On Aug. 13, 2008 in a park in Tappan New York, corner of Oak Tree Rd. and Rt. 303, I was horrified by the lack of supervision and treatment of a babysitter in charge of three young children under the age of eight. I had two girls ages five and ten with me on a trip to the local park to play for a couple of hours before dinnertime. For an hour an a half I observed a young ( college age?) woman with blonde hair, pulled into a pony tail, about 5' 3", average build, driving a silver Volks Wagon Rabbit. She was babysitting a seven year old girl ( girl told my eldest, her age along with her siblings ages) a 3 year old girl and baby brother not yet two years of age. All three are blondes with light eyes. The eldest had her front teeth missing as most seven year olds do.Her hair was below her chin pushed back in front with a plastic headband. She was thin and average height with shorts and a dark, capped sleeve blouse. She had two toned croc sandals that were lying on the pathway until she was ordered and yelled at to get in the car. The three year old girl had shoulder length blonde hair, chubby face, sleeveless blouse and shorts, plastic beige or faded light pink croc clogs, that too were off her feet until she too was yelled at to get back to sitter and into the car. My girls played with these little sisters on the swings, monkey bars, slides and the surrounding area after being in the park about twenty minutes. I was with them on the swings, stood with them and around them while on the obvious play things that would require an adult with them at there side for supervision. This particular equipment is clearly labeled for play by children 5-12 in several places. I kept a close watch and protected the 3 year old, encouraging her to play with other things. This babysitter was very far from the girls at all times, on the phone the entire time with the baby boy plopped into a swing, crying and reaching for her as she continued to ignore him. We all saw her put the pacifier back into his mouth each time he dropped it in the wood chips. She finally takes him out of the swing with the one hand she has free of the phone and puts him on the wood chipped surroundings as he crawled along the filthy chips stuck to his little legs. She decides to put him on the platform of the slide ( Mind you he doesn't walk and just crawls) He falls down the slide and off onto the chips all the while screaming crying. She pulls him by the back of his shirt as he's trying to reach for her to help him. Who knew that his cries could have been for God knows what! This adorable little baby, no shoes, no attention, yelled at to," STOP THAT ", by a clearly annoyed and frustrated sitter. My girls were so concerned with my eldest getting upset and feeling really badly for these three kids. After an hour and a half of this I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I had my two sit down at the picnic table as I decided to say something to this woman. She must have heard my comment to another young woman who was as appalled as I was. This woman actually gave me this web site. As it turned out, she just finished her Master's and this was her last day of babysitting. We both agreed that we were both there on that day for a reason! So now the irresponsible babysitter puts the baby in her car and began screaming for the two girls to get in the car. They went to gather their shoes and with my girls on the bench I approached that woman and ripped her a new you know what! That's the only time she was off the phone!!!!! She seemed shocked with what I told her but not all that worried when I told her that I fully intended to find the mother and fill her in on the irresponsible behavior. She commented that she had been their sitter for two years. God help those babies and God help her if I ever see her again. And she can take that to bank if she ever sees this! If the Mom ever reaches this site I hope and pray she responds. I will be more than happy to address this with her face to face.
