I am writing to you after a disturbing nanny sighting today. I should have called the police, and it has been eating away at me. I thought I would put this up here and hope the parents would discover this.Nanny-Hispanic, older 50's/60's, short hair, heavy set, about 5'1-5'3.
Her charge- 2 girls, one about a year old and the other close to 3 years old. The older child had sandy blondish brown long hair and the little one had shorter light brown hair.
The problem- The nanny neglectful to the children while she kept falling asleep. My kids and some friends sat at a table next to her while the "baby" cried and whined and the nanny ignored her or kept falling asleep. The kids were in the type of stroller that you can attach an infant car seat to facing inward, while another child could sit facing inward as well. The two kids were in the stroller, the little on in a car seat not even buckled, while the older one stood up in the seat while the nanny was sleeping and completely unaware. She could have gotten out of the stroller at any time and disappeared, and the nanny wouldn't have realized this until it was too late. This went on for about a 15-20 minutes until the woman realized my friend and I were talking about her (trying to figure out how to get in touch with the parents) so she got up and strolled the kids away. My friend later went to the washroom. It is the kind of washroom that has an entrance room with a couch that you walk through to get to the bathroom. My friend saw the nanny in there napping on the couch. When she realized she was spotted, she moved again. When I heard this, I went to the bathroom and she was no where to be found, and we did not see her the next day. I am sick about this woman. I hope the parents of these girls find out about this woman sooner than later. This is just neglectful. I am sure they were excited that the woman took their kids to the Nature Museum. But if they really knew what the woman actually does at the museum, I am sure they would not be happy.
43 comments:
So instead of talking about her right next to her..why DIDn't you call the police??
The police wouldn't have done anything... what proof would she have had, and what are they going to do, issue her a ticket for being lazy?
The point of posting on here is that hopefully the parents will see it!
And what a disgraceful caregiver! How lazy can people get???
I remember working in childcare center with a teacher who fell asleep while her class was on the playground. My co teacher and I were returning from a walk with our class and we took the children inside. The teacher woke up and realized her class was gone, came in the building and found them with our class. She said, "Oh there you are. I dozed off for a second and you guys were gone." My co teacher and I ignored her. I think my director realized what happened, but didn't say anything immediately. The teacher was written up and fired a few weeks later for something else. This nanny should've been fired immediately. I'm guessing that you may have to be a member of the museum. If so, perhaps OP can describe the children and see if anyone knows who they belong too, so they can contact the parents. I am surprised the museum staff hasn't noticed the sleeping nanny.
If this woman is caught and three months from now there is a 60 minutes about a undocumented immigrant (her) being forced to work unholy hours with sleeping on outings her only escape, how will you feel?
Yes, chances are that's not the case. But how do you know? It has happened, it continues to happen.
Yes it's wrong, but did you ever think about you know - asking her?
I don't recall seeing that in this sighting. Had you done that, and she ignored you / continued this behavior, I could understand your outrage. But for now, one must wonder why she is tired.
I had a similar experience, I had been working nights, when I was hired in a daycare center- which of course mainly has daytime hours. It takes a while to adjust from sleeping during the day to sleeping again at night. Well, of course I feel asleep during nap time- soft quiet music will put anyone to sleep- I was fired a few days later. But this was a long time ago- I am a nanny now - and love my job.
I live one block from the Nature Museum and believe I have spotted this woman also by your description.
If it is the same person she also frequently takes the kids to the zoo down the block and the playground across from my house. I have noticed her complete lack of involvement including watching dully as the small ones climbed the big kids slide, threw sand at other kids and opened the gate. I stopped them twice in one day from leaving the park.
I approached her and attempted to discuss the kids safety and she either could not understand English or pretended not to.
I will follow her home nest time, she must live close..I see her 2-4 times a week.
I agree with the other poster, the cops would do absolutely nothing except laugh. I have called on a nanny who spreads a blanket in the playground and sleeps while a three year old roams, cops said theres nothing they can do till kid actually wanders off or is injured.
