Received Tuesday, June 8, 2010
On Friday the 4th, between 5 and 6:00, I took my daughter over to the 70th St. playground in the Upper West Side of NY City. My daughter was playing and I was chasing her. At one point, I noticed a nanny sitting on the bench with her head propped up on her hand. At first I thought she was just tired and relaxing, but then I noticed that she was asleep, really asleep! I kept watching her to see if she was going to wake up anytime soon and tried to figure out what child was in her care. Finally after about 20 minutes, she woke up, found the child that she was "caring for" and said, "Let's go!" The little girl was between the ages of 7 and 9. She had on her bathing suit, pink crocs, and a Disney towel. She was a thin, blonde haired little girl. The nanny was dressed in all black, a nice dress and had a fake bun on the back of her head. She was very well put together looking and wore black sun glasses. I've seen some really awful things with nannies and I've gotten to where I'm just sick of it and have decided to take my camera with me everywhere. I just can't believe that parents don't know what's really happening with their children when they are in the care of someone else. I just can't believe how many nannies think that playtime at the park means they get to sit on their big rump and chat with their other nanny friends while they don't watch the children AT ALL or they make them sit right by them, either in a stroller or on the bench, not able to play or interact with the other kids. It infuriates me!
Playtime at the park has almost always meant pushing a swing until both of my arms are tired, helping a little one up a slide and endlessly drawing with a 52 count chalk.
ReplyDeleteIn all my years, I've never identified another nanny or answered a phone call from anyone other than the parents of the child or children.
I don't comprehend these "nannies" and I don't think I ever will.
Falling asleep while at work is a fireable offense in ANY job, but extremely dangerous for a nanny.
ReplyDeleteLately, I have had a few days of coming to work exhausted (our neighbors upstairs have been having parties on weeknights a LOT lately, UGH!) so you know what I do? I take the kids to Starbucks on the way to the park.
I'm sure this has been addressed before, but I'm fairly new to this site. I can't help but wonder 2 things.
ReplyDelete1. Isn't it illegal to take and then post pictures of people online without their knowledge?
2. Isn't anyone concerned that by posting where these neglectful nannies are, and then have pictures of the child and nanny attached that it might draw pedophiles or the like to those areas. Now they've been alerted that there are neglectful nannies not watching their charges.
No, question, there is no law to prohibit anyone from being photographed in public, nor to prohibit the owner of the photos from displaying them publicly. Exceptions: can't sneak a camera to spy on your neighbor in the shower, should avoid trying to photograph up the skirts of strangers on the subway. But nannies in a public park? Absolutely, anyone can photograph them.
ReplyDeleteRegarding pedophiles, you seem overly paranoid. Neglectful parents and nannies are everywhere. Pedophiles really don't need the heads up...
Wow! How could someone take a nap whist at the park with the children that they are caring for?! So many things could happen within a 20 minute time frame with small children!
ReplyDeleteI hope her employer is made aware of this.
Question? How does everyone feel about nannys taking quick naps at home while the child sleeps?
Of course using the babymonitor to be aware of when they wake up in their crib? I've known a few nannys that do that.
OP,
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing snapshot of the nanny. You got them perfectly. From behind. Awesome. And to all the people who send in pictures of nannies. Thank you!
Some parents don't want to take action. And they can negate their way out of comprehending that a description is their nanny. They cannot reason away a photograph.
You are changing lives by your advocacy!
Priya,
ReplyDeleteI'm allowed to take naps at home as a nanny. In fact my boss and I have even taken a nap together on the couch! haha. I must have the baby monitor close by and turned up so that I can hear when the little guy wakes. I think it's ok within reason. By no means do I nap everyday or even every week, but if I'm particularly exhausted and wiped out its nice to know I can recharge my batteries so I have the energy I need to stay engaged while he's awake.
You know. I have been so tired that I have fallen asleep sitting up at my desk and there was nothing I could do about it. The coffee didn't work. Nothing helped. I have even had times doing this while driving. I have to pull over and sleep.
