Mary Poppins Returns!!!

I am currently a preschool teacher at a wonderful non-profit which is inclusive but primarily caters to low-income families and provides early intervention services. I have been working here for a year and a half and have reached my point of burnout. For many reasons associated with the typical challenges a preschool teacher faces there are other difficulties that have led to job burnout and exhaustion including excessive paperwork, meetings and workplace politics. I came to this position with the hope that it would help build my resume, give me more experience and be a stepping stone towards my plans for the future. I am realizing that being burnt out and constantly exhausted is actually counterproductive in working towards my goals, completing my degree and just being content in general. I am ready to find a great family again and get back into nannyworld!

Prior to this job I was a full-time nanny to a great family for nearly two years. The children were amazing and we were very close to me however job creep began to be more of a daily occurrence. I was burnt from this job and wanted to get back in the classroom for all reasons stated above. During the summer of 2016, the family had gone on vacation, providing a paid week off for myself (as agreed to in our contract). The school I work at now had called me back during this week for an interview. It came out of left field since I had applied several weeks before and heard nothing. I went on the interview, landed the job and thought I was on my way toward a rewarding career. Needless to say, I didn't have many options and the new job was not willing to negotiate a longer notice and I had to start the job at a specific date. This left me with giving my notice to my NF via email over vacation. I understand this is not ideal but was the best option at the time. I gave a full two weeks notice however given their vacation dates it was not a complete two weeks. I fulfilled the last of my job duties to the best of my ability and with complete respect for my NF. Although the last couple weeks were tense (understandably so) I am confident in the care I provided for all three children during that time. I had a respectable and professional rapport with both parents, more so DB and often found MB to be on the colder side.

Anyway, I have blabbed on because I'm hoping to give insight into my situation to seek advice for going to another nanny position. I have letters of recommendation and a reliable list of references however I am nervous that my last MB will give a poor reference based on how I left the position. I'm not sure if I should even approach her asking for her to be a reference. I am not looking for judgy commentary, I am fully aware that it wasn't the most professional or best way to leave a position. At the time I thought it was going to be a perfect opportunity for my life and I went for it. I had never left a position (nanny or anywhere else in the field of education) in such an abrupt way and still feel slightly guilty about this. Any suggestions in how to approach and handle this as I search for a new nanny position and go on interviews would be greatly appreciated. Given that this is my most recent nanny position I assume prospective employers would want to speak with last MB and I am at a loss....



Thanks in advance!

Christian Denmon, A Prominent Atty., Teaches About Child Abuse

Preventing child abuse can be difficult, especially since we often feel helpless against widespread abuse. So we created this one-stop guide to promote child abuse prevention by compiling a complete list of resources as an information gateway. We have included tips to educate adults around children, information about the different causes and forms of abuse, and how to respond when you suspect child maltreatment.

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More WAHM Hell

I work with a WAHM and my issue involves feeding time. Babies, twins, are 11 months today. M was having a meltdown because she did not like what I served for lunch, while A ate his quickly and wanted more. Since the main part of the meal was gone I gave him fruit, which M wanted right away. MB came flying in and hugged M, told her it was ok, and I should have waited till M was done with main course before serving fruit. A was hungry and getting upset. I ended up serving M another meal. I am trying to teach the twins to eat what is put in front of them, and getting no respect from the mother. This is sent from my Iphone, I hope it makes sense.

This is BEYOND my paygrade!!

I have been a nanny for over 4 years finding all my jobs on care.com .I recently accepted a pet sitting job from a family I know personally. The job was to stay (live) in their house for a week while they went on vacation and take care of two dogs.. For this i would be paid $500. After I committed to this I found out their 40 year old son (jack) still lives at home. before you ask, he can't take care of the dogs as he is too irresponsible. This made me uncomfortable but I needed the money and made the commitment and still came to do the job as promised.The first night I get off my day job and come to my pet sitting job to find jack half dressed and unconscious ( drunk) on the living room floor. However this was a holiday and I gave him the benefit of the doubt that it would not happen again.

Fastforward to the end of the week, now the couple has realized that their vacation is going a little longer, 4 more days, 11 days total. I tell them this is fine and I will continue to take care of their dogs as usual until they return. Last night I come home to find jack in the living room, he tells me he is dying. Thinking he is speaking figuratively, I asked him if he was sick. He then proceeded to tell me that he is not sick, he is in fact dying because he just attempted suicide by injecting himself with large amounts of drugs and drinking large amounts of alcohol, and shows me needle marks on his arms. I used my judgement and decided to call 911. The paramedics took him to the hospital where they told his parents I in fact saved his life. Now he will be in the hospital on suicide watch until they return.

