Friday

Nanny Horror Stories 2008

Nanny HORROR STORIES 2008
Tan-Fastic
I hired a nanny from a reputable agency and things seemed to be going well. Cut to three months later when a high school student who babysat for us on Saturdays mentioned meeting my nanny and that she seemed "nice". I asked her where she had met her and she told me the tanning parlor. Then our high school student made a comment about how good our baby was and how content she was. Confused, I said, "she (the baby) was with her". And our high school, God bless her heart said, 'yeah, they were in the next booth and I didn't even know a baby was in there'. What? My nanny had been taking the baby with her while she tanned and she parked the baby in her car seat on the floor of the tanning booth. Neither our high school sitter, the nanny or the proprietor saw anything wrong with a seven month old baby sitting on the floor while our nanny tanned for periods of 20-25 minutes! I had to fire her right after that. It was a question of her general judgment.


Sounds so Much like Our Favorite Mainline Mom…My younger sister thought working as a nanny sounded like a good idea. She had worked as a babysitter and at a daycare for four years. At age 25, she left our neighborhood to go work in a tony town in LI. She called me the first week and told me how nice everything was. She called me the second week and was in tears. Her boss, the female had begun verbally abusing her calling her such things as stupid and asking her if she mentally retarded. She had made some mistakes, but they sounded minor and not unlike mistakes someone acclimating to a new environment might make. I tried to convince her that regardless of what happened, she had to impress upon her boss that it was not okay for her to be spoken to like that. So, she calls me about four days later and tells me her boss has slapped her across the face. I was furious and told her to call the police. She would not. I drove two hours out to where she worked and called her from my cell phone. No answer. I went to the door and rang the bell. The Mrs. Answered. I asked very pointedly to see my sister. The Mrs. informed me that my sister was working, that it was during working hours and house guests were not permitted. I told her, “look, you get my sister to this door or I’ll call the police right now”. She tells me, “I’ll watch you dial, I am reporting her for child neglect and endangerment”. At this point I don’t know what has happened and I consider the options. Much as I would like to kick her in the head, I say again, “Mam, we have a family emergency and I must speak to my sister at once”. After five minutes of the door shut in my face, my sister appears at the door. My sister tells me, “You’re making it worse, you better go”. I say, “I’m not going without you, go get your stuff”. She says she can’t and is acting bizarre. I convince her finally to go and get her purse so she can give me her master card. When she comes to the door, I take her arm and guide her out the door. She tells me to stop. She tells me that she has stuff in the house. By now, the Mrs. is at the door. “Just what do you think you’re doing” she says.

Again, I tell her about the family emergency and I say, we have to go NOW, it’s an emergency. The woman looks pissed and she says, “this” with a huge emphasis on ‘this” is not going to work. We keep walking to the car. It took six months before she got any of her things back and that was after involving the police and an attorney. I wouldn’t recommend to anyone that they work as a nanny. This happened almost a year and my sister’s self esteem is still in the crapper because of what she went through. There are other things that went on in that house, but I can’t say more because the woman has proven to be more than a bit litigious.


Puppetry of the Penis
So, I interview with some batshit crazy family in a town called Darien. They tell me how wonderful and hip they are. They showcase their home and their five star nanny bedroom suite. I sign on. I start work. Things are okay. But not that okay. The kids are pretty wild and the parents are pretty dumb. The oldest child gets busted for taking pictures of his ding dong and circulating amongst some classmates. They pass it on and they pass it on. Soon, the kids ding dong is everywhere and the school principal calls Mom and Dad in.

Mom denies it is his penis. But so be it. He gets a slap on the wrist because Mom and Dad are connected. I am doing my best to be a good nanny and good role model. I do a lot of driving with the job. Sometimes with one child, sometimes both and sometimes I take their friends with them places. The 12 year old gets busted stealing silicon boob inserts from a department store. The clerk who caught him is adamant that he was stealing them, putting them inside his jacket, and discarding the package. Dad shows up and the whole mess is swept under the rug. One day, I come home with the other child and the house is quiet. The other child goes to the pantry to get a snack and watch TV. I walk through the house and find the twelve year old. He is butt naked with a broomstick in his ass. I kid you not. He kind of looked like the wicked witch of the west, except not green and the end of the broom disappeared between his but cheeks. He gasped, I gasped. I ran upstairs. I didn’t mention it to him. I instead told the parents. I thought I was seeing a pattern of behavior. The father screamed at me, “why are you so intent on trying to portray my son as some sort of pervert”. When I say screamed, believe me he was red faced and spit was flying. I told them I thought they would want to know. The mother just stared at me like I was a creature she couldn’t understand. Me. The normal nanny. One day I take him and two friends out for pizza. Afterwards, I drive the friends home. After I dropped the first kid off, there were two. The next friend lived about ten minutes away. I guess they thought I couldn’t see them in the backseat in the dark. They were clearly touching each other’s penis’s. After that, I spoke to my own mother about what was going on and she suggested I quit. I did. They were pissed at me and yelled at me about my lack of professionalism. It just seemed to me that being an adult around such a sexually aberrant preteen could put me in more uncomfortable positions, some of which could have legal consequences, especially since the parents were in a state of denial. I work in another town in CT now for parents whom I respect and admire.


Not Your Dream Nanny
Why someone ever thought I would make a good nanny, I don’t know. Actually, they probably didn’t. All along the line, someone was looking to get paid. Me, as an American girl who could play football and speak reasonably well, well I became a hot nanny ticket. Despite the fact I had only minimal babysitting experience, I had a line of people eager to interview me. Even after the interview process, those same people were eager to hire. And so, I was hired by a New Jersey family with three children, ages 6, 4 and 2.

New Jersey to me meant little more than access to New York City. I didn’t come to be a nanny to bond with children or play some viable part in making them in to well mannered young adults. All I cared about was seeing the city and going out. The nanny idea seemed perfect because everything was paid for. I lost my apartment back in Colorado, well I was technically evicted. I was maxed out all on my credit cards and my car? I drove it into a neighbor’s wall when I was driving drunk. The neighbor didn’t call the cops, because they were friends of my parents. And nannying? Seemed like a ticket out of my broke life in the boonies.

I arrive in NJ penniless. In six days, I have five hundred and twenty five dollars cash in my pocket. The first five days were fairly easy. The newness of it all was exciting. I had met a nanny from Utah on Thursday and we had plans to go to the city on Saturday. We ended up staying in the city all weekend. Sight seeing and bar hopping. She was pretty tame in comparison to friends I would soon meet. The next week I put in a good effort during the day and I started to make plans at night. The neighborhood bars would soon become after work hangouts. Even though I was a live-in, I was out the door as soon as the parents came home.

By the end of the first month, I had a fast set of friends. We would spend a good amount of time in the city, even during the week. We drank and drank and drank. We smoked pot, used cocaine to stay up late and ecstasy was big at that time. I would report to work still stoned or drunk, if not hung over. I had pounding headaches and was short tempered with the children. I was never physically abusive but I would yell at them. I stopped doing anything with them. TV became their new nanny and I became a pitiful excuse for a childcare provider.

When Mom and Dad came home, I mustered up a smile and a energetic recap of the day’s events. Sorry to say, but they were suckers. Good natured, well intentioned people, the sort who believe the world is more full of good people. I wasn’t good people then.

I began stealing from them to supplement my income. Nothing huge, just out of the way knick knack type things that I could take to a pawn shop, money out of the father’s coat or the mother’s purse. They gave me a few department store credit cards to shop for the children’s clothes. I would go and buy the children everything they needed, plus a few things and then leave the receipt for the mother. She reviewed the receipts pretty thoroughly. Then I would go back through the clothes and take some things with tags on to return for store credit. I used those store credits to buy my clubbing attire.

It was my job to make dinner for the family and I was fast becoming tired of it. So I started stealing more money so that I could “fake” dinner making. I would go to a store and buy precooked chicken and put salads together in the salad bar and run home and dump everything in containers. When I was too tired to make lasagna, a relatively simply dinner, I went to the grocery store with extra funds and bought Stouffers and plopped it in a baking dish, threw some extra cheese and olives on top of it and served it as if it was my own. I also had to wash the children’s laundry. By then I had a friend who was a meth head who was always hurting for money. She would hang out with me some days and watch TV or even play with the children. (Gasp). She would do the laundry and straighten up for me for as little as $5.

I was engaging in risky and irresponsible behavior. My time off was spent sleeping with anyone and everyone. It was easier to sleep with a strange guy than it was to pay for a hotel in the city. A few Mondays, I simply did not show up to work. I would wake up late and call my boss who was strangely understanding. I was there for seven months. They fired me because they just couldn’t trust me anymore. They never said as much, but I know they began to realize things were missing. It was a good thing they did fire me because I was just not good with the children. I recall the six year old was riding his bike for the first time. Their big house was on a corner and I stood at the corner to make sure he stopped or was able to stop and did not go in the street. At the last moment one day, I moved out of the way and let him go in the street. Flying right out into a busy road. Part of me thought if something happened to him, I could just end this whole nanny thing and go home. He fell and got scratched up but no cars were near. I am so glad for that. I am so glad that no harm came to those children while I was watching them. I have a lot of regrets about my behavior at that time. I’m a better person now. I am.


