This was around 11:30 Saturday, April 2, 2011 at Clemijontri park in McLean. The nanny had what sounded like an English accent. She was black and very dark-complected. She was watching a girl who looked to be around 3 and had brown hair and really intense blue eyes (IIRC, she was wearing a blue and white coat) and a toddler boy with blond hair.
The nanny sat on a bench talking on her phone for a solid 20 minutes, and kept the kids right next to her. She was even holding on to the toddler. I was appalled! The two kids had to stand there right beside her instead of getting to play, and as soon as her phone call was done, they left. The kicker was that on the way out, the little girl was trailing behind and not once did the nanny look back to check if the girl was even following. She was on the phone for OVER 20 minutes. I don't KNOW she's the nanny, but in addition to the difference in appearance, she spoke with a distinct British-sounding accent, whereas the older girl was talking a lot and had no accent. I think the odds are high that this isn't their mom. Not 100%, but high.
She came to the park with the kids to watch them sit and not play? That's just bizarre. Following them on the playground and watching them play for 5 minutes while taking an important client call I can understand, but it doesn't sound that's what was happening here. I sure hope it was their Nanny and not a parent.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I feel about posting this as a bad nanny sighting.
ReplyDeleteWould it have been better if she let the children run off while she was on the phone? At least she was keeping them close by so she could ensure their safety while she took care of the phone call. You don't know the circumstances behind the phone call either. What if it was in regards to a family emergency or a call to the children's parents?
Ideally nannies would never stray from providing 100% attention to the children in their care. However, realistically, that isn't always possible. Nannies are humans too! Sometimes things come up. And since many employers refuse to give lunch hours and breaks to their nannies, these things sometimes have to be dealt with while on the job.
My opinion is that she was not abusing or neglecting the children. If taking a phone call while in the presence of a child is neglect, all parents are guilty of it as well.
I agree w/Anon. I have spoken on my cell phone on occasion while at the park or zoo. I limit my conversations to only urgent matters or business that I cannot do before/after my shift. I do not sit and chat w/my buddies for hours while I ignore my charges. While I am on the phone, I make sure my charges stay in arm's length which it appears this nanny did. If this was a one-time incident, then I wouldn't worry too much. I also have been in situations where I am out in public and the parents call to check in, see whether the kids ate a good lunch or took a nap yet, etc..whatever. Sometimes I am talking to my bosses for around 20 min or so and if a passerby saw me on the phone w/my charges holding on to me, they would probably assume I was chatting w/my boyfriend while ignoring my charges.
ReplyDeleteI do not see this as a bad nanny sighting. Next post......
I agree with Anon1 as well. While this could be a potentially sad posting, we don't know that she wasn't talking with the parents or taking another work related call. And she did keep the children safe by keeping them close. Maybe it was MomBoss on the phone saying they needed to come home? Maybe one of the children wasn't feeling good and they had to make a call to the doctor's office and then head there?
ReplyDeleteIt could look bad, OP, did you overhear any of the conversation?
Oh good lord. You took the time to post about a nanny having an "OVER 20 minutes" phone convo, while the chidren waited next to her. You have no clue what the call was about, who she was talking to (possibly her employers), or why she left immediately (a million different possible reasons here). If the children had been off playing during the call, you would probably be on here b****ing about the fact the bad ol' nanny was talking on her phone and not supervising the children properly. *eye roll*
ReplyDelete