Friday
Park in Tappan, New York
Received Friday, August 15, 2008
On Aug. 13, 2008 in a park in Tappan New York, corner of Oak Tree Rd. and Rt. 303, I was horrified by the lack of supervision and treatment of a babysitter in charge of three young children under the age of eight. I had two girls ages five and ten with me on a trip to the local park to play for a couple of hours before dinnertime. For an hour an a half I observed a young ( college age?) woman with blonde hair, pulled into a pony tail, about 5' 3", average build, driving a silver Volks Wagon Rabbit. She was babysitting a seven year old girl ( girl told my eldest, her age along with her siblings ages) a 3 year old girl and baby brother not yet two years of age. All three are blondes with light eyes. The eldest had her front teeth missing as most seven year olds do.Her hair was below her chin pushed back in front with a plastic headband. She was thin and average height with shorts and a dark, capped sleeve blouse. She had two toned croc sandals that were lying on the pathway until she was ordered and yelled at to get in the car. The three year old girl had shoulder length blonde hair, chubby face, sleeveless blouse and shorts, plastic beige or faded light pink croc clogs, that too were off her feet until she too was yelled at to get back to sitter and into the car. My girls played with these little sisters on the swings, monkey bars, slides and the surrounding area after being in the park about twenty minutes. I was with them on the swings, stood with them and around them while on the obvious play things that would require an adult with them at there side for supervision. This particular equipment is clearly labeled for play by children 5-12 in several places. I kept a close watch and protected the 3 year old, encouraging her to play with other things. This babysitter was very far from the girls at all times, on the phone the entire time with the baby boy plopped into a swing, crying and reaching for her as she continued to ignore him. We all saw her put the pacifier back into his mouth each time he dropped it in the wood chips. She finally takes him out of the swing with the one hand she has free of the phone and puts him on the wood chipped surroundings as he crawled along the filthy chips stuck to his little legs. She decides to put him on the platform of the slide ( Mind you he doesn't walk and just crawls) He falls down the slide and off onto the chips all the while screaming crying. She pulls him by the back of his shirt as he's trying to reach for her to help him. Who knew that his cries could have been for God knows what! This adorable little baby, no shoes, no attention, yelled at to," STOP THAT ", by a clearly annoyed and frustrated sitter. My girls were so concerned with my eldest getting upset and feeling really badly for these three kids. After an hour and a half of this I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I had my two sit down at the picnic table as I decided to say something to this woman. She must have heard my comment to another young woman who was as appalled as I was. This woman actually gave me this web site. As it turned out, she just finished her Master's and this was her last day of babysitting. We both agreed that we were both there on that day for a reason! So now the irresponsible babysitter puts the baby in her car and began screaming for the two girls to get in the car. They went to gather their shoes and with my girls on the bench I approached that woman and ripped her a new you know what! That's the only time she was off the phone!!!!! She seemed shocked with what I told her but not all that worried when I told her that I fully intended to find the mother and fill her in on the irresponsible behavior. She commented that she had been their sitter for two years. God help those babies and God help her if I ever see her again. And she can take that to bank if she ever sees this! If the Mom ever reaches this site I hope and pray she responds. I will be more than happy to address this with her face to face.
On Aug. 13, 2008 in a park in Tappan New York, corner of Oak Tree Rd. and Rt. 303, I was horrified by the lack of supervision and treatment of a babysitter in charge of three young children under the age of eight. I had two girls ages five and ten with me on a trip to the local park to play for a couple of hours before dinnertime. For an hour an a half I observed a young ( college age?) woman with blonde hair, pulled into a pony tail, about 5' 3", average build, driving a silver Volks Wagon Rabbit. She was babysitting a seven year old girl ( girl told my eldest, her age along with her siblings ages) a 3 year old girl and baby brother not yet two years of age. All three are blondes with light eyes. The eldest had her front teeth missing as most seven year olds do.Her hair was below her chin pushed back in front with a plastic headband. She was thin and average height with shorts and a dark, capped sleeve blouse. She had two toned croc sandals that were lying on the pathway until she was ordered and yelled at to get in the car. The three year old girl had shoulder length blonde hair, chubby face, sleeveless blouse and shorts, plastic beige or faded light pink croc clogs, that too were off her feet until she too was yelled at to get back to sitter and into the car. My girls played with these little sisters on the swings, monkey bars, slides and the surrounding area after being in the park about twenty minutes. I was with them on the swings, stood with them and around them while on the obvious play things that would require an adult with them at there side for supervision. This particular equipment is clearly labeled for play by children 5-12 in several places. I kept a close watch and protected the 3 year old, encouraging her to play with other things. This babysitter was very far from the girls at all times, on the phone the entire time with the baby boy plopped into a swing, crying and reaching for her as she continued to ignore him. We all saw her put the pacifier back into his mouth each time he dropped it in the wood chips. She finally takes him out of the swing with the one hand she has free of the phone and puts him on the wood chipped surroundings as he crawled along the filthy chips stuck to his little legs. She decides to put him on the platform of the slide ( Mind you he doesn't walk and just crawls) He falls down the slide and off onto the chips all the while screaming crying. She pulls him by the back of his shirt as he's trying to reach for her to help him. Who knew that his cries could have been for God knows what! This adorable little baby, no shoes, no attention, yelled at to," STOP THAT ", by a clearly annoyed and frustrated sitter. My girls were so concerned with my eldest getting upset and feeling really badly for these three kids. After an hour and a half of this I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I had my two sit down at the picnic table as I decided to say something to this woman. She must have heard my comment to another young woman who was as appalled as I was. This woman actually gave me this web site. As it turned out, she just finished her Master's and this was her last day of babysitting. We both agreed that we were both there on that day for a reason! So now the irresponsible babysitter puts the baby in her car and began screaming for the two girls to get in the car. They went to gather their shoes and with my girls on the bench I approached that woman and ripped her a new you know what! That's the only time she was off the phone!!!!! She seemed shocked with what I told her but not all that worried when I told her that I fully intended to find the mother and fill her in on the irresponsible behavior. She commented that she had been their sitter for two years. God help those babies and God help her if I ever see her again. And she can take that to bank if she ever sees this! If the Mom ever reaches this site I hope and pray she responds. I will be more than happy to address this with her face to face.
