Friday

Artist in Residence

My husband thinks this is funny and "not harmful."

I find it crude and inappropriate.

My 5 year old son was outside finger painting with the nanny and a huge roll of paper. He was wearing boxers so he didn't get paint on himself.

The nanny at one point pulled down her swimsuit and sat in a conglomeration of paint, she then moved an sat on a canvas, making a butt print. I'm guessing she washed off and pulled her shorts right up. She hung the picture in her room,which is next to the children's playroom. You can't tell what it is, until you know what it is.

I only found out about this yesterday when I was talking to her outside her bedroom and noticed the picture hanging on the wall. I said that it was interesting and she told me she had made it with Owen and that it was her butt. And she laughed.

It took me awhile to process that and ask my son for more details.

I think this is something I need to revisit. My husband says I should leave it alone.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Definitely inappropriate in it'd current context.
In a different setting, with her peers perhaps, then not a big deal....

Unknown said...

She's be fired if she were my nanny. Absolutely inappropriate, at best.

Unknown said...

At worst it might be slightly inappropriate. To be honest I don't believe it to be inappropriate, just an oddball thing to do. In particular, I don't see how it could have a negative impact on a child.

Anonymous said...

Really not a big deal - I think it's funny.

Anonymous said...

I am a retired person who babysits a friend's grandchildren.
Why are you so surprised? You hire young nannies from backgrounds entirely diferent from yours, and then are shocked at their behavior. Think about it.

RBTC said...

technically what she did is called bathroom humor - some people like it some people don't - i don't care for it - butt shots, farting, etc - and yes if that's her sense of humor your child will learn it

maybe a frank convo will work - not "you are inappropriate" but - that is not my sense of humor and i don't want him to learn that this young - and laugh! she should bend over backwards to accommodate you

NiqueKristan said...

Nope, completely inappropriate.

Anonymous said...

Simple , your humour isn't the same as hers.

While other families would absolutely not care about it and even laugh with her, others like you for instance will find it inappropriate or even offensive. You should sit with her and explain that you prefer her not to do things like this in the future.

Careful though to precise that appart from that , you are happy with her performance so she doesn't feel unappreciated.

At worse if you really don't like how she is in general and that you think it's a clash of personalities, let her go and find the right fit for your family ;)

Like her i am a nanny with a big sense of humor so while I am a terrible fit for those more reserved , I am an amazing one for the families that have a similar personalitiy than me.

As you can see there are mixed reviews about your situation. Some find it totally unacceptable and others don't see why your making a fuss about it.

You need to make sure you have the right fit working for you.

Dominique in Boston said...

My nanny was a photographer. She lived in an apartment over the garage. She had framed prints of her work all over her place, most were naked women, nothing tasteless, but definite boobage. Since there was a possibility the kids would be in her room, she asked. When she asked and in such a way, there was no way I had a problem with it. Eventually your kids will see boobs and butts. Look at it this way...you can start a dialogue about body image, body pride, body shaming, etc.