Sunday, April 28, 2013

Nanny's Manicure

Now,  most young women who have babies return to work. It was not like that when I had my children. Hiring the right nanny, babysitter or choosing day care is all stressful and a difficult decision. My daughter tells me her friends think very highly of their caregivers, and appreciate the job and kindness being shown to their children. Nanny's become part of the family, and we all would like to choose our family.


That being said, I went to the nail salon today. It was a quiet afternoon. The ladies who work there are very pleasant, and eager to please. It is a nice atmosphere. A caregiver came into the shop pushing a double stroller. There was a baby and a two year old. She asked for a manicure. She was clearly an employee of a family. The owner said I can take you now.
  The nanny said I have to feed the children first. She propped a bottle for the baby using a small towel, and handed the two year old a yogurt and a spoon.


She sat down for her manicure. Different customers played with the baby who had lost his bottle. The two year old decided to explore the nail parlor, touching the dryers, plants, and climbing on all the stools that spin. The nail technicians tried to occupy the children. The nanny remained in her seat giving orders to the child. I did not know what to do. I left the shop when I could, deeply disturbed. I told my daughter the story and she said maybe the parents told the nanny to get a manicure? I hope to meet these parents in town one day. What would I say? What should I have done? Something is very wrong here, or is it just me?

2 comments:

  1. Are you sure that it was the nanny and not the mom? There was little that you could do, however. No one was asking for your input and nowadays, people defend their right to be wrong loudly, rudely, and proudly. They also tend to bring children with them everywhere and not bring toys to entertain the kids, allowing the children to explore what often is not a safe environment for little children. Children are not always attended to in a Me-First world. = (

    Sorry. Obviously, if the children looked to be in danger, all you could do was phone the police. But this case sounds a bit more subtle.

    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  2. my nanny is great with my daughter, but i'm not dumb. there's no way shes perfect and i dont know what goes on when im not there



    gosh thats bad!


    i think it is annoying but honestly if it was a once in awhile thing i dont care
    and i would do it to my kids if i needed a manicure. if it once a week it would bother me, but i think with any job you sometimes have to run errands and get stuff done. totally dont think its something that should be done often. its certainly not an enjoyable manicure for her with the 2 yr old running around the nail parlor -- i can definitely attest to that


    i dont think a nanny should be doing that, and I dont even do that with my own kids. If she needs to run specific errands, that is one thing, but getting a manicure is not a "need"
    names with held

    ReplyDelete