Giddy UpMy nanny seemed normal. She did the job as we asked her to. I had no complaints about the way she did her job, but I was not comfortable with her as a live-in. She kept odd hours, even if she wasn’t going out, she seemed to be up at all hours. One night I picked up the phone and overheard a phone sex conversation between her and an unidentified male. I admit, I stayed on longer than I should have. She spoke to many men on the phone. I soon realized she was using a phone service to meet men. The phone line was free for woman, but I was still concerned, especially because she would meet up with different men. She was pretty closed about what she was doing, so I had to do some investigative work to figure it out. It wasn’t hard. Different cars would pick her up. Twice, a black town car was sent for her. She was an attractive girl, but very naïve. I worried about her as a person but also began to worry about her morality. She would order a lot of packages but they didn’t appear to be from clothing stores. One day, I snuck in her room after she had left for the evening and went through some of her belongings. Some of what she had been ordering included hardcore fetish materials. Whips, clips and videos were the least of what I came across. There were all sorts of insertables including a horse tail… The horse tail thing did it for me. I just couldn’t imagine the nanny walking around, even in her off time with that horse tail hanging out of her ………..


Mother May I
I fired my nanny in April when I was told by a mother in ballet class that our nanny introduced my daughter as her daughter and talked about my six month old son as if he was her own. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She had become increasingly possessive of the children and accusatory when she inquired as to their care overnight or on weekend’s. I remember one Monday, I had dressed my daughter and the nanny seemed to become unnerved. The nanny pointedly told me, “I had that sweater picked out for her to wear with the yellow pants on Friday” and without saying anything else, she redressed my child. There were lots of little things like that. She criticized the way my husband fed the baby and would always say, ‘he like it this way’ or ‘he needs this’. It was as if she and only she knew what my children needed. One Saturday, she came in the kitchen and my husband and daughter were eating lunch. They had hot dogs and potato chips. The nanny very nearly flipped out. She grabbed the paper plate from my daughter and told my husband, “I don’t want ** eating nitrates”. My husband assured her that the hotdog was fine. The nanny said, “I disagree”. He got the plate back from her but it was just another uncomfortable exchange.


Two Stories
You want a worst nanny story? I have two. I hired a Jamaican nanny to care for my twins from 7:30-6:30. She agreed to the job and the pay. I left the home at 7:30 and would return home by 6:30 depending on the subway. After a week, she told me that the day was just too long and that no one could work an 11 hour day and that was unfair of me. I changed my work schedule (which caused conflict among coworkers) so I could be home by 5:30. When I told her I arranged to do that, she said, “that will be better”. She didn’t thank me or heaven forbid suggest that the salary be retooled. Her job description had included making dinner for the children. After I changed my schedule to arrive home by 5:30, she stopped making dinner. The children would eat at 6 every day, and now she stopped assuming any responsibility for dinner. Soon she would tell me that she could not get to the laundry most days because the children’s nap was so short, she barely had time to sit down and have lunch. She asked me to hire her Aunt to clean and do the laundry. I agreed. I fired her after I found out that she had been leaving the twins with the Aunt and not just on cleaning days. I don’t know where she went, but it seemed like she had subcontracted someone to care for my children.

The next nanny I hired was also Jamaican. She seemed to be great with the children and enjoyed playing with them. She would be on the floor driving cars around with them and letting them climb all over her. The trouble with her was related to alcohol. There was a day or two when I thought I smelled the odor of alcohol, but I was never certain enough to accuse her. One evening I came home at 5:30 and the children were playing with a train on the floor and the nanny was passed out cold. Arms outstretched to the side, her head drooping and slobber dripping from her mouth. The odor of alcohol was overwhelming at that point. I fired her on the spot. The children told me later that Sarah liked to take naps most days.

Nannies? No thank you!


4 Nannies and a Funeral
I am a nanny and I have a story to share. I have worked as a nanny for three families. The first two families were gems. One family was in Seattle, my first and the second was in Beverly Hills, my second. I remain in contact with them both and loved the experience.

I had always wanted to work in New York so I contacted a rather exclusive nanny agency and supplied my stellar references. Soon, I was off to New York to work as one of four nannies for a family with four children. I did not report to the parents but rather to the ‘nanny manager’ who scheduled and directed the four of us.

I was assigned to one child, a two year old boy. I was the nanny who had to work the most hours as the other children were all in school full or part time. The job itself would have been easy if not for the infighting between the nannies. The nanny manager made over a hundred thousand dollars a year and whatever she said went. She had fired nannies previously for such things as ‘using a condescending tone with a child’ or ‘failure to appreciate etiquette’. I was making just over fifty thousand dollars to start, with the promise of a 25 percent raise after one year of service.

I loved being in New York. We had access to family vehicles as well as train passes. The four of us lived in a renovated barn on the family’s property. Each of the four rooms contained a full bathroom, a bedroom and a sitting area with television, desk, sofa, computer, microwave and mini refrigerator. Each of our doors had a lock and key and each of these four rooms was upstairs. Downstairs in the barn, there was a full kitchen, a laundry room and the nanny manager’s room. Her area was a larger version of ours with an extended sitting area and a large office. There were fights about who left what in the sink or failed to clean the stove. We fought like cats and dogs, the four of us, but the second the nanny manager was near, we had to make nice. We never let her arbitrate for us, even though she had encouraged us to bring disputes to her, the rumor was she had no tolerance for disputes.

When we went out in public, we were expected to dress impeccably. Not fancy, but neat. It was suggested that we wear black pants, nice shoes or boots and a white button down blouse. We stuck to the basics as much as possible. There were four of us females and excepting one of us, we were all about the same size. As a result, we had three females laundering lots of black pants in one laundry room.

There came a time when we were to travel with the children to a funeral for an older family member. The parents of the children were already at the funeral and greeting visitors, so we were to bring the children and make sure they were coping okay. We were to travel with the children in a limo from NY to Rhode Island. The nanny manager was already in Rhode Island and she would be the sole person attending the funeral with the children. We four were to remain behind the scenes and make sure the children were dressed and composed.

The morning of the funeral, I had my outfit hanging in the laundry room because I had pressed my jacket, blouse and pants. But alas, there were no pants there. I asked each of the girls if they had seen my pants. No one had. Following the funeral, I was off for three days in a row, so I had no back up clean plants. Most days I wore black chinos, but none were clean. I knew that one of the girls in particular likely had a pair of pants for me to borrow but when I asked her, she told me they were all being dry cleaned. (Possible). This left me with the option of wearing black yoga pants with black boots (because the pants were ankle crops) or borrowing a pair of the biggest black pants from the size 0 petite nanny. I chose the latter and wore her pants, which were so short on me, with boots. I could not button or zip the pants so I wore them wide open in front. I pulled my shirt down over the open pants and wore my jacket over that. I was pissed. Where were my pants.

There was one nanny I got along pretty well with. So I was surprised to realize as we were getting out of the limo at the funeral that she appeared to be wearing my pants. I asked her, “Are those my pants”. She said no and shushed me. The nanny manager was coming out to meet us and there was a crowd of mourners off to one side. I quickly reached and lifted up this nanny’s shirt to see if they were my pants. As I did that, I saw they did in fact have a side zip. The nanny flipped out and pushed back at me. The nanny manager was now closing in on us with a raised eyebrow. She said sternly, “what is this commotion”. I said, “Kate stole my pants”. With that Kate, and both of the other nannies looked at me like I was insane. They all three shook their head at me like I was a troublemaker. “Look”, I said, lifting my shirt to show the nanny manager that I wasn’t insane. Bad move. I was fired that day. On the spot. A car was summoned and I was immediately returned to the NY Estate where Martin stood by while I packed my bags.


VengeanceI hired a nanny with impeccable references or so I thought. I soon learned her references were her best friend and her sister in law. The nanny ordered pay per view movies and porn, forgot groceries in the car (including haddock), had to be woken up every morning and was absolutely lethargic. We knew she wasn’t working out, but a stay at home father saw her in the park, sleeping away while my three year old played on the equipment. The horror story started then. She wouldn’t go. She refused to go. She said she was a tenant and had 30 days to get out. We weren’t prepared to give her severance at all but ended up giving her three weeks severance and paying for a week for her at a hotel just to get her out of our home. Just when we thought we were rid of her, she began her ‘payback’. She made a number of prank calls to our home and my business. She would tell anyone who answered the phone at work that Child Services was investigating me because I was a terrible mother. She reported us to the IRS because we did not withhold taxes from her pay. She had asked to be paid off the books! She worked for us for three weeks but caused us six months of anguish. She tore out all of those cards that come in magazines and had magazine subscriptions sent to us. She had pizza delivered to us and had our cable disconnected. Animal control came out to our home to investigate the way we treated our beloved Pomeranians. I can’t prove she did all of this, but who else would?


Not Home Safe
I started my first Nanny job when I was 19 yrs old. I admit I was very young and naive, but I took all of my certification and ECE classes, and I loved children very much. The Parents that hired me worked really late hours, and part of the deal was that they would make sure I got home safely every night.

I was about 2 weeks into caring for their 2 toddlers when one evening they came home very drunk. Knowing better than to get into the car with someone who'd been drinking I just said I would walk home. It was about 11pm and as soon as I stepped out the door, I was nervous and scared and regretted making that decision. I had never noticed how dark it was in their neighborhood, and there were hardly any streetlights.

