Wednesday

Cupcake Cafe - 545 9th Avenue

Received Wednesday, July 2, 2008
nanny sighting logo Hello,
Earlier today, I saw a nanny who was being really and in my opinion, quite unnecessarily rough with a little girl she was taking care of. The little girl appeared to be under the age of one and a half. She had dark hair in a page boy style and a bright pink, ribbed t-shirt on. She was at the Cupcake Cafe at 545 9th Avenue. The nanny was older, perhaps early fifties and she wore beige slacks, a beige and white striped shirt and her brown hair in a hairnet. I believe it was set underneath the net. The nanny slapped the child's hand twice while I was there. The child was not acting in a way that she deserved her hand to be slapped. The nanny had a cupcake with a pretty flower on it sitting right there and the little girl wanted to touch it. The nanny reached out and slapped her hand. The child had something to eat but it was pretty basic. The nanny wiped the child's hands and mouth extremely roughly, and in a punitive way. She also at one point picked up a piece of her cupcake and said something to the little girl which I could not hear and then smeared the cupcake on the girl's cheek. This made the little girl whine. The nanny then wiped the girl's mouth really hard. I spent too much time studying the nanny and trying to figure out why she was acting this way or what I was seeing that I missed the moment to intercede.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

The nanny needs to learn how to deal with the child in a better way

Anonymous said...

A nanny should NEVER EVER slap a hand.........

A hand slap is only permitted by a parent and frankly in extreme cases such as a hand near something dangerous and terrifying but even then a stern NO is sufficient. And this is n extreme case the child should be spoken to. If the child is way to young to understand a warning sign the child can comprehend is needed.

Even if a parent allows this I personally would NEVER EVER follow this.

I am just the kind of person who would of probably said something if I knew she was the nanny and would not let this go.

W.P.N

Anonymous said...

I cannot help but to think that some nannies are truly sadistical and that impacts how they handle a situation. At least, it sure sounds that way from many of the posts I've read on this blog since its inception.

Anonymous said...

Sadistoc nannies.?

Sure!

Miserable.
Underpaid.
Treated terribly.
Disrespected.
Unprofessional.
Cheap labor.
Overworked.


I can not imagine a nanny to be any other way these days.


I think this is something that is basically what you get with New York nannies who are not the best in their fields. I have said it before and will live by it.

You honestly get what you pay for. And I am a believer in that how can the family not know what is going on? They do! Unless they are honestly so wrapped up in their work they have not got a clue that their nanny is not doing a good job. Its not always about money either there are some pretty awful highly paid nannies out there.


W.P.N

Anonymous said...

Sounds more like a cranky grandma.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. Witch. No child deserves to be teazed and bullied like that!

kathleencares said...

Wow, that is pretty bad that she slapped her hand. I'm sure the girl's parents would not appreciate that. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do. Hopefully one of her parents will catch the nanny doing something like that and fire her. It sounds like she shouldn't be working with children.

Anonymous said...

i have slapped a hand before at a different job because the toddler kept reaching for the electrical outlet. i wish the parents had just bought the outlet covers because it wasn't fair to the baby or to me.

Anonymous said...

I would tell the parents to get the outlet caps. I would move the child out of the area where they were playing instead of slapping their hands. If a child wanted a bite of my cupcake or whatever I would give them a bite instead of eating it in front of them.
There are ways to stop a child from reaching for things you do not want them to have, it is called taking them away from the thing and telling them no or taking the thing away from where they can see it. There is nothing hard about that. To sit there and slap a child for wanting something that is attracting them makes no sense to me.
As far s it being a cranky grandma? Most of us cranky grandmas give the kids what they want LOL

BY the way you don't smear food on a anyones face especially not a child and you do not eat something in front of them and not give them at least a lttle nibble of it. That is pretty rude and mean.

Anonymous said...

I remember years back my Mom telling me that she didn't believe in taking anything valuable or breakable out of a child's reach, and that the child should just be taught the word, "No!", and then "tap" the top of the hand to show you mean business. This is what she said she did with us.

Allowing a child to have any contact with breakables, etc., and smacking their hand is wrong, IMO.
I made sure to tell any family members/friends that when my son came over to put things out of his reach because when he was younger, it was inevitable he would touch it because children are curious by nature.
I also made it known that I didn't want anyone else disciplining/scolding/punishing my child either. Mainly because some of their methods I don't approve of.

This Nanny is doing nothing but teasing the child by withholding/eating the cupcake in front of her, and then smacking her hand? .... it's cruel.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately this nanny seems like she is "old school".
Her method also maybe how she was treated as a child- or how children are treated in her culture.

I've seen quite a few Jamican nannies be rough with their charges and speak very mean to them. Then two minutes later they are nice as pie again.

You also have to remember someone aged 40 to 50 may possibily going thru menopause- and easily irriated.

That's why it's so important for families to find out what methods of disipline the nanny will use beforehand.

Anonymous said...

Once again,an Over-ractive nanny post!

Smacking a childs hand and eating a cupcake in front of a child is not abuse nor is it bullish nor is it teasing a child.

For all of you that have 12-18 month olds that understand the word no..congrats.
For the rest of us with normal toddlers a hand slap is a simple reminder to the child that he/she should not be touching something.

If you do not teach this to your child at this age you will never be able to eat a meal with out his or her small hand digging into your plate! It is a bad habit to allow and frankly, I would have done the same thing.


Perhaps this child has diabetes and a small bite of cupcake is not permitted? Or perhaps the child is simply not allowed sweets..period!
Perhaps nanny or grandma is siimply working on manners and social skills..afterall in a year and a half when in preschool this child will have to wait,like everyone else, to score on a snack even if it is in sight.

As far as the mouth wiping goes! When you wipe a childs mouth the entire face moves . I myself have seen children who are just fine after what seemed a hard mouth wipe out in public! My husband pointed out that our childs face did the same when he was wiping it!
This post is silly and I think someone was very bored!

Anonymous said...

1:34
Not allowed sweets? Then I say it's doubly cruel for taking this child into the cafe, even if just for teaching social graces.

Marissa said...

It is important to protect your family. By running a simple background check to find out about any criminal history your nanny may have can save your children from being in the hands of potential danger. Easy Background Checks is a great resource to ensure your nanny is safe to care for your children. Check out http://www.easybackgroundchecks.com/.
It is easy, affordable, and instant