being that the youngest was sooo young, being on the phone all that time was irresponsible. If it were just the seven year old, then it would have been acceptable. I mean, especially since the seven year old was playing with other kids and was old enough to play on the equipment.
ReplyDeleteI don't wanna be a hypocrite though, i've been on the phone while taking care of my charges, not the entire time, but there is a time when you can and there are times when you can't.
this seemed like a can't time.
Lizzie! It wasn't JUST about this piece o' crap sitter (I won't grace her with calling her a nanny) talking on a phone. These kids were neglected. The baby fell, crawled in nasty woodchips...I mean come on, honey, read it again!
ReplyDeleteOP, thank you for standing up to this woman. I hope mom sees this and you get a pat on the back for giving those children a voice when they didn't have one.
I am sorry but I do not pay my Nany to sit on her cell phone. I don't think any employer pays anyone to sit on their cell phone on their time. My employees have breaks and lunch time to make their calls. The reason we have a Nanny is to watch our children and I think people need to watch a 7 yr old as well especially in a park!
ReplyDeleteToo bad you didn't get this womans license plate number but hopefully someone may tell the employer about this site and she will read this.
The thought of that toddler crawling in those filthy woodchips and her actions really piss me off.
Good for you OP for telling her off.
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ReplyDeleteOccasionally I text when I am nannying, and I feel sooo bad and guilty about it every time I do. I can't even imagine talking on the phone while I am watching the kids... especially in front of other people!!!
ReplyDeleteThe phone thing aside, she sounds like a horrible nanny, and I am glad that it is her last day.
OK, this nanny sounds AWFUL and neglectful for sure, but it's really overboard for people to be so horrified at the notion of a baby being allowed to touch "filthy" woodchips at a playgrouind. Do you really think that sand is any cleaner? It's not like he was being allowed to crawl around on the floor of a public bathroom, or even on the sidewalk area of the playground, and if he'd been kept in the stroller, or left in the swing, everyone would be outraged by that.
ReplyDeletehaving lengthy cell conversation while working, and texting so much that you don't know what your kids are doing = not okay
ReplyDeleteshort calls and occational texting is no big deal.
texting is how i communicate with the rents daily. i sent pictures on my phone so mommy doesn't feel so far away, etc.
i don't think i really have a point. anyway, crappy nanny.
I have to chime in with calimom here - what was the rotten nanny supposed to do with the crawler? I think that if she'd kept him in the swing, held him, stuck him in the stroller, whatever, the OP would have found fault, simply because of how poorly the "nanny" seemed to be doing her job.
ReplyDeleteUnless the OP knew and saw that there were animal or human feces or urine on the woodchips, I don't quite understand the "filthy" comment. And I am a bit of a germaphobe, lol!
bad nanny! this is a sighting that definitely deserves a post on many levels.
ReplyDeletethat said, i agree with calimom and chick about the wood chips. my charge is 13 months old and a proficient walker, but she sometimes topples over at the playground and crawls for a few feet while she gets her bearings together. i am always a foot or so away from her, but see no reason to grab her the instant she plops onto her little butt, especially if she is able to right herself and is still happy and exploring. certainly, this is worlds away from the situation that OP describes, but i wonder if these are a different kind of wood chips than those she is concerned about. these are the basic playground covering, right? the kind that replaces grass or concrete as flooring and provides a kind of cushioning for the children at play? i just don't understand why OP is concerned with how clean these wood chips are; is a field of grass or an expanse of beach automatically "filthy" because we stand on them, too?
i would also encourage this OP and future posters to proofread their posts before submitting! i found this to be a little hard to follow in places, but nothing that couldn't be easily fixed. i hate for these kinds of grammatical/semantic problems to cause confusion for responding commenters, as sometimes happens.