I started walking very quickly and was within one block of my home when a car pulled up beside me. A man jumped out and tried to drag me back inside. I was kicking and screaming with everything I had. He finally gave up and sped off. I ran home as fast as I could and told my family what happened. My Parents and older brother drove me back down to my Employers house, almost breaking down the door until finally the Dad answered it. As soon as the door opened, my brother punched the Dad right in the face. My Mom said, "that was for my daughter getting attacked tonight, you sonofabitch!". I was shocked! I'd never seen my family react that way about anything.

I never went back, obviously, but two months later that family moved. I don't know if it was because of what happened or not, but I have a feeling I wasn't the only one that learned a lesson that night.


Doing Zane’s DadSeveral years ago, I took a job with a couple that had a beautiful little 2 year old boy named Zane. About a month into the job, the mom had to go away on an overseas business trip. I didn't mind too much because she wasn't very friendly. I was always nervous around her for some reason, and I got the impression that she thought she was better than everyone else. The Dad, on the other hand, was very laid back and easy to talk to.

Things went well for the most part, but it took awhile for things to calm down because it looked like Dad wasn't used to being on his own. I guess his wife took care of everything around the house for them. Anyway, he was switched to night shift at his job and asked if I could accommodate the new schedule and I said I could. He set me up in a bedroom across the hall from his son since that meant I'd be staying over nights now.

Early one morning after coming in from work, I guess I had slept in too late because the kid was already up, but the Dad came into the house and saw his son ripping pages from a very nice Encyclopedia set they had. I felt so horrible and offered to pay for the damages. He was a little upset, but said not to worry about it. I got an alarm clock and promised that it wouldn't happen again. That was the only incident the whole time I was there that I was reprimanded for. However, one evening after putting his son to bed, I was cleaning and I came across some letters that he and his wife had been writing to each other. I knew I shouldn't have, but curiosity got the better of me and I read them. I was so pissed off afterwards that I wanted to rip them all up! I am so glad I read them because in the letters from his wife, all she could do was bash me. She said some really nasty things about me. In the letters from the Dad, even though for the most part he said I was doing a great job and the kid loved me, he did mention the Encyclopedia incident.

I was really upset for a few days and thought of quitting. Then an opportunity arose that I just couldn't pass up. One night when the Dad came home early and the little boy was still in bed, I figured this was the best time for me to get even. I was really surprised it took such little effort. Just a little flirting and a low-cut blouse, and me and Dad were knocking boots. I hate to admit it, but I felt so much better after sleeping with her husband. So, this is a warning to all of those perfect Moms out there, be careful who you run your mouths about!


White Plains Thief
Approximately a month ago I hired a nanny whose responsibilities included housekeeping and taking the kids to school and driving them to activities etc...A few days after I hired her, I noticed that I was missing 20 dollars but just thought I had misplaced it. By day 6 I realized I was missing more money and now I was getting suspicious. By day 8 I went to get her salary out of my drawer and most of it was gone. This is when I knew she had been stealing from me. I decided to check my jewelry and I was missing a gold bracelet and a diamond bracelet. I had her come the next day (knowing that I was going to fire her) but figured I would work her to death and my husband was home so I knew nothing could be taken. Well, I confronted outside (away from the kids) and told her that I know you have been stealing money and jewelry from me. She looked at me and said I've never been in your drawers. I told her to leave my property and never come back again....Before I contacted the police, I called her references and told them exactly what happened. I wanted to make sure that they understood why she would be needing another new reference and they should be honest with whomever calls. Of course, these past references never had a problem with this nanny. That night I left her a message on her cell phone and told her "that she has till 6a.m. to go to the pawn shop and get my jewelry back and place it in my mailbox". When I got up in the morning the mailbox was empty so I proceeded to the police station. As I was making out a report she called my home and told my husband that she would get the jewelry back from the pawn shop by the afternoon since she didn't want us to go to the police. Well, the jewelry was returned though I did lose money. If you live in Westchester, New York and you just hired a nanny whose name begins with a R and lives in White Plains, then be very careful....She is a crook. By the way, my kids thought she was nice...


House of Horrors
My worst nanny story involved the night I offered to babysit for my employers sister in law along with my regular charge. The boys were 2 an 8, and extremely hyperactive.The house was under construction, so there were no windows, just plastic sheeting, and this is a 1920's house with floor to ceiling windows. I asked the dad if he could put guards on the windows and he refused. I had to watch the kids like hawks because they refused to watch a DVD or play games and would instead chase each other at top speed towards the windows, and I would have to run after them and grab them before they fell out (these were floor to ceiling windows in a 1920's era house)The dad told me to put the kids down for bed in the unfinished basement since the AC was turned off which was like a cellar---had a cement floor, tons of shelves loaded with glass jars full of nails, and boxes everywhere. He insisted they would be fine. I refused, and instead put them on couches in the living room so I would watch them. The boys laughed when I put them in time outs (their parents disciplined only by spanking)and when I put them to bed, just started jumping on my charge and waking her up. Finally at 1am, the kids fell asleep. When my boss came home I told her I needed to be paid $30 an hour for the night and I would never watch the kids again.


Ugly DuckingWe hired our first nanny sight unseen from Maine. It was a strange interview process over the phone. The nanny agency faxed us a picture of the nanny, but that picture was hard to make out by fax. The nanny's voice was very sweet. She seemed well spoken with a gentle laugh and over the course of our interview process, she really impressed me as being thoughtful and knowledgable as a prospective caregiver. We had her fly in to Westchester County Airport which is about 2 miles from our home. The children were excited to meet the nanny. The children had friends with nannies and the nannies were often doing creative and fun things with the children. I was a stay at home mother for the first 7 years and was only recently returning to the work force. The two children and I waited for the nanny by baggage claim at the airport surveying the crowd exiting the terminal. My heart sank as it appeared the nanny was not on board. The children looked perplexed. I got out my cellphone to dial up my husband when a massive, hairy hand reached over and tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped. I swirled around in horror to see a mustachioed woman with a severely pockmarked face, hair pulled neatly into a red bow more suitable for a five year old and revealing balding scalp. The nanny was wearing a matching denim, or should I say faux denim outfit. The pants were denim-esque leggings and the top was made of the same stretchy fabric. The nanny wore her denim leggings tucked into white winter socks and what appeared to be wrestling shoes. "Adrian" I asked with hesitation. She responded and I recognized her sweet voice. The children stood completely still taking in this, their new nanny. She was like no other nanny on the block. With some prodding the children began to talk to her, asked about her trip and what she liked to do. We collected her luggage and went to climb into my SUV. The nanny struggled to get her seat belt around her massive stomache. She was a fairly large girl all around, but her stomache was excessive and seemed to rest on her thighs. I had to exit the vehicle and walk around to the passenger side and buckle her in, so afraid was I that even in a minor fender bender, her girth might flatten one of the children. I am not a horrible person, but this nanny's appearance was offensive. Later that night, I asked my husband, "what can we do". It was his decision to give her a shot at the job, after all she was hear and she had impressed me on the phone. And I was, after all, slated to start a new position in three days time.

Unfortunately, I realized the very next day that even driving would be a problem with her stomache. Our job did require driving and the nanny's stomache was in so much contact with the steering wheel, despite tilting the wheel that I was concerned she might not be able to turn it. Sliding the seat back made it impossible for her to reach the foot pedals. I called my husband after three hours of training and told him that I just could not do it. I feared unleashing this nanny on our small town. We ended up consulting the agency and telling them she was an unacceptable candidate. We could not get her back on a flight that day out of Westchester, so we sent her to LAG by car. I've told many a friend about our nanny for a day, and I only wish I had taken some pictures. Like I said, I am not an unkind person, but this nanny was just obscenely unattractive. Good riddance.


Let the Good Times Roll
I have a nanny horror story to share but it is about the people that I worked for. Horror might be a strong word. They had good qualities too, but were just too wild to be parents. They had three super cool kids that were sweet as pie but mostly what they wanted to do was go to concerts, go to nightclubs and drink a lot. I was a live-in nanny and I did not have any time that I got off. I was definitely supposed to be off on weekends but I that didn't really happen much at all. The father was a sales rep for some kind of expensive men's shoes. I don't think what he did made that much money but he acted like he was a rock star. He also always said he had to go out with clients. How many clients can you have as a shoe sales person? His wife was the director of a homecare program that worked with old people. Like I said, they were nice and all but mostly had partying on their minds.

One time they took the children and I skiing up to Vermont with them. We were at this lodge with a restaurant and they insisted that I have a drink. I am not even a drinker but they tell me to order something. I say, "I wouldn't know what to order" so the wife orders me jack daniels and coke. I drink it slowly and they egg me on. They make fun of me. They order another when t his one is still half full. When I finish the first, they order me a third. All the while they are drinking too. By the time I had three, I was so buzzing I was ready to drink. The children were all school aged and good kids. They were hanging out with other children and playing video games and we were drinking and talking. We spent three nights there and every night we all got shitfaced together. They didn't even care that I was hungover the next day and slept until noon.

They weren't super rich or anything compared to some people I knew but they were super generous.

