So, I dobbed on a 21-year-old woman yesterday, and I feel like a bit of a traitor. She will most likely lose her job because of what I told her employer. I’m genuinely sorry about that.
But then again, perhaps it will make her think twice before she verbally abuses a seven-year-old child, especially one who she is being paid to care for.
I was late to school pick up yesterday, which I felt bad about because it was pouring with rain, but I knew my 12-year-old son had the Smiggle umbrella he’d badgered me into buying a few months ago.
As I pulled up to the curb and he was putting his gear in the back of the car, we saw an exchange between a girl in year two and her nanny. (Yes, we know the family.)
The nanny threw the child’s umbrella on the ground and yelled at her, “You’re the most ungrateful little sh*t!”
My son and I stopped and stared in shock.
“Just shut up! I’m sick of you already!”
Mamamia Out Loud host Holly Wainwright discusses why parental equality isn’t just a woman’s issue. Post continues after video.
Top Comments
"A babysitter or nanny doesn’t have to multi-task like we do. They’re not juggling any emotional loads; they’re not thinking about what they need to do for their families in three days’ time. Their job is to be in the present."
Yeah, because a babysitter or a nanny doesn't have to juggle their own emotional loads or have their own lives, issues and family that they are thinking about. It's their job to be automatons, clearly - it's only parents who have the concession of being human with multiple stressors and distractions.
This comment didn't sit well with me either - I don't think this nanny's behaviour was acceptable at all, in the same way it wouldn't be acceptable for a parent because that's not how we treat children (or people generally). It's irrelevant that she's being paid to look after the child.
I used to nanny and it was the most stressful job I've had. As you say I did have to juggle my own emotional load for my own life, but I also juggled a huge emotional load of the families I worked for - and not just the kids!
I worked as a nanny for a while through uni- it was the most horrible, stressful job I've ever had. You don't get a break. You have to adhere to someone else's rules (which in my case was 'child led parenting'). I wasn't allowed to put a movie on for the kids during a 40 hr heatwave, and trying to find ways to entertain hot, stroppy children of varied ages is almost impossible. Hardest of all was getting attached to the kids, knowing they were struggling, and being powerless to enact the changes they needed.