Saturday

The Perception of the Nanny

By Feature Writer Rebecca Nelson Lubin
guest I decided to spend the extra hour provided by ending daylight saving time this past Sunday by lying prone in my bed and watching TV. On the Hallmark channel there was a TV movie called “The Nanny Express”. The plot? A sweet, extremely pretty twenty something Nanny takes a new job for a widower with two resentful children. She falls in love with the boss, as he does with her. The children are eventually won over. Over on Lifetime, there was rerun of the old Series “The Nanny” where Fran Dresher’s character and her boss, another single Dad, are beginning to realize they have feelings for each other. Fran is wearing nothing but leggings and a push up bra when her boss noticed that there was more to her than her whiney nasal voice. Frustrated, I muted my TV and flipped on my computer. Celebitchy was reporting that “Supper Nanny” Jo Frost was quitting her TV series, hanging up her cape and getting a real life. I remember that Super Nanny show, and the carbon copies that followed it. The Nannies they featured were really smart, but so dowdy that they were practically sporting mustaches. And the cape? Sorry. The only time I wear a cape is Halloween to top off my Wonder Woman costume.
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Rebecca Nelson Lubin is a writer and Nanny who resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. You may read more of her articles at http://www.abandofwives.ning.com/

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26 comments:

  1. I so agree with you!

    When I started my first nanny job, I was engaged. After being at my job for about 6 months, my fiance and I drove to see his mom. She was very interested in my job, and asked about my charges. But she was mostly worried that my male boss worked from home. My future mother-in-law was worried that my boss was some sort of predator, just because he happened to have his office upstairs.

    My mother-in-law meant no harm, but she watched those same Hallmark movies, and just assumed most nanny-employer relationships were salacious.

    There's only one thing I disagree with you on: Supernanny. My husband thought she was pretty hot, but he's a sucker for British accents.

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  2. speaking from my own experience, really wealthy men are not going to marry the nanny they are screwing, it is just to messy
    anyway I liked this story the other stories were boring

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  3. MONKEYSHINES, I think you need to see a neurologist as you clearly have some kind of brain dysfunction.

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  4. Just My Two Cents Just NowNov 13, 2010, 12:58:00 PM

    Eekk..your hubby thinks the SuperNanny is hot??! Ugh!! Fran Drecher I can understand...she was pretty in spite of her laugh. LOL.

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  5. I think the Super Nanny is very pretty, but not in a way that creepy cheating husbands would see or care about.

    I agree, Rebecca, that these are the two most common perceptions (or misperceptions) that people have of nannies. All of my friends and family are fascinated with my work as a nanny, and I believe there are two causes for this: 1. I do not fit either stereotype, 2. They have never had experience with nannies, as it is not common in my area, so it is sort of a novelty to them.

    Thanks for the insightful post!

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  6. Yes, cause men only cheat on their wives with super hot nannies. It has nothing to do with anything else AT ALL. *Rolls eyes* Rocket scientist, you are NOT.

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  7. The type of man who cheats with his nanny is generally not looking for the love of his life. He is looking for a little something on the side, and the "super hot" nanny just happens to be there. I would even say that he looks down on her in a way, and thinks he can manipulate and take advantage of her because of her position in his home. Of course there are cases where he truly has feelings for the nanny (which does not make it in any way right to cheat on his wife), but that is the exception and not the rule, in my opinion at least.

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  8. Wait nannies don't end up marrying their bosses? And they don't show up at your door and solve all your problems? Fuck! Why did I become a nanny if I can't Marry rich or wear a cape....

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  9. monkey shines: you're an idiot. I think I speak for everyone when I say NO ONE gives a shit about your slutty escapades.

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  10. Dost protest too much?Nov 13, 2010, 5:19:00 PM

    Gin, it sounds like you have quite a high view of cheating husbands and the nannies who have affairs with them...a little defensive?

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  11. your just jealous because the only way a man would have sex with you is if he was drunk and you were lying down with a sheet covering you and 2 holes cut out at the right places!
    bumboclat!

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  12. Huh? How would that make me defensive? I don't get it. I'm just saying I don't think men cheat only with 'hot' nannies. Not to mention, everyone has a different idea of hot. I just thought that a blanket generalization was stupid, as most are.

    And MONKEY, seriously...get some help.

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  13. Dost protest too much?Nov 13, 2010, 8:12:00 PM

    Your post sounded defensive in tone. You immediately resorted to sarcasm and name-calling, rather than actual arguments. Rocket Scientist clearly stated in both of her posts that this was an opinion. She did not claim to be stating facts. Generalizations are common when stating an opinion.