One day the children were all with the mom for the whole day and the father stopped in between meetings and asked me for a favor. He had a big baggy of weed and asked me if I could roll. Roll? He said he wanted to get it all rolled because he didnt like to keep it like this in the house. I didn't know how to roll. He showed me how to roll. It was weird. We had to microwave the pot first because it was sticky and then break it up and pull out the twigs. Then roll it. I guess I did a good job that day because after that I was always rolling up his weed. One time he got a bag of dirt, which was weed with seeds. It didn't have to be microwaved but it was a bitch to get all the seeds and stems out of it. He would bring good stuff in and say, "man you have to smell this". Pretty soon I could tell the difference between the good stuff and the great stuff by smell. He asked me if I wanted to try some and I said no. He didn't push that, even though he was generous because he probably figured that if it turned out I liked it, his stash could be in jeopardy.

I eventually quit the job because I had no time for myself. The last three weeks of my job were really bad because we were arguing about working. I said some things I shouldn't have. I wish I hadn't because I would have loved to remain in contact with them, if anything just to see what they are up to and if their children are still so good.


Something Smells Funny (#1)
You might file this under cautionary tales. I found my last nanny at a popular playground on the West side. I had watched her work wonders with her charge over the course of several months and decided that I must have her for my own. I have had full time and part time nannies all my life and was hopeful that she would be a fit for our family and would join our home as a permanent addition. I offered her more money to leave her position and she happily jumped ship. That should have been a clue. For the next three months, she worked her magic with my sons. She was full of energy and exuberance and never had a bad word to say about anyone. My youngest son at the time was two years old and just in the process of potty training. As a stay at home mother, I am in and out most of the day. I began to notice the odor of feces emanating from the room and would approach my son and ask if he had an accident or if he needed to toilet. He assured me he was fine and I assumed he was just gassy. I would check his drawers or toilet him, so I was certain he was in deed "fine". The children and the nanny spent their time when indoors in a rec room off the living room. The room had an L shaped sofa, two computer work stations, a game table, a bar and bar stools. One day after the nanny was gone for the day, I discovered a smear of brown fluid on the sofa. I inspected it closely to find that it was indeed feces related and set about scouring out the stain. I found no traces of feces on the children or in their drawers, so I assumed the nanny had just not realized that the 'accident' had gone through his pants and on to the sofa. The sofa was a popular hang out for the children to watch movies during the day. A few days later, I came across a wet stain on the fabric of a chair that went to the game table. The nanny and children were out for the afternoon, so I cleaned that off. When the nanny returned, I made mention of the stain to her and suggested that we return the two year old to wearing pull ups during the day. Not a week later, I discovered yet another brown, wet liquid stain. This one was on the red vinyl bar stool. I found this perplexing because the two year old never sat up on the stools, they were too high and he had no balance. I 409'd the stool and began to keep a keener eye on things around the home. Soon, I realized that the odor I would occasionally smell was actually wafting from the nanny. One day, I noticed that our nanny who regularly dressed in over sized sweatshirts was bending over and she had a banana sized, greasy smear of brown on her grey sweatpants. I asked her, "Marsha, are you having stomache problems?" She turned around, at first perplexed and then pulled down her sweatshirt. She ran from the room embarrassed and returned five minutes later wearing a pair of jeans. I asked her, "Are you okay? I need to know if you are okay". She admitted at that point that she was taking a prescription weight loss medication with the side effect of leaky, greasy stools. I told her that I appreciated her weight loss attempts but the leakage was resulting in an unsanitary condition in the house. She assured me she would cease taking the pills as she had already reached her goal weight. I never saw or smelled another trace of her ingesting the medication. She continued to be unwavering in her excellent care of the children and we all felt very grateful to have her in our home. One Sunday, we drove out to Connecticut to visit family and we returned to find Marsha's room empty. I have no doubt someone else had seen her out with my children and simply offered her better pay. She was a great nanny, but had no sense of loyalty.


Something Smells Funny (#2)
I am a nanny and have been with this family for 4 years, they have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. This summer the mom took a day off of work and we all went to the zoo. We had a crazy day, all days with mom and nanny are crazy because mom will say yes to anything while I try to maintain some sort of order and safety.
So after a few long, hot hours we are getting ready to leave. I get the older child in the car while she puts the baby in. We sit in our seats and I catch a whiff of poop. I mention it and she hops out and checks the baby. I was thinking she would smell his bottom or sneak a peek in the side of his diaper but no! I was not prepared for what I saw...
She reached down the back of his diaper and scooped her fingers in his crack and then
-honestly, I am not exaggerating here-shoves her fingers all the way up her nose and says "Yeah, he pooped."
Readers, I am a total germaphobe, I WAS HYPERVENTILATING at this point. I just couldn't even believe what she did. She changed his diaper and got back in her seat and looked over at me gagging and says "What's wrong?"


Manipulative Mama
I fired my nanny for calling in sick three different days within a 10 day period. This was completely justified. I did not pay her severance because she had only been with us four weeks by that time. After I fired her, her mom called me and was in tears crying about how she was going through dialysis and her daughter was her source of income. She told me that I really ought to give her daughter another chance, but if not, I should pay her 4 weeks severance because after all that would cover the time it would take for her to get another job and collect a paycheck from her next job. I was as polite as I could be, but this mother was a bully. She called me at home and at work. When my husband would answer the phone, he would be hung up on, I can only guess that was her. Finally after two weeks, she stopped calling. And then? It was about this time last year, two weeks after I last heard from her and she and her mother showed up on my doorstep with a bunch of Christmas presents. They carried the Christmas presents in a garbage bag, just like Santa. I was caught completely off guard, and was of all things decorating the tree with my children. They were jumping up and down with joy at the sound of presents. I was forced to let them in. They handed each of the children about four gifts. The gifts were all from a dollar store, I could tell by the packaging. For instance, my little girl was given a barbie type doll that was completely plastic, including her hair. I was forced to entertain Mom and former nanny for the better part of an hour, serving them hot chocolate and cookies. As they were putting on their coats, the mother took me aside and said, "you do so well for yourself, you don't think you could help us out a little bit with the holidays". Feeling pressured, I got my pocketbook and found $260 dollars which I gave them. I felt totally manipulated and it was a hard thing to share with my husband. We changed our phone number after that and I never saw or heard from her and her crazy mother again. I seriously doubt she was undergoing dialysis.


Have your own Nanny Horror Story? Add yours in the comment section. Want to participate in our next ISYN Feature? Let us know what sort of bonus you are rewarding your nanny with this year. Or if you're a nanny, let us know what your bonus was. Email isynblog@gmail.com to participate.

87 comments:

Unknown said...

The "Doing Zane's Dad" one pissed me off!

Anonymous said...

The nanny that was having accidents in her pants was funny. But the mother deserved what she got. She said the nanny had no loyality, and just up and quit. Well she did was sneaky too the mom. She knew this nanny was employed, but wanted her. So she offered her a job with more money, etc.

Not nice to steal someones smelly nanny.

Anonymous said...

Oh.my.God. - these are great!

Anonymous said...

I loved the one about the poopy nanny :-)

Victoria Anne said...

OH man! These were great!

Anonymous said...

Ewwww! Greasy poo! Could that have been more gross? I had a friend that took that medicine, but she never left her calling card!! It's called Xenical and the only way to get greasy poo is if you eat foods too high in fat.

Anonymous said...

OK eeewwww. I always wondered why people would eat those diet foods with the oils substitute (is it called Olestra?) that makes you have uncontrolled greasy bowel accidents/ I just picture some beautiful, thin woman standing at a fancy cocktail party in an expensive dress, and some peope are admiring her from afar. Maybe one of them says, "Who is that woman? She is so beautiful and elegant and thin..." "Yes, yes she is" says another. "I wish I looked half that good. I wonder what her secret is?" And then, "Ewww, what's that that just dropped to the floor underneath her? Did she just crap the rug? Ewww. What's that smell?!"

Anonymous said...

PS Jane and MPP,
I might think your little drawing was a picture of me...except my boobs and horns are smaller...hehehe!

Anonymous said...

I have a horrible nanny story. I was hired into a very wealthy family. The mom and I did most of the business- talking about job, pay, etc. I really never saw dad there. They had 2 children ages 3 years and 6 months. The baby was not on any schedule. So the housekeeper and I (who both worked up to 70 hours a week) put her on a schedule. Even though, mom was usually home- yea- home- she never interacted with kids.

Now the 3 year old- had some behavior issues. When I was out on adventures with them- the kids alone- the 3 year old was a wonderful little boy to be around. Loving, sweet and a joy. When we were home or around parents. It was a different story. Like night and day.

3 incidents, I remember. The first one- was the little boy (3 years) and I were walking the neighborhood playing and having fun. The 3 year old suddenly got mad at me for someone and started throwing toys at me. One of his toys, a hard block- caught me in the face, breaking my glasses (3 pairs in as many months- each one I paid for) and requiring surgery on my eye. He ran away and ran home (about 3 blocks away). I had a huge problem with vision for a long time. I tried to discipline him using time-outs. Mom would pull him out. He would bit, scratch, throw things- forcefully. I was physical hurt somehow everyday.

Another incident- Mom and I were with the 2 kids at Potty Barn kids- and the 3 year old pick up a real butter knife and started running with it. I was so scared he would run into someone. If I tried to stop him, he would swing the knife at me. Mom watched this whole incident and did not say anything. She acted like she was stoned and completely unaware of what was going on. The worst thing is people looking at me like it was my fault.