God, how awful. I agree, in most cities, cops would not or could not act on such a call, and even if they did, the sleeper would probably have woken up and gone off in search of her new "happy place" by the time they arrived.
How would I feel if I'd reported someone for this who later turned out to be an undocumented immigrant "forced" to work unholy hours? I'd say that if she'd stayed in her own country, or come in here legally and worked legally like she is supposed to, she wouldn't have had this problem. Then I'd be pissed at all the free legal assistance and other free services she'd get offered by telling her sob story to anyone with a clipboard or a microphone.
cali mom,
That's not how it always works and you know that. How unfeeling of you. Her "sob story"?
This has happened to real people, do you really think someone should pay for a single error all their lives? Especially one so simple as crossing a border?
I wouldn't want you, or your beliefs, near any children of mine.
My original point remains, why is she tired?
* Another thought: could she be ill?
An infection of Streptococcus pneumoniae would cause someone to be especially sleepy, could last a long time and eventually lead to pneumonia and death, especially for someone of her age.
Look, I'm not excusing the act of leaving a child unsupervised, but some important questions are being missed here.
hey wait, are you the sleepy nanny? I don't care why the nanny is so tired. If I could absolutely not keep my eyes open, I would be home sick! Do you realize how dangerous it is to fall asleep in a public place where anyone could have taken those kids? I mean I could understand dozing off for a few minutes while watching a video at home with the kids, but this lady was purposly sleeping and putting the children at great risk. She is a turd and needs to be fired!
I hate when people berate the OPs for not calling the police. It's THAT kind of self righteous attitude that also causes people not to post sightings. In an ideal world, EVERYONE who witnessed it would have called the police. But this is not an ideal world and people react to situations differently. There have been numerous studies done pertaining to this exact type of situation. People, without even realizing it, will often assume someone else is going to get help. It doesn't make them bad people or people worthy of being ragged on for not doing what you view as the right thing. Lets just be grateful that OP bothered to post this here. She was concerned. I'm sure a lot of people couldn't have dcare less.
Wait, she's taking care of children in a public place. She fell asleep with toddlers in her care...she didn't fall asleep on her lunch break from a retail store or a mcdonalds. I repeat, she fells asleep with children in her care in a VERY public place. Get real..defending this woman, regardless of what you perceive to be a potential SOB story, is just plain ludicrous.
Some important questions are being missed here? Are you kidding? OP posted all the information that was necessary to determine this is a woman who should not be working with children. If she is in fact ill or unable to sleep at night due to her plight as an undocumented immigrant (you said it, not me), then the parents should be aware of this. If she's working unholy hours (i.e. more than one job), then a nanny job is NOT for her if she's apt to fall asleep midday. There's NO excuse for this. I understand you're playing devil's advocate...people calling her lazy and a disgrace without knowing the whole story..but the entire point of this post is to alert the parents that this woman is falling asleep with their children in her care. Maybe she's NOT lazy. Maybe she's NOT disgraceful. It's a moot point for now. What's important is the children's safety and making an effort to ensure that this doesn't happen again.
Is there a snack bar? I would have gotten her a cup of coffee and sweetly said to her, "here honey from what I can see you really need this!"
You'd have to be dead not to get that message.
Diabetes would also explain the sleeping, but the children need to be protected regardless of the nanny's health issues.
Wait, I know an illegal nanny who works long, horrendous hours with a bunch of brats. She's basically blackmailed into keeping her job since the mom has said she'll report her if she quits. Even with that hanging over her head, she is still very attentive and tries to teach the kids manners and respect.
Even if she's an illegal nanny, or terribly sick, that doesn't mean the children should have to pay.
I've been to the Nature Museum. It bored me to death, but I still kept an eye on all three of my kiddos and tried to keep them entertained.
