On June 3rd at about 5:45 pm, a little blond girl (about 2 years old?) was walking on the sidewalk barefoot and picking things out of the sidewalk and cobblestone cracks while her nanny (about 50, African American) chatted away obliviously to the nanny next to her. There is glass and other dirty objects around and no child (or adult) should be walking barefoot. The girl was wearing a diagonally placed pastel checkerboard sleeveless dress over a denim mini skirt. The other nanny's charge was a little boy in a dark bugaboo stroller.
Tuesday
SE corner of 72nd and CPW in NYC
Received Tuesday, June 3, 2008
On June 3rd at about 5:45 pm, a little blond girl (about 2 years old?) was walking on the sidewalk barefoot and picking things out of the sidewalk and cobblestone cracks while her nanny (about 50, African American) chatted away obliviously to the nanny next to her. There is glass and other dirty objects around and no child (or adult) should be walking barefoot. The girl was wearing a diagonally placed pastel checkerboard sleeveless dress over a denim mini skirt. The other nanny's charge was a little boy in a dark bugaboo stroller.
On June 3rd at about 5:45 pm, a little blond girl (about 2 years old?) was walking on the sidewalk barefoot and picking things out of the sidewalk and cobblestone cracks while her nanny (about 50, African American) chatted away obliviously to the nanny next to her. There is glass and other dirty objects around and no child (or adult) should be walking barefoot. The girl was wearing a diagonally placed pastel checkerboard sleeveless dress over a denim mini skirt. The other nanny's charge was a little boy in a dark bugaboo stroller.
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I watched a segment of the news the other night with one of the network doctors like Dr. Jay Adelsburg. He was answering the much debated question about people in parks, barefoot in the grass or not? The answer was absolutely not. Especially not for a child.
I can understand wanting to go barefoot in the sand or grass, but why was this little girl walking down the street barefoot.. in NYC?
Oh, how awful. Besided being oblivious to the child, the nanny lack common sense. That nanny's employer must not have heeded H's advice regarding assessing common sense.
Well, all I can say is that whenever I take the kids to the park they BEG me to let them take their shoes off. I sort of feel like it's in their nature and it is a tough thing. Kids love to run barefoot, wild and free. Of course these girls are 4 and 6 but still. It's not a definite thing.
Living in NYC, I know there is a lot of filthy junk on the ground. Cigarette butts, broken glass, spoiled food, etc. That nanny should be fired.
In China, and many other countries, kids walk barefoot all the time! What's the big deal?
When I was a kid we ran barefoot all summer long. At the begining of every summer the blacktop burned our feet, and by the end they were used to it.
Too bad. Yet another bit of freedom that has become unsafe for our kids. I remember once my parents went on a trip and hired some gawdawful woman from an agency to stay with us. I thought she was CRAZY because she insisted I wear shoes when I walked to the beach. I showed up at my friends house, flip flops stuffed into my bag by then, and told her about the "crazy shoe lady"...and her mouth fell open too at the thought of wearing SHOES to the BEACH! Hehehe. Now my kids wouldn't think of going barefoot anywhere...even to the beach. Of course, I would have never sent them to the beach alone at the ages I went either. That same friend I just mentioned told me that a few years back her dad asked her why she didn't just drop her kids off at the beach. She said she was aghast at the suggestion of sending children alone to the beach....until her dad reminded her, "You went there every day by yourself a lot younger than that." So sad how times have changed. VERY!
Mom I so relate to your story.
But being in NYC, we were never permitted to go barefoot. However my best friend always went barefoot.
As far as going places alone, Iremeber going everywhere by myself or with my best friend. Shopping, to the movies, long bike rides. We disappeared with money or a packed lunch at 9AM and no one saw us until Sundown. How times have changed indeed.
It's sad that these times we live in keep our kids from the freedoms of our childhood. My best friends and I would ride our bikes or walk way far into the countryside, exploring abandoned (haunted!) houses and whatever else took our fancy. We'd walk downtown to the library, fish on the river and our moms didn't have too much of a worry- nothing like today's moms anyway. Yeah those were the days.
I do not want my kids barefoot unless they are in our own yard. They are people urinating where they damn well please these days, spitting and God knows what else they will step in or on in a park (used needles)or on the sidewalk and not to mention slicing up their feet.
People need to use their heads when taking kids out to a park.