The 3rd incident- was the worst I would ever know. The kids, mom and I were at ToysRus. The 3 year old jumps a tricycle and started riding. Following him, I asked him several times to slow down. He ran into a couple young kids. I apologized to the parents and told my charge if he ran into someone again, he would get off the bike. Unfortunately, he ran into a little old lady, who fell amd broke her hip. I immediately pulled him off the bike, and asked the lady if she needed help. As I pulled him off the bike, he planted his teeth on my stomach- (on a scar from a recent surgery). I was in shock, he would not let go. Mom again, just standing there as if nothing was wrong. I physically took my hands between my stomach and his face and pushed him off. I did not know what else to do. He bit me so hard that the scar broke open and I was bleeding pretty bad. I could hardly walk. It felt like I had just been hit by a car in the stomach. I was in pain- alot of pain. Mom's reaction was nothing. So then did something i would never forget. The 3 year olds punishment was a trip to McDonalds- yes McDonalds. I was bleeding and in pain. Mom did not even ask if I was ok. I was so hurt.

The next day, dad was home and the 3 year old was running around the house- the dad yells at him and ends up spanking him. I heard it from downstairs!!! Later that day, I took the 3 year old swimming. At the pool, I helped him change into a swimsuit. I noticed a huge, black bruise on his backside. I asked him what it was from. I will never forget what he said " my dad hit me" and when mom was giving him a bath later that day, she saw the bruise and asked him also what happened. He told mom dad had hit him and she got very upset. Mind you, I was too. Then later, that night, she called me a B**** and told me it was my fault since I was in charge of the 3 year old- and he should not had not made the dad mad.

I responded by grabbing my coat, bag and purse and leaving. Oh yeah, I was cheated out on pay also. But that's another story. This was all in just 3 months of being a nanny with this family.

I found out that the family, had been through 9 nannies in less than a year. Boy, I wonder why!!

Anonymous said...

I missed the date for getting my story in, but I have an employer horror story. In September I started an evening nanny position in addition to my full time nanny job during the day. I had talked to the family on the phone and over email and they seemed nice and professional. The mother was a professor and the father was some big shot attorney who had just finished up a job within the Bush administration. I have to admit that I was a little intrigued by there lifestyle and that it was one of the reason's I had decided to work for them. They had 3 children under 4 and before I come to work at 5 o'clock they had two full time nannies, and after I left at 11 they had an overnight nanny, they also had a full time live in housekeeper and cook. The first day I started was downright odd, the mother asked me very personal questions about my relationship with my fiance, that were just inappropriate, when I met the children she demanded that I dance for the 2 year old, and I mean demanded as in "dance, DANCE for her!" Part of my job was preparing breakfast for the next morning, i had to cut grapefruit, in a specific way, she had a specific way for everything, she would stand behind me and watch me and then correct me every few minutes, then she would say " we have a specific way of doing things" there was a correct way to load the dishwasher,( I was yelled at for not being able to start the dishwasher) and a correct way to wipe down the counters. I am not incompetent, I've been a nanny for 6 years. I also had to serve the family dinner, and then disappear, so I would go clean up downstairs. When I threw in a load of laundry I had to make sure to read the directions she had written up about how to do the laundry. This was the most stressful job I have ever had, the father thought that his children would respond if he yelled like a drill sergeant. He was constantly yelling for his wife "Kate, KATE, you need to watch the children, they are running all over" (they were playing in the living room) He seemed to make all the major decisions and I don't think he was abusive to her but she seemed nervous to disappoint him. Then for bedtime, after having snacks the children would cry that they wanted more snacks, and the mother would consistently give in, Once, she made me make pancakes at 9 at night and then just kept bringing more and more in for the children while they repeatedly ran out of the room. Eventually they would give up and tell me to take care of it. The parents were book smart but should NOT have had children. The two year old was refusing to take a bath, I was handling the situation just fine, when the father came in grabbed the two year old and forced her into the water, I can't even tell you how horrified I was, he was shoving her whole body, even her head under the water, I finally said to the father, "you're getting your suit wet,let me take her" I didn't know what else to say, and then he said to me "i don't know why she's so afraid of the water!" are you kidding? I can't even tell you how snobby the mother was I was wearing a bar harbor maine sweatshirt, and she asked me if I had family there, I said no, my mom had got it on vacation, and she said "well that's sweet, how nice that she was able to vacation there, because its so expensive" Another time the oldest came home from his 26K a year preschool with animal crackers, the mother took them away and with disgust said, " Can you believe they got these at such a nice school, imagine what they get for snacks at those poor public schools" Another time she asked me about my plans for the weekend, i told her and then asked if she had plans, she looked at me like i was crazy for even daring to ask, she then said " that is an inappropriate question, i will see you tomorrow" I was pretty much in shock. Here's the kicker I called in sick because I had the stomach flu, and was throwing up. She yelled at me and told me that I was not reliable, and that if I was sick I was still expected to come in and just not work closely with the children. I said that I would not be coming in she said fine and that she would see my tomorrow evening. After having her yell at me I was not about to go back, I emailed her and said that I didn't think it was working out. She emailed me back and said that she was so sorry and that she misunderstood me when I said I was sick, and that of course I shouldn't come in if I was sick. She went on to tell me that her husband was really upset with her and that she really wanted me to come back. She then offered me a full time day position in the house offering to pay me double what I was making during my day position, I was tempted to ask her if she was on drugs... Making $25 an hour was not worth that.

Anonymous said...

I haven't finished reading these yet but OMG. Someone's "horror story" is that they discovered upon actually MEETING the person who they had decided not to even bother properly intrerviewing before hiring her, that she was overweight and had bad fashion sense?

I suspect the crazy teenager with the sexual fetishes was being molested by his dad.

Anonymous said...

The Alli shits!! Aww gross. I am noticing distinct poop and up-the-arse themes to these stories...

Anonymous said...

The balding overweight nanny obviously had PCOS. Heaven help her children so that they grow up to love people not for their looks.

Anonymous said...

Nom de Plume...I so agree. Very well said.

Anonymous said...

The second horror story left in the comments, the former Bush guy. What is it with DC parents?!?! They're nuts! If only the nannies of DC could tell, boy would you all be entertained!

Anonymous said...

I am not a cynic, but I have a hard time believing the 'Doing Zane's Dad' story. It just sounded (the part where she describes the 'doing')sounded a bit soap opera-like.
There was so much detail up to that point.

This is my theory (and I might be wrong). I think for the most part the story is true, and that the storyteller wanted to make sure to include details so if the family ever happened upon it they would know it's them, and this would effectively stick it to the wife.

I think the last part is what she wished she could have done, but would not have the guts to do, or perhaps her moral compass would not allow it.

The wife goes away for how long and is writing letters? that is a bit strange; when pray tell was she to return?

Of course, this story could be completely true, but I had to say what my gut feeling was in this matter. I know sometimes things that are true sound very weird, unlike what Judge Judy says about 'things not making sense are always not true'.

If it is true then shame on OP. You didn't even stick it to her, you got used. You could have been bedding someone with some communicable disease. Why people do this I will never understand

The smelly nanny was perplexing and quite embarrassing- no wonder she moved on. She was probably uncomfortable after that.
The question is, where should a nanny's loyalty lie? Why do parents want nannies not to think of themselves first? Loyalty isn't going to get you an upgrade on your car.
What is wrong in taking a better position. Everybody does that from time to time. We all have to move on.
Most nannies will stay on a job if suitably compensated and most importantly if it's a great fit. They move on if a better paying position comes along and a potentially better fit. Parents need to understand this.

Parents think nothing of dumping nannies when they don't want them anymore, so why should nannies not think of themselves first?
It's hard to leave a job when you are already in one, because the grass is not always greener, but if you are not happy where you are, and if the benefits far outweigh where you are, you should definitely consider it without feeling guilty.

I was poached myself, and they wanted me to leave immediately, but I could never have done that- of course this told me something about my present employers, so I knew exactly what I was getting into. I felt bad when I left my last position, but that mother was horrible, and my work as a nanny is exceptional.
Many parents tried (in the neighborhood) to get me, but I declined, but when my agent told these people about me they wanted me immediately.

Its funny, since Ive been here, I have been approached by one parent, with offerings that would make any nanny jump, but I was under contract, and was also comfortable where I was, so I declined.

I find the manner in which that nanny left to be in question. I could never (unless in physical danger) just simply leave. That is rude and disrespectful, and I don't care how good a nanny she is, I personally would not hire someone with such a classless attitude.

Anonymous said...

I know, I expected the one about the "obscenely unattractive" nanny to have the punchline that she admitted she was 8 months pregnant, or really a man. But to fire her because she was too ugly to unleash on your town? Harsh!

Anonymous said...

I find it suspect that the ugly hairy nanny and the poop nanny stories both sound exactly the same in "voice" and they both spell the word "stomach" as "stomache". I think someone's just trying to craft her fiction on here.

Anonymous said...

OK, I am completely confused. Earlier tonight there was a long thread aboout a baby nurse with a person assuming the false identity of "Monica". But now the entire thread and all references to it are nowhere to be found. Did someone slip some LSD into my dinner, or am I just not finding this in all my searches?