She had two young children in a very public place and chose to nap on the couch in a bathroom. If she's an undocumented immigrant working unholy hours and sleeping on outings, and she ends up on 60 minutes, it's probably going to be because she feel asleep and something happened to one of her charges. She made the choice to lay down and have a little nap, how's she going to feel when one of those girls goes missing and is never found again?
No, Wait, one must not wonder why she is tired. She is an adult. One must be concerned only with the defenseless children in her care and finding those children's parents.
My, my, here we go again, from a sighting of a neglectful and sleeping nanny to the "illegal" immigrants (in my opinion - a very ugly word AND politically incorrect - you came to this world, thus you are "legal" to stay. I call these people undocumented, cause they are just not authorized to be in this particular country, which makes them living here ILLEGALLY, not ILLEGAL themselves). And the "sob story" comment is completely uncalled for. I want to share with you one very real "sob story." My best friend in the US is from Guatemala. She is the oldest of 10 children. When she was 15 her mom died. Her youngest brother was 2 months old. So, yea, she swam the Rio Grande and crossed the desert and came to live here quite illegally. She found work and she actually started paying taxes (I don't know if you are aware that the government happily allows you to pay taxes, even if you do not have proper documents). After the first couple of years, she hired a lawyer and presented her case to the INS. And what do you know, they rejected her Green Card application, BUT they did not deport her. Why, cause she worked like a horse and poured a lot of money into the American economy. Well, she continued applying for the damn Green Card every year for 15 years. She finally got it last year...and in these 15 years she managed to bring each one of her brothers and sisters here.
Yes, it is wrong to come to the US this way, but not all the people who do come are sinister, psychotic criminals.
I have mono which makes me super sleepy and I also watch a 3 yr old child along with my son. I still don't fall asleep when they are awake and do not fall asleep when we are out at a museum or park. I take a nap when the kids do (except for today because I have some things to do) and I go to bed real early every night as well as sleep as much as I can over the weekend.
If I can stay awake then so can this lady......
TC
Isn't mono very contagious? Why would you be taking care of someone else's child while sick like you are?
- not trying to be mean and I hope you feel better soon!
bella I got mono from my charge and like chicken pox for the most part you can't get it again.
Plus of course her parents know.....
Thanks for clearing that up, TC! :)
Wrong about the mono!
This is from WebMD
"As soon as you get over mono, your symptoms will go away for good, but you will always carry the virus that caused it. The virus may become active from time to time without causing any symptoms. When the virus is active, it can be spread to others."
Nanny Taxi I believe my doc over anything on the web. My charge had/has mono and now so do I as well as my son.
Yes it is contagious but not as easy as most people think and yes you will only get mono once. The symptoms might come back for the rest of your life from time to time but you can not be 'reinfected' with mono. The virus lives dormant in your system for the rest of your life just like cold sores and just like cold sores the symptoms can appear at anytime.
SOOOOO that means I can't get my charge sick.
95% of Americans have contracted mono in their lifetime and like I said before they will always carry the virus in their bodies. Most people get it before they are 5 and usually don't have the same symptoms as adults so most people don't realize that they contracted mono.
BUT bottom line, my boss knows and she's ok with it as am I.
She should be TC
Since her kid gave it to you. Anyway, did you just get it? Or have you had it for awhile? Are you always tired. Shouldn't that feeling go away after time?
it doesnt matter how nice of a person she is nor how hard she works
if she came illegally, it is perfectly acceptable to deport her.
im glad she got her green card. we dont need any more illegal immigrants here any more than we need negligent nannies.
First of all, sleeping in public period is just plain scarey and unsafe. Of course, it's even worse if you have someone else's kids with you.
That being said, I REALLY, truly, hope this poor woman is okay! I know I have needed to nap at home while the children sleep. I am grateful that the families I work for understand the importance of rest when you work with young children. Sometimes children make you really tired!
eric's mom, I've had it now for about 6 weeks and I'm starting to feel better but it can last up to 6 months. I was so tired I would go to sleep around 7 or 8pm, wake up at 7am and then take a 2 hour nap with the kids. On the weekends I pretty much slept the entire time. Last weekend I think I was awake for a total of 4 hours.
