I saw a nanny at TJ Maxx today at 1:30pm. The fire alarm was being tested so there was deafening noise. The baby was screaming and the nanny was about to get in line to buy a dress! I approached her and said she needed to get that baby out of there immediately. She argued but other people said the same thing so she brought the baby out.The nanny was in her 50s or 60's, african american, I think had some sort of accent, short bob, red short sleeved shirt. The baby was (possibly) a girl and approximately 8-10 months old with a white dress and some plaid design on the top. She was screaming and red-faced. I have a baby too and couldn't watch this baby being tortured. I hope her Mom reads this!
Wow, ok I agree she probably should have taken the kid out but to confront her over that?????
ReplyDeleteI see mothers do this kind of stuff all the time! It does make a difference that it was not a mother, but a nanny... But why does it make a difference? Aren't nannies supposed to make everyday judgement calls like this?
ReplyDeleteThe baby was upset with a noise. The baby was not harmed. The baby will not have to go to therapy over this incident as an adult. The nanny was not placing the baby in danger. The nanny simply did not make the same choice you would have made; nothing more, nothing less…. and that’s okay.
ReplyDeleteA lot of times I do think some of the bad nanny postings aren't really that bad. However, I would want to know if this was my nanny.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't fire a nanny over this or anything but if the nanny was first of all doing her personal shopping and also ignored my baby's distress in order to go about her own shopping I wouldn't be happy. I would feel as though my child were not getting the level of care that I wanted and I would have doubts about leaving her.
I will agree with it not being a horrible sighting but if that alarm was as loud as the one where I work, I sure wouldn't want my baby there. Also it makes me wonder if they were just testing it as it should have been shut off quickly.
ReplyDeleteWhile I think "torture" is a bit much, if I were a parent I don't think I'd want my nanny shopping while my baby was awake...certainly not if baby was screaming and needed attention.
ReplyDelete..I don't think something has to go as far as be child abuse to warrant being posted on ISYN. That said, I think this is a very valid sighting even if the child wasn't harmed. It goes to say something about the types of decisions made by that nanny, that perhaps the parents would like to also know about that nanny.
ReplyDeleteMy current family has specifically told me I am free to shop and run errands during my shift. They know I work ten hr days and that some of the stuff I do is usually tougher to do on weekends. I have taken my charge with me to Target, Vons and Marshalls, etc. It's easier for me to get things done plus it gives me and my charge something to do for our ten hrs together.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to hear a loud alarm like this, I would not leave immediately. If the sound went on for more than a minute and the child was screaming, I would go out front, but if it were brief and the child was upset, I would try to calm the child down within the minute.
Just being honest.
I worked at a very high end child care center in the Infant room. They would test our fire alarms every 2 weeks. None of the babies liked it, and it upset a couple of them VERY much.....they were even worse when we had to throw all 8 of them into one crib, and wheel it outside during fire drills!
ReplyDeleteNoises happen, and we as caregivers need to assure the children that it's ok, but sometimes they have to endure to noise through tears and all. They calm down after a couple minutes, and there's no harm done in the long run :-)
Babies and young children are at serious risk for hearing loss and hearing impairment when exposed to loud sounds. This is why very little kids always wear noise muffling headphones when they are exposed to loud noise, such as in concerts. This nanny's number one priority is the comfort and safety of that baby, not keeping her place in line to buy her dress. That anyone would rationalize or defend her actions is mind-boggling. She's either extremely ignorant or callously indifferent to that baby-- neither is acceptable and I pity that baby and her parents for hiring such an individual.
ReplyDeleteYou can't compare testing a fire alarm to a concert. One is a couple of seconds long and the other is a couple of hours. That is ludicrous.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a pretty good post until the end when OP said the baby was being "tortured," then I had to roll my eyes a little bit. If I was the mom, I'd probably want to know about it too because this nanny seems a little ignorant.