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Calimom
The Thread you are referencing was from Dec 2006. I saw your comment and assumed you had clicked the "last comments" section because I wondered why you were posting on such an old thread! (Someone had also posted there, right before you!)

:)

Anonymous said...

Oh, thanks MPP! I had noticed there were many anonymous comments and wondered about it but hadn't noticed the original posting date. As you suspected, just found it because it showed up on the recent comments section.

Is there any way to make the comments show up in the thread with the full date they are made? Right now they only show the time (4:14 PM), not even a date, let alone a year!

Anonymous said...

I know., good catch. Maybe the 2nd poster was just uneducated and assumed that since that first poster misspelled the word, that that was the correct spelling?

I also wondered why, if the poopy nanny had the forethought to bring a change of pants, she didn't just wear some adult diapers if she was expecting a problem, so maybe both posts are just bogus.

Anonymous said...

All of the articles were [probably word and spell checked. Words that were not capitalized were corrected and basic punctuation was added. I am guessing this as a fellow blogger who also solicits stories (on parenting). I wouldn't quite call that editing, I expect that is how all of the articles were formatted in the same way, with titles etc.

And the spelling of stomach is one of the most mispelled words, landing an entry in urban dictionary:

Stomache: A condition certainly having nothing to do with an aforementioned idiot who can't spell "stomach."

Anonymous said...

I am shocked that more people are fascinated with greasy poop nanny then they are the young boy struggling with his sexuality!

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

No doubt, Ro!

Anonymous said...

I was a spent the summer right after my high school graduation as a full time sitter. While mine wasn't as bad as some mentioned it was enough to make me search for a different job the next summer.

I worked from 7:30-4:30pm for 3 boys ages 12, 9 & 5. First of all, the 5 year old was not completely potty trained. He wore a pull-up at night and it was always soiled. In general they were coddled, sometimes difficult boys but there were a few situations that really had me fuming.

1. One morning my 5 year old charge M told me he had to go to the bathroom. I told him to go and then change into his clothes and big boy underwear for the day. He got mad at me and said he wanted another pull-up. I replied that he needed to wear his big boy underwear and in retaliation, he pulled out his penis and pointed it at me an threatened to pee on me and the rug. I replied in a stern tone that he'd better put that back in his pull-up and go to the bathroom NOW.

2. My boss was very overprotective and refused to let us leave the house very often, which left me with few options and hyper boys at the end of every day. We were allowed to go to the pool and the library if we gave her advanced notice (this was only after I assured her of my lifeguard certification and clean driving record).

3. I was also underpaid (being totally naive I wasn't aware of fair wages then)

Lisah said...

Cali Mom, I had the same reaction as you... I'm not done reading, but had to come here to the comment section to say how offended I am by the ugly duckling writer, including the several times she assures us that she's a nice person. Clearly, she is not. She's a shallow, pretentious person who really needs to get over herself.

Anonymous said...

....yeah but she couldn't even buckle her own seatbelt. Would you want someone like that taking care of your kids? So what will she do when taking the kids out in the car? Ask strangers if they can buckle her in..

Anonymous said...

"not your dream nanny" sounds like some dumb after school special from the early 90s.

Someone has a lazy imagination if that's the best they could come up with.

Anonymous said...

mainpulative mama

You were "forced" to let them in? Did they have a gun? It is sad that you cannot stand up to people who could have been putting the safety of your family at risk.

Anonymous said...

Seriously, half these posts are made up. Bored people making up stories.

Lisah said...

Really? Which ones?

Anonymous said...

Only people that live in perfect little worlds would believe there isn't some truth to these stories.

Why wouldn't a family get a crappy, neglectful nanny from an agency? Have you ever seen how many of them hire from Craigslist?

Why wouldn't an Employer treat her nanny like a subservient piece of shit?

Why wouldn't a nanny occasionally run into a family with some fucked up kids? Most of the parents work 80 hrs. a week, so the nanny is oftentimes the only one there to see this atrocious behavior.

Why wouldn't it be possible to get a nanny with a drug or drinking problem? I'll bet you know somebody right now that drinks or does drugs... would should a nanny be so perfect?

Why wouldn't you believe that somewhere out there, right now, some nanny is fucking her Mom Boss' husband? I'll bet it happens more often than you would think.



So... I absolutely believe the stories. Could they be slightly embellished? Sure... but I'll bet they're not too far from the truth!

Anonymous said...

Doing Zane's Dad is suspect. How would she have BOTH sides of the correspondence to snoop through if Mom was still away?

The Ugly Duckling story was appalling, for all the reasons listed here by others.

Anonymous said...

How did I know what Zane's Dad said? Because when I read the letters from his wife, she told him he needed to fire me for letting the kid ruin the Encyclopedia books. And the only way she would know, is that he told her. These were long letters, and I was easily able to surmise from her half of them what they were talking about.

And I didn't feel the need to elaborate on the sex part. Seriously, did you really want all the gory details?

Trust me, if you had some bitch treating you the way she did me, you would have done what you could to get her back. Maybe not what I did, but something. I was angry.

If I were put into that position now, I would be able to quit without feeling the need to get revenge. I'm not the same person, I was young and stupid back then.

Anonymous said...

Who writes snail mail letters any more? Especially if she is out of the country? I haven't sent a letter in 6 years

Anonymous said...

It was at least that long ago. Did you not read the very first line of my post where it said "several years ago"?

Anonymous said...

OK,I hate to say it, and I generally try not to second guess OPs, but I now believe that Zane's nanny's story is not very plausible.

She's protesting too much, and the protests directly contradict the original post.

The original post says there were letters from both mom and dad in the house, which doesn't make sense if mom is still away. Zane's nanny even says what the content of dad's letters are; that the kid loves her and that dad himself mentions the encyclopedia incident to the mom. This cannot be true. His letters would certainly be overseas with mom until her return.
Besides, how long was mom supposedly gone on this "business trip" that they had time to exchange several rounds of letters back and forth, overseas? And why would they discuss something so mundane as tearing of the encyclopedias in letter form? Did they never speak on the phone the entire time, so that dad supposedly wrote about the encyclopedias and then waited a week for his wife to get his letter and then another week (presuming she wrote back the same day) for her response as to how he should handle it? And they used their letters to discuss the nanny situation at length? I find it extremely hard to believe that people who cared enought to write multiple, obviously very lengthy letters to one another never picked up a phone and chatted about the mundane parts of their everyday lives. Companies who send employees overseas on business generally allow them to make phone calls home on a regualr basis, and expense the charges. It just makes no rational sense.

Anonymous said...

I've heard worse stories first hand, so I have no reason to doubt these stories. The blog asked for nanny horror stories and they probably published the best.

Everyone in my family is fucked up. Thank God we don't have nannies because the nanny's would have a field day with me or any of my siblings!

Anonymous said...

Hmm. I don't know Zane or his former nanny but I did have a nanny friend once. She came from CA to work in NY. She didn't get along with the female and wasn't very loving with the children. She wasn't mean, but she just wasn't great. She and the father had a mutual attraction. He got her a job in the city with a friend of his and helped her find an apartment. He bought her breast implants. I lost contact with her a year or so after I met her, but her life was going okay. She had no regrets about fucking some other woman's man, and let's be honest, most women do not. 50% of your husband's are dipping their salame in someone else's blue cheese dressing. You think those women give a rat's ass about you?

It's like mama always said, nothing taste as good as another woman's man.

Anonymous said...

To "Sorry".. -
Protesting too much? I answered a few questions, and wasn't argumentative at all. But it doesn't really matter to me if you believe my story. I didn't see anyone else that wrote in trying to explain themselves. So, go ahead and pick it apart all you want.

You're probably why husbands get away with cheating on their wives. They have their heads stuck in the sand and don't want to believe that things like this can happen.

Anonymous said...

I don't know why some people insist coming on here and giving the OP's the 3rd degree, but that's exactly why so many posters are disappearing. We should ease up and stop giving them such a hard time.

Anonymous/8:12pm, your story sounds vaguely familiar. Did you post it here once a long while back? I feel so much sympathy for you. I don't know why you put up with it as long as you did. You were straight up being abused! I hope you've found a much better family, one that treats you with the dignity and respect that you deserve! Good luck to you!

Anonymous said...

The The Ugly Duckling AKA Wicked Witch of Westcheser poster.

You sound like an obnoxious pig. The good news for the nanny is she can lose weight, get a lip wax and hair implants and look better but your sort of ugliness goes straight tot he bone honey!

Anonymous said...

True, shmoo. Personally I don't give a toss. The stories are funny and they cold be true, and similar stories have no doubt have been true at some point in time, so who cares?

Its like when poop hit the fan for that Oprah book club author - much ado about nothing. All memory is narrative to a certain extent.

Joanna said...

not a park slope nanny - I thought that story was familiar as well. Glad I'm not losing it!

Anonymous said...

LOVE this feature...maybe next time the posts could be spread out to 1-2/day? Just a thought!

Anonymous said...

I hate when people brag about infidelity. Joking or not I think it is the lowest thing anyone can do. If a nanny thinks that she beat the mom by sleeping with the dad, she is a slut who in no way should ever be allowed in public. Never brag about being slut! That nanny embarrassed herself and all women, and nanny kind.
As for the greasy stools, the nanny should have been upfront about it, and not let the mom think it was her child. Xenical can be taken but the nanny should have been keeping a better eye on her surroundings and seeing that she was leaving grease stains!