Oh God. This is completely scary. That is why older women are usually a bad idea. They are not as interactive or energetic as a younger woman. Maybe she is not a bad person and maybe she does not mean any harm and she's only tired and it's understandable. But maybe, she shouldn't be a nanny either. Maybe she should work somewhere else with more flexible hours and more time for her to rest. What a danger to these kids.
Cali mom, one thing: Do you honestly think these people come illegally because they want to?
Do you think they work illegally because they want to? Do you think you can enter a country and just work and they'll give you all the documents necessary and make your life easy? NO.
Is it wrong? Yes. But do you know why they do it? Can you even relate to their situation? No you can't. So it is best to keep quiet when you have little understanding of what goes on outside your little world.
low tolerancy:
it is STILL illegal. they should STILL refrain. it doesnt make it okay no matter the circumstance.
just like murder is not okay.
I find it bothersome when people have no sense of proportion. Let's all compare border hopping to find work to taking a human life, shall we? ::eye roll::
okay, lets.
Low tolerance, let me put it this way. I *really* need money right now. Like to buy groceries and go to the doctor if I get sick or injured. I REALY REALLY need and want what I don't have. I'm a nice person, willing to work hard and I've paid taxes all my life, but no one is "giving" me the job that I need to make my life easy, so I still need money. Therefore, I *need* to break the law. Therefore, I am perfectly entitled to steal whatever I want to eat from a grocery store because well, I'm hungry and no one is "giving" me a job, so how am I supposed to get money? Do you think I steal food from a griocery store because I want to? No. Of course, I'm a good person, I don't want to steal, but I have no other choice, right? Right.
Cali mom: Do you have reading comprehension issues? I believe so.
I never said it was the right thing to do. I said you don't understand AT ALL the circumstances that lead these people to do what they do. You simply can't relate and you will never relate or understand because you've never seen it or experienced it first hand. So quit the holier than thou bullcrap. You people love pointing fingers and judging others but never ever once put yourselves in that position. What would you do if you made less than $20 a month and you had a family to support, and you had the opportunity to do so by moving to a place that will give you the opporunity, but unfortunately will make your life hell before letting you work legally? Would you really let your children starve and die in extreme poverty, in a place where their only options are be good and starve or turn to crime and die? Or would you sacrifice your morals to give them a better life? I bet the thought never crossed your mind. That is exactly why you should not talk about things you have little knowledge about. That is all.
There's also the option of working to change things for the better for the other 90% of your fellow countrymen who find themselves in the same boat so to speak. And you conveniently forget to factor in the differences in costs of living between places where people make that money and here, because you had to make your point more sensational.
Sure, it's easy to "make a better life for yourself" when you can fly under the radar, ignore the rules and get lots of nice handouts courtesy of all the people who are doing everything legally. How long have you been trying to get your green card, anyway?
I don't need a green card, thank God. But I come from a country where you don't have to go too far to see the condition these people live in. Low class surviving barely and barely having enough to feed their children.
I am thankful I have the life I want and my parents have been able to afford to give me a more than comfortable life, which has made me more than grateful for what I have and compassionate and understanding towards those who are so desperate, they are willing to risk their freedom to give their loved ones a better life.
You should grow and learn a little more. It's sad that I am possibly younger than you are, yet have more understanding of what goes on in this world. You should be ashamed.
Or rather you think you do, kiddo.
Chgonanny,that nanny is an idiot!How can she trust people like that? That woman is a monster, threatening to call the immigration if she quits!
That nanny shoudl first move without telling her, cancel her number, create a new phone account and then not shown up the next monday!
I thought this would be an informative site but it is just a bunch of mean woman pecking at each other, and going completely off the subject. So sad, because that is how most blogs seem to end up.
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