ReplyDeleteI know that a nanny is watching a kid, but sometimes sleep takes over. I don't know just always wondered about it.
Good post!
Completely unprofessional behavior on the part of that nanny. It is understandable to be tired, but if you are so exhausted that you are unable to perform your job, perhaps you should take the day off and rest.
ReplyDeleteIf she really has to have a nap, why doesn't she plop the children in front of the TV for a short amount of time, almost anything sounds safer really than leaving children unsupervised in a public playground.
ReplyDeletepriya, in answer to your question, yes a lot of nannies nap while the child is sleeping, (some of us of a "certain" age don't always have the pleasure of a full nights sleep!) you learn to nap with one eye and one ear open. 10 minutes of dozing is all you need. However this is done in a home not an open park!
ReplyDeleteOk,
ReplyDeleteNapping inside the childs or the caregivers home is one thing. But in a PARK when the child is running about UNSUPERVISED?
Yeah, no, not good.
Here's an interesting thought: couldn't something bad happen to a sleeping woman at a park? The nanny wasn't even caring about her own safety so why would she care about the girl's?
ReplyDeleteGoing to be minority opinion, but I'm okay with that.
ReplyDeleteSometimes playgrounds are exhausting and, frankly, to some extent, a seven-year old can look after themselves. Certainly they don't require a ton of hands on entertainment. That doesn't mean it's right to fall asleep on the job, but as a stay at home mother, there have certainly been times when I've been tired. Furthermore, when I'm at the park I watch everyone's kids and expect them to do the same. If I see someone dozing off, I keep an eye out to make sure their charge is okay. Or, you know, I do something really crazy. Like wake them up. That's it. I don't judge. Like I said, I realize that's the minority opinion... but then again, I get the impression many of you haven't spent that much time raising your children? Perhaps you have no idea what it's like.
Was the nanny wrong to fall asleep? Yes, of course. But what does it say about you, poster, that instead of WAKING HER UP SO SHE COULD WATCH HER CHARGE, or watching the kid yourself, you take photos and post here?
I am a mom. And I do get tired as well. Trust me. I have anemia and sometimes its bad. But when I feel that way I just stay inside. And put a cartoon on and lay on the couch.
ReplyDeleteNever fell asleep at the park. I understand you may be dead tired. But its just not safe.
What I am thinking is the childs mother is home. She may be a stay at home mom. And you can never really feel comfortable with a mom in the house.
If thats the case I hope the mom would let her rest when the child does. Alot of these nannies work 7-7. Too many hours especially in the childcare field.
I work from 6:30am-7:00pm. They are long days. I am a live in nanny, and yes, when my toddler twins sleep during the afternoon, sometimes I nap as well. This is not only fine with my employer, but encouraged. I sleep on the couch in the living room, and there room is right around the corner.
ReplyDeleteSorry. I meant *their* room. One of those long days! :)
ReplyDeleteI am a mother and I think if a nanny works long and tiring days, such as CS Nanny above (12.5 hours - yikes!), it is a good idea to have a nap at home or take a long break to just rest and relax when the kids are napping, as long as the kids are within earshot or there is a baby monitor. I do believe it is important that nannies who live in, or work more than 40-45 hours a week, or work unusual hours do not get burnt out and have the energy required to look after their charges. From the postings on this site I can see that a lot of employers expect far too much from their nannies and often do not compensate them fairly for a very hard job. I do wish employers would be more reasonable about some of these things ...
ReplyDelete... however, if the nanny's work day is a regular number of reasonable hours, e.g. 8.5 hours per day, I have a really hard time finding napping acceptable. Of course the nanny should take take a decent break when the kids nap, but otherwise, if you are being paid to work, you should find something to do. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh and I know we're talking about the care of precious children, but I don't think there are many jobs where you can work a c. 40 hour week and take a nap every day ... and I'm sure lots of jobs out there are equally tiring, and some even more so.
GREAT JOB WITH THE PHOTO!!! Gosh, I hope that girl's parents see this. How horribly dangerous. How possibly could she fall asleep on the job?!? More people need to watch and post....
ReplyDeleteThank you.