    And I agree, MONKEY seems very caught-up in her past indiscretions.

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  14. Just My Two Cents Just NowNov 13, 2010, 8:25:00 PM

    Look at Jude Law..he cheated on his beautiful girlfriend Sienna Miller with Daisy Wright who was not even as pretty as Sienna was. And then there was Ethan Hawke who actually married his children's nanny. So go figure.
    As a nanny, I always make sure I do not look too attractive at interviews as I do not want the wives to not hire me based on the fact that perhaps their hubbies might like me. I once interviewed with a family where the hubby worked out of a home office and during the interview process, I got along very well with the husband as he was 110% more outgoing than the wife was. The wife must have sensed it and I never heard back from them again. But what I wish I could tell ALL my families is this...I HAVE ZERO ROMANTIC INTEREST IN YOUR HUSBAND. ZERO. But as a woman, I know how insecure we can be at times.

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  15. ROBIN WILLIAMS HAD AN ENORMOUS WANG.He could get any nanny or woman he wanted. And he didn't pick tall slim blondes. So what does that tell you? People are phermotically attracted to one another.

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  16. Okay, well I didn't call anyone any names. But yes, I used sarcasm. However, I wasn't looking for a 'real argument'. Why would I want to argue? I had an opinion and a point to make and I made it the way I wanted to.

    I don't feel the need to apologize for my words because I meant them, but I am sorry if I offended you. There was no defense in my post, I promise. Just thought it was silly and I disagreed, the same way I think saying 'all blondes are dumb' is silly. (And I'm a redhead.) I'm a sarcastic person, this is true. So I am sorry for whatever way you took it that bothered you.

    And no, this is not a sarcastic post. :)

    And I think it's safe to say we are all in agreement on MONKEYSHINES, with one exception--MONKEYSHINES.

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  17. Wow, I was not looking to start a controversy here! I simply meant that in my opinion, most married men who cheat with their nannies are not looking to fall in love, but looking for a "hot night" or whatever. Obviously there are those who have different circumstances when cheating. I simply do not see that as the norm in these situations. Ok?

    Can we get back to the original post now?

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  18. Gin, no hard feelings here, at least :)

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  19. Good, RS, thanks. I appreciate that. Sorry if I was harsh. My sarcasm gets the best of me at times, lol.

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  20. My family is constantly asking me when I will get a real job because they perceive nannies as just glorified babysitters and not anything worth sticking with for any length of time. Now if I can only get it through their thick skulls that I make more than the teacher they want me to become.....

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  21. I went on an interview one time with a family, I was sitting there in the living room talking to them when the mother left the room to get the baby who had woken up. When she left the dad asked if I had a boyfriend and it startled me so although I didn't at the time I told him I did, his response to me was "That's good because I've heard stories about the nanny and the dad." The interview went well, the kids and I got along great and the mother and I got along just as well and the mother had set up a time for me to get to know the kids better but she called me back 2 days later and told me they had gone with someone else. I knew exactly that the dad had vetoed me because of my comment but I was glad he did, I did need the job desperately, and would have taken it, but I had that gut feeling that working for them would not work out, it also didn't help that dad worked the night shift and would be home during the day.

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  22. TC, sounds like you were able to avoid one heck of an uncomfortable situation. I think they did you a favour, really.

    Ugh, what a creepy dad. Nothing worse than a creepy dad.

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  23. Just My Two Cents Just NowNov 14, 2010, 1:13:00 PM

    Yeah, last year I was having a hard time finding a nanny job and I was asking some of my friends what advice they could give me. Well by chance I asked a male classmate his advice and he surprisingly told me that during an interview, to not look too good as many women fear their husbands will end up liking you. None of my female friends ever told me this and it was great to get a male perspective!! Seems creepy to me, but I heed his advice and make sure to took more matronly during my interviews.

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  24. in my family it was the mother who was sleeping with her nanny. Yes the nanny was a girl

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  25. I think I can speak for us all when I request Rebecca post a picture of herself wearing her Wonder Woman costume!

    TC, my parents are always asking me when I'm going to get a real job too. I'm not even working as a nanny right now, I'm a daycare teacher and they still don't consider that "real" enough. *eye roll*

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  26. Just My Two Cents Just NowNov 21, 2010, 3:13:00 AM

    Miss Mannah...there is dignity in ALL work..and being a nanny sure is work. I wish more people would acknowledge this, imagine if none of us nannies existed...

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