I had friends who were around the same age who grew up in Manhattan. They were always shocked at how often my husband and I walked barefoot. I spent my entire childhood barefoot in the country side where I grew up. Even now I have to chastise my husband for wearing socks with no shoes into the garage.
I grew up running barefoot. I never got ringwormn or stabbed by a syringe. I lived in the South.
I've been barefoot in a NY park once. It was about three years ago. The fungus infection I got is still waging a war on my feet. I itch so severely between the toes, sometimes I think I am going to pass out from the pain. I have three nails that are now as thick as chiclets and as yellow as grits. I have tried walking in bleach, peroxide, lamasil, every OTC tube I could get. I bought the special anti fungal drops you get for fungus infections and I turned the bottle upside down and poured it between my toes. I have sat in the sun intentionally to burn my feet, to no avail. My family is aware of my fungal infection, mostly because they have seen me itching. I am a grown adult and not permitted to take my shoes off in my relative's house, borrow their shoes, etc. No one will take their shoes off even in my shower. My nieces and nephews have little swim shoes that they wear in the bathtub or shower.
My advice to you all is to keep your shoes on in NYC.
did you ever have a pedicure? that's where most of those infections involving the nails come from. there's an rx for this, prescription tablets and they will cure it. good luck
Exactly the point. What we could safely do once upon a time is no longer even safe for our kids. It's not about moms being overprotective. It's just a sad, sad reality.
There are quite a few places you can walk around barefoot. Your grassy backyard, down a suburban street to visit a neighbor, to your mailbox at the end of the driveway, your deck, a dock at a marina, the beach (even that's iffy nowadays) etc etc...but a NYC sidewalk or ANY sidewalk in a major city? Naah. The likelihood of finding something "undesirable" where there's a larger population stemming from different walks of life in a very concentrated area is pretty feasible. I would definitely be alarmed if I saw a unattended child walking around the city without shoes on.
I am always amazed, and sickened when parents let their kids go into public restrooms barefoot. It literally makes me ill!
well then manhattanmama, oyu woul dhave had a barf fest over my old playgroup friend. She used to let her kids use public restrooms entirely without her assistance...right from the age they were potty trained. i would gaga as I witnessed her oldest little boy run his hands all over both sides of the pee covered seats while trying to lift it up and then, just for grins, and because he had no way fo knowing any better, he would run his hands over the exposed porcelain rim too. if there was "moisture" present, this was all the more enticing for him to put his hands into. Then she would take them out of the restroom without even bothering to wash their hands! And they would eat after that, still wihtout benefit of any hand washing whatsoever. I would cringe when they even touched me or my child in that condition, but she let them EAT that way! Oh, and three year olds sometimes put their hands into their mouths too.
Did you even suggest to this dumbass to have her kids wash their hands?
I don't knw if I did or not. This was the tip of the iceberg on her bad parenting behaviors. (I have written about her MANY times on here in relation to other posts) and she seemed to have a sort of "defiant edge," where she knew people were looking at her weird for the things she did and was just ready to pounce on anybody who said anything. Sweetest woman with the biggest heart. Probably the WORST parent I have ever seen in my life.
PS It wasn't like she didn't know my feelings on bathroom cleanliness. I was almost ridiculous in my cleanliness rituals in the public bathrooms. I didn't allow any part of my child, (except the bottom of his shoes) to touch any surface in any public restroom. And then I scrubbed his hands afterward anyway. This is how most of our playgroup was too...very clean about the bathrooms, so she could definitely see the ditfference in what she was doing. She washed her own hands too...so I really didn't get why she would let her kids NOT.
She took an almost completely HANDS OFF approach to parenting...in every aspect.
Oh Mom, that is just truly NAUSEATING. Did her kids ever end up with serious, major illnesses, do you know?
I agree also with the person who is grossed out by people going barefoot into public restrooms. EWWWW! And once when the topic came up btwn me and my psycho sister, she just shrugged and said something to the effect of it's easier to wash your feet than your shoes, so I assume she let her kids do it. GROSS.
Cali,
As far as I know her kids were just fine health wise. Nobody ever got really sick...although there were a lot of semi-serious injuries to the younger two as a result of the older bro beating on them (once with a golf club, for instance)...and I never could figure out why her doctor didn't report her. And at least the oldest one turned out to be pretty smart and got a scholarship to a fantastic college...doing math. I have no idea what any of the children's psychological health is like though. it's hard for me to imagine that any of them are OK today.
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