I showed this post to my Momboss and she scoffed saying, "If that is the worst my nanny could ever do on the job, then I am truly blessed." Enough said.
ReplyDeleteKarina,
ReplyDeletePerfect. Then ISYN is doing its job. Same with the nanny above whose employers encourage her to do her personal shopping while working.
The point is to post the information and let the parents/employers decide if this is something they care about in a nanny. If not, they can email ISYN, confirm this is their nanny, and request the post be removed. If yes, they can address it with their nanny or ask for more details.
wow, a baby in NYC subjected to a loud noise, let's call the cops!
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that this nanny is, is rude. She was not at all caring about what this crying kid was doing to the people around her. I absolutely hate it when someone lets a baby just cry and not try to shut it up. The polite thing to do is take the child outside and try to calm it down. Once it stops crying then go back inside where other people are trying to enjoy their day
ReplyDeleteYikes..I feel like such a bad Nanny. My current family even stated upfront at our interview that I was free to take their child on any errands I had to do. She has come w/me to get my oil changed, buy new clothes and even to the pharmacy. I work 10-11 hr days, Mon-Fri and on weekends I need to study, clean my apt., do my wash and grocery shop. My bosses know this and are completely fine w/me taking out their child since they know she will be in good hands.
ReplyDeleteIf I was in this situation, I would first try to calm down my charge by explaining this noise was temporary and then try and distract her. However, if after a minute or so she continued to scream, I would carry her outside and not make her go back in until she felt secure enough.
Wow. All this time, I had no idea that little kids "always" went to concerts.
ReplyDeleteYes, 2 hours of loud amplified rock and roll *would* be a very different thing than the testing of a fire alarm, but then squirrels and ladybugs are also different from each other. It sounded to me ,ike OP was just annoyed at having to listen to a screaming baby.
If my charge continued the screaming, I would have no choice but to take him or her away from the sound. I would simply set my clothes aside and tell a cashier I would be back after the sound stopped. Then I would go outside and calm my charge down. However, if it was just a short time, I would explain to my charge that the loud sound would go off soon and wait it out, depending on how long the alarm sounded. More than two minutes would be enough.
ReplyDeleteMy family also allows me to run errands or go shopping during my work time. I have a very loong shift, some days are ten, others can last sixteen and they usually fall during the workweek. My bosses know that my days are long and that I have a gizillion things I need to do that I can't always do on weekends. They even let me go to the DMV or post office, if need be! I think as long as you have the parent's permission, it is okay to shop while on duty. If it is okay with your bosses, then cool. The only problem is when the bosses specifically state that they do not want you to drive with your charge or do any of your personal errands while watching their child. I would fully understand if this were for a part-time gig, but if someone worked 50-60 hrs wk, it would be a nice perk if they could shop/run errands while on duty so they can actually relax on their days off.
ReplyDeleteExcellent comment, nycmom:
ReplyDelete"The point is to post the information and let the parents/employers decide if this is something they care about in a nanny. If not, they can email ISYN, confirm this is their nanny, and request the post be removed. If yes, they can address it with their nanny or ask for more details."
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Every Employer/Nanny relationship is different. Some Parents have no problem with their Nanny running errands during work time... knowing that M-F, 10 hours a day, they wouldn't be able to get their own personal business taken care of.
And ISYN has actually had this happen... A few months ago a Parent recognized one of the Sightings as being their Nanny and wrote in explaining that they were aware of what it was the Nanny was doing and to please remove the post. Once we felt comfortable that it was the Parent making this request, we were more than happy to take it down.
Anon: That is true about the sirens. When I take out my charge, she does not like to hear a fire engine or ambulance when it has it's sirens on. She usually covers her ears and on occasion cries. I think the difference here is that the nanny had an option to remove the child and did not exercise it. Whether she was obligated to do so it up for interpretation.
ReplyDeleteI am Asian and when people refer to me as "Chinese" instead of Asian, I want to give them a nice karate kick in the stomach. J/K.
*is
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