Friendly Drug Chit Chat Has Mom Up All Night

Ann Divito, 1st Place, 7th Grade, St. Athanasius School

I have my first nanny ever, after four years of daycare. Against most of my mom friends, I became very friendly with her to the point that I shared stories of meeting my husband and college with her. She has shared stories of dating life and going out with me. Some of it is wild, but doesn't usually involved me. She is a live-in nanny.

We were talking on Tuesday afternoon about her weekend and she started talking about heroin,. I have shared with her that I tried marijuana and cocaine in college (and liked neither). She shared basically the same sentiment. When she said heroin, it was with the same tone, but I immediately tensed up. She told me she didn't understand why so many people overdosed on heroin but after she tried it on Saturday, she gets it. She then went on to talk about a high that was so great she couldn't help but imagine the next time and explained she thought people overdosed because they feared not getting that "beautiful high".

I feel like a hypocrite, but I can't look at her the same. The fact that she spoke  so glowing of it and told me that she "wouldn't do it again because she knew it was addictive, but couldn't help imagine what the next time would be like, are all highs the same." These are words to me of someone who has been turned on to heroine. While it happened in the city and she stays away on the weekends, I don't know how to handle the feeling that it has brought up in me. I feel I am looking at her pupils, asking more about the plans. I called three times today. I don't know if talking is necessarily the answer because she might just say what I want to hear, when before I believe she was being honest.

At no time did I ever try any drug or even alcohol while I was in charge of any children. I was in college, I was free. I don't see it that way. I'm worried about what if she brings something back with her, what if she starts using pain pills. What if heroin acquaintances start talking to her during the week or know where she lives/works.

What are my options here? I really just want her gone. I didn't sleep last night. I arranged to work from the house tomorrow and go away for the weekend leaving Friday morning. The nanny has been with us 9 months. I have a 5 year old and a 1 year old.

Care.com not so Careful?

By Lillian Shupe | Hunterdon County Democrat
A Hunterdon County family has filed a complaint with the American Arbitration Association after a nanny they hired through Care.com allegedly stole from them to support a drug habit.

According to the complaint, the family used Care.com to secure a nanny for their 5-year-old twins, assuming candidates had been pre-screened as the company's advertisements indicated.

After the new nanny came to their home, the family soon discovered she had a heroin addiction and a prior arrest record. While caring for the children, the new nanny, Ann Guadagnino allegedly stole thousands of dollars in jewelry to support that heroin habit, according to the complaint.

The family's filing alleges Care.com failed to discover the new nanny's criminal background in its screening and that contrary to glowing advertisements about finding the perfect caregiver and happy mothers, there are serious problems in the screening of prospective applicants by Care.com. It alleges that those hired may pose profound dangers to the children in their care, something working mothers evaluating such services must know. The arbitration filing alleges a company employee acknowledged that the criminal database used to cross check applicants could be incomplete and out of date in certain aspects.

Prior complaints were uncovered where the company acknowledged potential shortcomings in its own program, according to the complaint: "There is no centralized database encompassing all criminal convictions, charges, arrests, and violations across Federal, state and local lines. Additionally, online databases that are used to perform these checks may only be updated periodically, therefore, sometimes missing or omitting recent criminal record charges. Read the full story here.