My question is - How can I politely ask for a raise? Honestly with the stress and the added hours I feel like I should be paid DOUBLE what I agreed to originally, but I feel uncomfortable asking for such a higher amount than we agreed to. Also, if it matters I was paid cash up front for the job. So the family is thinking I have been paid. How can I ask for more money when they return if justified? Thank you

Stupid Mom sighting - hopefully no tragedies in future

Been reading the blog a long time, I am a nanny, and never thought I would post, but I saw something really bad an hour ago that worries me if not infuriates me

At a Whole Foods in Texas I was waiting to use the restroom and in the waiting area was a little blond boy in a red shirt hopping on his feet and kicking the door to the bathroom. I thought ok, that's weird for a mom to leave their kid out of the stall in a closed small waiting room next to a janitor's closet. I said - is your mom in there?  he mumbled seemingly  "no", hopping obviously needing to use the restroom. I started thinking - this is totally uncool, we are in a very small closet for a unisex bathroom, someone is in that bathroom, this kid is by himself, and there is also a small closet here also. What if I was a bad criminal? I am female but females steal kids ! I was JUST about to open the closet door - WHICH IS RIGHT NEXT TO A BAR ! - and start making a scene when the mom, with 2 blond young girls opened the door, saying his name - what are you doing in here? I said - This is not a good place for him to be by himself! It's a unisex bathroom next to a closet with a small enclosed little room! I was about to take him to store security! The mother in a very sweet little voice said " Thank you!" and at that moment - A BIG BURLY SECURITY GUARD  came out of the bathroom, the kid ran into it - the mother said -hurry up - and did not go in with him! I stood with the door to the bar OPEN so anyone could see into the area outside the bathroom and when he came out I said - do you see your mom? He said yes, I said - Don't run where your mom can't see you! I am really not happy, that was so dangerous !

DIGITAL KIDKNAPPING!

By Mindy Raye Friedman

Many parents love to share pictures of their little ones online so that family and friends can see how they are growing up. But unfortunately grandmas and your best friends aren't the only people on the Internet. There are some scary people out there who want to use those cute snapshots of your children for their own purposes. Here are just some of the ways your children's photos are being used online and why you should think twice before posting your child's photos for the whole world to see.

Read: Why you are the most powerful person on the Internet
BABY-ROLE PLAYING

A new trend on social media, baby-role playing involves users posting a photo of a baby or child they find online and pretending the photo is of their child. This has especially become popular on Instagram, but it crops up on other social media sites as well. Some of these users are creating entire fictional families as they pretend to be the parent of a child or children who aren't really theirs. They post about things the baby is doing or how cute they are, and then their followers play along by commenting on the photos. There are even Instagram accounts that will post a photo of a child with his or her made-up information, pretending the child is available for adoption. Do a search for hashtags like #babyrp, #kidrp, #openrp, or #adoptionrp and you will see thousands of these posts. And while there is no actual physical danger to your child if someone uses one of your photos for role-playing, it's still disturbing to think someone might be digitally kidnapping your child.

Read more...

No Nannies On Social Media?? Really?

Michelle Ruiz Andrews <ruizmichelleann@gmail.com>
Nov 2 (5 days ago)

to me
Hi ISYN -

I'm a writer working on a story for the New York Times' Style section about nannies and social media: I've noticed you don't often see nannies on Instagram or Facebook, so I am asking parents why not. (And for those few who do post photos of their nannies, I am asking they why they do). I'm not making a judgement necessarily—but observing this wrinkle in our digital world. As someone who runs a site all about nannies, do you have thoughts on this and might you be willing to be
quoted?

Please let me know? Thanks so much.

Best,

Michelle Ruiz Andrews
--------------------------------

Quitting Monsters While Staying On Good Terms - Is It Possible?

I have been working with my NF for over a year. MB and DB are great! I’ve never had a problem with them. On the other hand, the kids have made me not want work with kids anymore, or even have children of my own. But, I would rather not start a rant on them, because this isn’t what my question is about. The point I want to get to is that I am now looking for a new job. How do I tell MB and DB, as well as the nanny company through which I work for them, that this isn’t for me anymore? I want to stay on the best terms possible. Also, how do I go about using MB/DB/the company as a reference for my new job search? Can I use them? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

J