Anonymous said...

Phoenix,

I couldn't have phrased the part about the slutty nanny better myself. Not only is it despicable to mess in somebody else's marriage (whether or not somebody else's husband is a disgusting pig, does not prevent any decent person form exhibiting good moral conduct on her own part), but I don't really see how letting some lecherous pig-man use her as a nailing post got back at the mom any more than it did at herself...only nanny got what she deserved and the mom didn't. I've known pleny of bitchy women in my day...some with creepy husbands who I am sure would cheat in a heartbeat..still, it has never occurred to me that my being a slut is the approriate remedy. Go figure.

Anonymous said...

Not condoning it, but it happens, whether you think this story is made up or maybe it isn't. Men do sometimes cheat with the nanny - Robin Williams, Joe P (snl), Jude Law to name the famous. Some people have no morals, but it is a two way street. Maybe some details have changed to make a better story, but the sad fact is it does happen.

Anonymous said...

Gee, thanks for calling me a slut guys. That makes me feel so much better about myself.
Don't you think I beat myself up enough every day about this as it is?
And not so much because of me, but the kid.

Anonymous said...

Not a nanny,
I agree it's a two way street. (Did I seem at all sympathetic to the dads who do this?) But it's inexcusable...even if you're really cute and/or a movie star. Even if it's for revenge, or even if it's because you really just felt like doing it. There is just no way to make this better. Just like there is no way to condone child abuse, or wife beating...no matter how many times "it just happens." Did 6 million Jews being killed make it less disgusting than if they had killed, perhaps, just thirty four? Frequency is just never a defense..in either direction.

Zane's nanny. I'm glad to hear you have remorse. Maybe that will stop you from doing that ever again. Once can sometimes just be a terrible mistake, or an error in judgment. Twice is a serious character flaw.

Anonymous said...

I am sorry that you feel the term slut is not appropriate, however I still feel this term does apply to you for this behavior. I think that the dad was at fault just the same.
I hate the fact that some women feel that sex is an appropriate way to get things they want, for revenge, or to teach someone a lesson. Sex is NOT a weapon and women who choose to use it a such are plain ass dumb and manipulative. Hearing stories like that make me embarrassed to be a woman but also it makes me realize how lucky I am to have morals and a man that has the same morals as I do. I would never trust someone who did this and I would lose all respect for them, whether or not they felt bad about it later.
In order to redeem yourself you should call the wife and let her know exactly what you and her husband did, show humility and show that you are an adult. This may break the family up --- but you already did that by soiling this marriage and family. You were not right and don't be proud of it. I believe that everything you put out will come back to you three fold. I hope that when you find the one you love, that they will have better morals than you and they won't be swayed by someone who hates you. Keep in mind that you need to make good on this, so Karma doesn't find you.

Anonymous said...

Zane

Don't call the mother and tell her what happened. It sounds like this was at least a couple of years ago. Why stir up trouble for yourself. And why break up a family. Maybe, he already told her. And he feels remorseful.


We all make mistakes. I don't know why we are being so hard on her. She made a one time mistake.

Anonymous said...

I am being hard because it is just not a mistake that anyone should ever make. I have a very strong opinion about how people behave, and marriage has turned into a joke for most people. Getting divorces and treating spouses like crap. Your spouse is supposed to be your better half, your companion. I have seen too many people hurt because of cheating spouses. Her husband was at fault the other 50%. I don't believe that she was completly remourseful because this was premeditated. This wasn't an oops, she actually thought about it. To me it is just the same as premeditated murder. If you think about it first, it can't be considered a crime of passion (which does happen).
I will admit I can be hard when it comes to this subject, but having the one you love taken from you for only a moment is like having the world fall around you. I have seen the hurt that my friends go through... and for what? Because of some letter? Because she didn't like the mom? Not acceptable!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry Phoenix, but that's just plain crazy!! You want her to call up a Boss from however many years ago and tell her she slept with her husband?! Two wrongs don't make a right. Zane's nanny needs to find her own forgiveness somehow, but it's the Husbands responsibility to fess up to his wife about what happened.

Anonymous said...

Phoenix,
I love ya girl, but I also think it's better for Zane that his nanny just leaves this in the past with her former employer. Hopefully dad has a conscience and won't do this again. If he's a slimebucket cheater, mom will find out soon enough on her own. In the meantime, Zane has a CHANCE at having an intact home during his most important formative years.

I understand where you're comeing from because the older I get, the more I see this crap ruin families. Can you believe that I am lucky enough so far though, that I have not had to endure any of my close friends having this happen to them? Thank God, because its bad enough watching the aftermath in the families I know even somewhat. I attribute this luck somewhat to the fact that my husband and I just do not become close to people who we can see are in any way skeevy. But sometimses people can surprise despite our best efforts to choose friends wisely so I keep my fingers crossed and my prayers up to date!

Anonymous said...

Phoenix: Get off your high horse. It is NEVER ok to call someone a slut. What do you mean you are ashamed to be a woman now? One woman's actions don't represent the whole, just like a white person doesn't represent all white people, or nannies all nannies, etc, etc. You are judgmental, rude, prude and embarrassingly old-fashioned. Yes, sometimes people cheat. It is not the worst thing in the world. Sure, it is sad sometimes, but women and men have sexual freedom, and we can make our own sexual choices without being judged for them by prudes like you. Some people even choose not to be monmogamous. Lighten up, not everyone is like you. Stop putting down women and using hateful, sexist words like "slut." It just makes you look like an idiot who is completely out of touch.

Anonymous said...

Zane's nanny isn't married. Save the ire for the cheating husband. He's the ho.

Anonymous said...

Wow,
You're also being a little mean to Phoenix. The word she used (which I believe I also used)...its actually used correctly according to the dictionary.
You're entitled to your idea of when and how to use that particular word and others are entitled to their as well.

Some may be considered puritanical in their views...while others might be considered liberal to an unsatisfactory degree.

To each his own.

Anonymous said...

Ok.. I will admit that calling the mother wouldn't be good... that was a bad choice made by my judgment in trying to relay my point of view.
in better words if someone can truelly accept the responsibility of their actions and use their mistakes to better their future, than that is the best thing of all.
Learning from the past is possibly the best thing at this point. Sorry to give such bad advice I was just trying to show how damaging this can be. My fault, I will take responsibility for this bad advice.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's really impressive Phoenix. Not many people are willing to admit they gave bad advice. Good for you!

Now, on to Mom. I don't know why, but I kind of hold you to a higher standard on here. Maybe because of the great wisdom I see in your words, so I must tell you I was shocked and saddened to see you call Zane's nanny a slut. I expect other posters to be brazen enough to do it, but it's hard seeing it come from you and since I figured you were more on the sensitive side, I was just wondering why you did that?

Anonymous said...

Wow,

I think it's perfectly ok to call someone a slut when the word fits. It is not fair to be judgmental. I didn't judge her, she announced that she slept with someone else's husband. I was not judging this nanny, I called it as I saw (or read) it. I didn't make assumptions she flat out told everyone that she used sex to get back at her female employer.

BTW - I don't understand where you get off calling me prude, isn't that a little judgmental on your part? Don't yell at someone for being judgmental, then do it yourself, that is called being a hypocrite.
If the mom did not call the dad and say.. "You can sleep with other people" then they were not in a marriage that allowed them to sleep around.
I am allowed to have an opinion and I do have very traditional ways when looking at the union between two people.
That being said I am sorry to come off as being rude in any way, that was not my goal. If you feel that infidelity is ok then you are entitled to your opinion, and I can agree to disagree.

Anonymous said...

Mom...

Thanks for sticking up for me, sometimes my point of view gets trampled on... I think because i am very passionate about certain things, and i am not the most delicate at expressing them, but at least you get me. Glad to have you in my corner when you feel you can agree with me

Anonymous said...

I hate junk mail...
I don't believe I actually called her a slut...but I used the word...I belive in reference to what I owuld think of myself if I did that. (Not that that's a far cry from callign her tha...but it wasn't my intention anyway.)

but just to be clear...I think doing that is a terrible, terrible thing. I am glad to see that Zane's nanny is remorseful...at which point it is over and done with and not my place to comment on her personally. There's always room for grace. Otherwise, what's the point?

Anonymous said...

Speaking of grace.... as always, Mom.

:)

Anonymous said...

Falling behind again, but Phoenis, it isn't for you to decide that this wife and husband must get a divorce forthwith. Or even that this wife must be made aware of her husband's infidelity. Let alone that the former nanny must call them up out of the blue and stir their pot just because some of your friends' husbands cheated on them and you hate people who cheat. You're entitled to your own opinions and your own mistakes, but you're not entitled to make these calls on anyone else's life.

Anonymous said...

Phoenix,
No problem.

This, as we can all see, is a very touchy subject. I think it is probably easier for those who have not witnessed first hand how incredibly painful this is when a family ends because of infidelity to be more liberal in their views of what is OK for people to do.

I do hope none of those here who support the idea that it is OK for people to exercise their sexual freedom in any way they like ever have to suffer the hurt that some others of us have had to endure or witness as a result of people doing just that. If, God forbid, they ever do, they will probably understand more why we are seemingly so harsh on the subject.