I don't understand what the big deal is with the freaking woodchips. That's what covers playground floors sometimes. What the hell was she supposed to do with the toddler? I agree with chick: the OP would have found fault with anything at this point.
ReplyDeleteNot acceptable to be talking on the phone "the whole time" although I would not have "ripped" the nanny "a new you know what" for it. I may have politely said to her that her charges needed some help over there, but I would not have been obnoxious.
OP, I think it's great that you are a person who looks out for children: no nanny should ignore her charges. But I wish I could have been a fly on the wall and have seen how you presented yourself to the nanny in question. "Ripped her a new one?"
Eww. I hate that expression. It sounds so...just...ewww.
When I take my 3yo twins to the park, I let them pee in the woodchips. I figure people play in the grass and walk barefoot on the pavement and sidewalk.
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah, but you wouldn't figure on some kids crawling or walking around in the woodchips, newroc? You are really gross..and rude!
ReplyDeleteAnd this nanny needs to be fired, because at the very least she's extremely neglectful.
The point isn't the woodchips...the point is when a child that young cries you need to ATTEND to them and make sure that they are OK.
ReplyDeleteThey, most likely, can't communicate well verbally and you never know what they're crying about.
That doesn't mean you rush to pick them up every time they fall. It does mean that you should find out why they are crying, make sure they are okay, and respond appropriately.
Yes, sometimes you get the overdramatic wailing over nothing...but sometimes it is a real problem or injury.
And he didn't even have shoes on...that's ridiculous in a public park, where you know absolutely nothing about what's on the ground. Broken glass, sharp rocks, you never know.
The part that bothered me most about this was the babysitter pulling the baby by the back of the shirt, while talking on the phone, as he reached for her while crying. I don't like children to be treated coldly...especially when they are in distress. This shows such a lack of emotional connection that I hope she has NOT been their caregiver for two years! This kind of "Loving attention, leaves emotional scars...especially during the first 3.5 years of the child's life.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of woodchips underneath play equipment is to protect the child from falling. A 6-10 inch covering of woodchips, pea gravel, or other materials similar to this nature is required in all daycares in the State of Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what to say about this nanny, other than I watch children under the age of 5, especially toddlers like hawks around woodchips, only because it takes a spilt second for a child under age 2 to put a woodchip or two in his mouth. She was on the phone the entire time, and she had a master's degree? In what field? Do they offer master's degrees for neglectful nannies? That's a field I'm not interested in. Maybe had the child put woodchips in his mouth, that would've gotten her to end her conversation. Then again, maybe not.
Excellent post, missdee! You sound like you know what you're talking about.
ReplyDeleteI was especially bothered by her pulling him by the back of his shirt, too. Not only could it have hurt him, it's just disrespectful towards the child, period. How would you like someone jerking you by the back of your clothes? I know I wouldn't.
I also don't think it's right to yell at children. You can get your point across firmly without raising your voice. Kids will only learn to tune you out if you keep doing it. Again, it's disrespectful.
This nanny needs to find something else to do to earn a paycheck, and preferably without children involved!
Yes mrs, and yelling at babies and toddlers is particularly pointless and heinous.
ReplyDeleteI am just a mom in Kansas CIty that loves to read this site. I am appalled at the mom/nanny that lets her 3-year-old twins pee in the wood chips at the park. WHAT THE HELL? There are bathrooms for that. Kids of all ages play in the wood chips. Would you let them pee in the sandbox? In the ballpit? I have adopted a seriously disabled daughter that is now 3 1/2. She can't walk. We call her a "floor baby!" At the park, I will sit in the sand/wood/rubber chips with her and let her feel the different textures. To think that there is urine on them disgusts me.
ReplyDeleteThere. I am done. I now return you to the regular programming.
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ReplyDeleteI think it is good that the mom said something to the nanny! It sounds like she was neglectful and maybe this will open her eyes to that.
ReplyDelete