Without having ever used the services of a nanny myself, I sadly only have either the TV series ‘The Nanny’ or the book ‘The Nanny Diaries’ to reference. Now, you’d think that both of these were complete fabrications, but the more I probed, the more I asked around, I learnt that no, actually, they were not as contrived as you would think. That the world in which a nanny operates, viewed by both the employee and the employer, can be quite outrageous.
Oh Mr. Sheffield.
Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by My Super Nanny. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their words.
So, after much investigation, I have discovered the top 5 most outrageous stories that involve a nanny:
1. The one where the mother discovered the Nanny was stealing her clothes.
It was subtle at first. A camisole here, a pair of Capri pants there. Nothing so obvious that the glamorous mother, who worked in the fashion industry would ever notice. Why would she? The nanny thought. She positively reeked of new clothes and was forever bringing home clothing samples she’d never wear. Which would have been fine except that the nanny got a little too bold, swiping the dress the mother intended to wear to an awards ceremony and wearing it in her Facebook profile photo.
2. The one that let the 2 year old eat bark in the playground while she smoked with her German workmates.
Yeah, so this particular nanny would have been close to 21 and not really all that interested in looking after this couple’s child when they both left for work for the day. In fact, the minute they left, she made it her mission to spark up a hot one on the balcony and let the child cry. Unfortunately, for this particular nanny, cameras had been recently installed. So when she invited every person she knew in Australia over to get stoned and subsequently let the child roam around the garden eating bark and foliage, she was busted. I believe she lasted less than a week.
Top Comments
The one where I came home to find the front door (10 steps down to road) , my daughter watching TV on the sofa with a fever, the back door open, and the nanny having coffee across the back lane in another house!
I was a nanny in the UK years ago - around the time that Kathy Lette was writing Foetal Attraction (and she really did nail it when it came to upper middle class English society and their behaviour towards Australians!).
Working in a large country house is fascinating. Especially because, as the nanny, I got to eat with the family AND join in the staff gossip.The family I worked for were really unpretentious and so were their friends - I found that the further up the social tree you went, the less they had to prove.
I swear that Julian Fellowes could have just asked me if he wanted to write the script for Downton Abbey. People like that still exist today!