I'm not against sexual freedom...and I don't want to police everybody else's lives and homes...but I personally draw the line at expressing any of my own freedoms when crossing that line will harm another person...even if I might be "within my rights" to do so. That's my code and, admittedly, I really do wish everybody lived by it, because I think the world would be a whole lot better place if we all did. That's just me. And I've changed a lot since my younger days.

Where I'm coming from now is form the viewpoint of a 40 something mom whose kids are all high school age or older. I'm looking toward a very near future where my husband and I are alone in our house again (waaaa!), and within another ten to fifteen years we will be looking at retirement. We have been through a lot together...good and bad...started out struggling financially and are now quite comfortable (will be more so when everybody is finished going to private colleges!!!) The years ahead of us are the ones wher we are once again like we were when we started out...our future will be ours to make and we will have a lot of possibilities ahead of us. We have earned that TOGETHER. What I would really hate is for one of us to make a stupid mistake and have everything we have worked for suddenly end...and we spend those golden years either alone, or with new people...people who we didn't spend a lifetime building our lives with. That would break my heart. And I have seen that happen to not a few, but several women, all around my same age. Their husbands need to "exercise their sexual freedom" all of a sudden...and suddenly and unbeknownst to her, everything she has planned for her life and her future with her husband is placed unceremoniously in the hands of another woman. It totally sucks. That's why I don't like these stories where somebody sleeps with somebody's husband out of revenge, or horniness, or for gifts and cash...whatever. (No offense Zane's nanny...hopefully we have made our peace?) It is more devastating than people can sometimes imagine. Sure the husbands are the biggest jerks in these cases...but they're somebody else's big jerks, and IMO it should stay that way.

Anonymous said...

PS I hate junk mail
Thank you ;)

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

AN OPEN LETTER TO MOM

This may not be appropriate for a "nanny" site. However, here it goes!

Mom, I LOVE you!! Thank you for putting up with me for twenty five years!!!!! You are a great blessing, and I thank God for you every day.

Love,

Dad

Anonymous said...

Thank you Dad.
Me too. Now I'll get off here so we can go celebrate our anniversary.

PS Jane doesn't like double posting...but I'll bet she'll forgive you this once. ;)

MaryPoppin'Pills said...

Awwww! Happy Anniversary to Both of you! xo

Anonymous said...

Thank you MPP!

I just told Dad thank you for the sweet message and he looked really embarrased because apparently he has just sent it a third time. He says he couldn't find it so he had assumed that it wasn't going through and just kept resending. Poor dad. He is embarrassed for triple posting. Truthfully, I'm sorta glad he didn't know how to find his post. I was concerned about the thread he posted on and was just hoping he hadn't read about the pooping nanny and the boy with the broomstick in his behind. of all things. It might have been sort of hard after that to explain to him jusy WHY I enjoy this site so much! heheheehe

I'll be sure ot make it up to him...somehow.... ;)

Now we're off. He has planned a couple of very nice days for us.

Anonymous said...

to mom and dad...

It is a rare find to have someone that completes you. someone that is your world, your companion. To find love in this world is truely a blessing. May each year that passes bring you new adventures, and new opportunities. I wish you both a Happy Anniversary, nothing in life can compare to the love you have for one another. And even though sometimes life can be hard, you will always have your love to pull you through.

The heavans smile on you today as you celebrate the companionship that you two share and all the love you will both give forever.

Anonymous said...

Ugghhh, can I just throw up now??

Unknown said...

OMGosh, I am dying laughing over here at Something Smells Funny (#2)!!! I definately needed that laugh today! I love you ISYN!

Anonymous said...

Awwww....thank you so much Anonymous! Sounds like you must have somebody very special in your own life, because you have hit the nail right on the head, so you obviously understand.
We had the best time. My husband is very sweet and romantic.
;)

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

the puppetry of the penis one reminds me of a family I had nannied for once...the little boy would do odd sexual things that was not the normal behaivor at all for an 8 year old kid. However, nothing as outrageous as sticking a broom up their bum!

The Giddy Up one...sounds like she was a decent nanny but the employer's snooping of her personal life destroyed the nannie's job. Its not like she's using the whips and stuff during work hours, I'd like to think that a nanny would be treated like a human instead of another child of the family, if the nanny likes to get kinky with her personal life...cool for her. Not any business of her employers.

The mother may I one...that just reminds me of Nanny Carrie from One Tree Hill...keep nannies like that away! They clearly have no boundaries when it comes to whats theirs and whats not!

Doing Zane's dad was just awful. Not professional and completely skanky. Its never okay to sleep with someone for revenge...its like the nanny didn't even consider the impact of those actions! Gosh, that pisses me off.

Ugly Duckling one, I just don't see how you can hire someone you don't even know what their appearance is. Have a face to face interview! It always bothers me when ppl just hire people without seeing them in person first.

Anonymous said...

My thoughts...

Tan-Fastic: Did the baby get tanned too?

Sounds so Much like Our Favorite Mainline Mom…: I guess the victm likes her employer more than the OP!

Puppetry of the Penis: That kid is a brave version of me - really!

Not Your Dream Nanny: The title of this is a VAST understatement.

Giddy Up: I agree OP... they might have sent her to the zoo!

Mother May I: The nanny would be perfect as "Monk."

Two Stories: Are you sure those nannies weren't the same person?

4 Nannies and a Funeral: Remined me of "Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants."

Vengeance: So... the nanny was lazy, but became productive after she was fired??

Not Home Safe: Did the dad attack you?

Doing Zane’s Dad: If things went really well, you would have been able to babysit your own stepchildren!

White Plains Thief: Maybe she gave the kids some of the money that she got from stealing.

House of Horrors: I can't believe that everyone made it out alive!

More coming later...

Anonymous said...

Ugly Ducking: Are you sure the nanny was a woman?

Let the Good Times Roll: You didn't have any? Sounds suspicious...

Something Smells Funny (#1): Let's hope that she doesn't poop in the new family's home!

Something Smells Funny (#2): I need a sick bag!!

Manipulative Mama: I would have poured the hot coco on the mother's face!

Anonymous said...

We had a nanny for two years who we paid generously, gave her paid holidays and kept her on past a two month vacation home to visit her family. Upon returning from her visit with her family, she started to neglect her work with the kids. We found dirty clothes refolded in the kids' drawers and things put away where they made no sense. She came in late and asked to leave early. She spent a lot of time arguing with her boyfriend on the phone.

One day the kids came running to me saying there was something wrong with the nanny. I found her crying and babbling about being so sorry. She was having some kind of breakdown and I could hardly understand her, although she did say she had to quit her job. I agreed that she needed to go home. I found her boyfriend's number and he came to get her. I had never had good vibes from her boyfriend, he had twice shown up with facial bruises from "playing football". A few hours after she left, I called the police in her town and asked them to do a welfare check. I was shocked to find out that they were very familiar with her address, as a person that my nanny and her boyfriend shared their apartment with was apparently very well known to law enforcement. When I googled the address, I found out that there had been domestic violence calls in the local police logs to that address, in one case involving one tenant holding a gun on another tenant, and then on himself.

The police called me back to say they had found reason to take my nanny to the psychiatric unit of a local hospital because they believed she was a threat to herself.

Exactly 7 days after the day of the "breakdown" my nanny called and wanted her job back. She said she was out of the hospital and liked working for me and loved my kids and wanted to keep working for us. I said I was very sorry but we could not hire her back. Our priority was creating a safe environment for our children and having discovered what I did, I did not think she should have a job involving the security of a home and children.

I actually never got another nanny. I have done it all myself, and have since been surprised to find out in doing so, how little she actually did while on the payroll. It's our own fault. I have had other great nannies recommended to me, but I have been wary ever since of letting someone else into our household. You can check everything you want, but ultimately you are letting someone else's life into yours, and there are no 100% guarantees.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, her closing line in the OP REALLY shows her remorse. She's only feigning remorse now because she's being called a slut.

I'm a well intentioned, well educated nanny who's new to the scene. These stories are making me a bit nervous.

...And yeah, the ugly duckling chick is scum. Obviously the poor nanny could do up her seatbelt. The shallow mom is just making up silly ways to claim her weight was that much of an issue. I'll bet the nanny would have been able to drive just fine as well.

Anonymous said...

Not Home Safe: Why hasn't this nanny just called her parents or older brother to come and pick her up, (they all ended up driving to the employer's house anyway) walking alone at night was not a smart decision.

Unknown said...

Exactly!!

Anonymous said...

My nanny career has spanned since I was 15, I'm 34 now, so I have A LOT of stories like this, but I'm always baffled by these wealthy parents and how they start off so sweet and slowly you see them for who they really are. Nanny work is scary - you're a stranger in someone else's home with someone else's kids and it's your job to protect them, but then they treat you like a slave, are cheap when it comes to raises, contradicting parenting or undermining nanny emotional and physical abuse, intimidation by acts of violence, vindictive dads, jealousmoms, you name it...like you said, the demand loyalty but are never loyal to the nanny herself and the sacrifices shes made.

I go where I am treated respectfully and the pay is fair, I'd much rather take a pay cut and have down to earth parents than be promised salaries and perks to be treated like a slave.