious and not just a very suspiciously timed "oversight". But yeah, sometimes you just "know."
Why does the poster think that the nanny laying on a blanket shading her face was wrong?
ReplyDeletevitamin D is your friend.
ReplyDeleteguys, give the OP a break. i would think the same thing, especially if a young nanny who has not yet seen the effects of sun damage on her own skin. either way, i'd be mad b/c nanny was likely just trying to get a sun tan herself, instead of trying to stimulate the baby.
ReplyDelete...and one more thing, why did she take the diaper off? i bet it was so parents wouldn't see a burn line.
ReplyDeleteI would hope that any Parent changing their childs diaper would notice a sunburn, if not, then this Nanny is the least of their problems!
ReplyDeleteThank you OP, for reporting the amount of time they were in the sun. Out of curiosity I did some reading and almost all of the articles said a baby that young should not be directly exposed, period.
So, 2 hrs. may have been excessive for a 10 mo. old naked baby, with no hat or diaper, outside with it that hot ... even if the Nanny applied sunscreen.
If there was a sunburn, the Parents had better take it up with their Nanny.
Who said they were out for two hours
ReplyDeleteOP did
ReplyDeleteOP:
ReplyDelete"The entire time the child was there, sunscreen was not applied and the two of them were there for nearly 2 hours."
- 11:44
My daughter has extremely fair skin, as do I. We apply one of the better sunscreens about every 3 hours or so unless we are active-meaning sweating a great deal or swimming. She's never gotten sunburned. This baby almost certainly had to have a good sunscreen applied or OP would have remarked the baby was lobster red after 2 hours of naked exposure. It also would be quite unnecessary to post any warning here as the baby would almost certainly would have needed medical attention after exposure for so long without the proper protection.
ReplyDelete12:03
ReplyDeleteThank you. I agree.
My nanny, my baby cool off everyone, no problems with it for me.
ReplyDeleteEven if the post is dated 4yrs ago.
ReplyDeleteIt is NOT ACCETTABLE FOR A BABY OR TODDLER..being naked WITH NANNY