I was sitting quietly in Bryant Park this afternoon (Wednesday July 16th) around 4 PM, when a nanny and her charge sat down behind me and I was disturbed by what I heard and saw.The nanny, who appeared to me to be Indian with shoulder-length brown hair, was wearing a light blue t-shirt and blue jeans with sunglasses on her head. The boy, who I overheard was 3, had light brown hair cut in a bowl cut and was wearing a white polo, blue shorts and sandals. They had a gray stroller, an orange "Cars" sippy cup, and coloring supplies.
There was no physical abuse involved, I will admit that, but the emotional trauma that this nanny was inflicting on the poor little boy saddened me. They were coloring together and she yelled at him everytime he went outside the lines and grabbed his hand to force him to stay inside of them and also told him that he was not being a nice boy for not listening to her when she said that people aren't allowed to color outside the lines. When he got more than five feet away from her, rather than going after him, she would yell at him to come back and convince him to do so by threatening him sourly saying, "if you don't come back, someone will take you away. You don't want that, do you?" He later asked why he couldn't run on the lawn (it was closed), and the nanny responded by snapping, "I don't know! Stop asking!"
In general, she was simply being cold and showed not a hint of concern, compassion or care for this boy in the hour that I observed them. He was a quiet, sweet child from all that I saw (and I'm a nanny, so if I thought the kid was a monster, I wouldn't be posting this here). I felt so badly for this little boy who's growing up constantly being yelled at and chastized and hope that he gets a nanny who cares for him soon.
At age 3 this child is certainly old enough to let mom & dad know that his nanny is being mean.
ReplyDeleteI hope they ask him questions about her, as I know my charges parents do.
I too, hope this little boy gets a new nanny and soon!
I would have followed them home and left a note in the mailbox.
ReplyDeleteNext time, could you possibly, if given the chance - and the child is old enough - tell them to let their mom and dad know how mean their nanny is.
ReplyDeleteThey may be old enough to tell, but too afraid to do so, especially if the nanny has them frightened.
If someone were to step in for the child, he might be brave and say something to his parents about it.
I thought Jennifer Lopez kids would be cute? They look like a creation from Shrek
ReplyDelete4:49, are you kidding? Even a seven-year-old might not tell his parents if he was only a bit afraid of the nanny or he felt somehow guilty.
ReplyDeleteSorry I have to spell this out for you. I obviosly was unclear.
ReplyDeleteI hope this little boys parents ask him how his nanny treats him.
At 3, he is more than capable of responding.
My 2 yr old always tells me about what the baby sitter said or did but usually with some prompting.
Parents need to ask on a continual basis about nannies and sitters, uncles and aunts ,etc..it is the responsible thing to do.
Often, even a frightened will open up if mom and dad make a regular habit of talking to them about how someone treated them.
Now go relax, you sound a bit high strung and rude!
frightened child..whoops, sorry!
ReplyDeleteI agree - the boy will eventually tell his parents that she is mean to him. And hopefully soon because she sounds awful!
ReplyDelete5:18-Lol!
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I am not defending this nanny....but....why are they coloring outside at a park? Sounds like a nanny with a work-at-home or stay-at-home mom that is demanding the nanny and child spend all day outside, no matter what.
This nanny sounds cold, mean, and ignorant of basic child development, if she expects a 3 yo to color inside the lines.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid sometimes when a child complains that the nanny is mean, parents don't take it seriously. They may assume he/she is mad at nanny because she gave him a time out, or wouldn't let him have a cookie before dinner.
The nanny is a Retarted idot
ReplyDeleteI think you meant to say retarDed, but yes, she sounds absolutely awful. I hope the parents see this, or the boy speaks up, but my guess would be that she is working under the table for $4/hr and is expected to scrub the toilets and wash the family's underwear when she's not too busy taking care of the boy.
ReplyDelete6:04 I did not mean to be rude. I am glad that you have a wonderful line of communication with your two-year-old. However, in my experience, children will not necessarily report how the nanny treats them. Even school-age children. This is a fact.
ReplyDeleteFYI
ReplyDeleteThere is no way to "put a note in the mail box" in an apt. building in Manhattan.
Not to mention that placing anything inside someone's mailbox is ILLEGAL!
ReplyDeletei don't really understand what was soooo terrible about this nanny. she sounds strict and a little immature. but it's hardly abuse. what do you want to do, wrap a giant pillow around kids today and tell them everyone is going to be sugary sweet all the time like Barney?
ReplyDelete