Five Reasons Why Nannies Suck

Five Reasons Why Nannies Suck

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I don't care if I had all the money in the world--I still think nannies blow.

Momlogic's Momstrosity: The cost of having a personal baby watcher is exorbitant--starting at $24,000 a year--but that's NOT why I don't have one. No, I send my child to a reputable daycare center to play with other children so he's not alone all day with a glorified babysitter.

Here's why:

Nannies hate their jobs.
Don't kid yourself. Your nanny isn't smitten by your child's every move--it's hard to be genuinely in love with a meal ticket. Think about this: Are YOU engaged at your job every minute of your 10-hour day? The consequences are different if you goof off from work--maybe you'll miss a deadline. When your nanny's sick of HER job, your child could wander into the arms of the local sexual predator during playtime at the park.

I don't have to know C.I.A. tactics.
To figure out if your nanny's spending the day on the couch munching Cheetos while your kid's under the sink eating Drano, you need to be an expert in surveillance-- installing nanny cams, wiretaps, and hidden G.P.S. devices. Go ahead--turn your house into an episode of Big Brother--I'll focus my attention elsewhere.

I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty.
For those moms who have nannies around the clock, have you ever changed a diaper or wiped a snotty nose--both incredible ways to bond with your child--by actually taking care of them. Nannies are great for taking all that icky fuss and muss out of motherhood--that way you can go get your mani/pedi in peace.

Daycare centers don't call in sick, get stuck in traffic or bitch.
Nannies do...and if they don't like you, your kid or your arrangement, they'll quit without giving you notice--leaving you to (gasp!) fend for yourself.

Nannies are hotter than you.
I don't need a young, nurturing girl from Sweden giving my husband an eyeful when she bends over to pick up LEGOS. There are FAR too many cases of men leaving their wives for the "Mary Poppins" type. And I doubt a spoonful of sugar will help the divorce go down.

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the bottom line? If you want to be sure that you’re kids are being raised by the BEST person possible, RAISE THEM YOURSELF! or as I liked to explain it to everyone with raised eyebrows after I said I was quitting my teaching job after almost a decade (didn’t you know that TEACHERS sacrifice their own kids in far greater numbers than just about any other “profession”?) to stay home with my newborn, “No one is going to traumatize and neglect my child as well as I am!” Anyone who would expect someone who makes minimum wage and no benefits (most daycare workers, many nannies that are not part of a service) to truly CARE for someone else’s child to the level that that child’s own parent would is DELUSIONAL! These people exist but they are about as rare as that one fantastic teacher that everyone loved back in high school who had a great sense of humor, could make learning interesting, could discipline without being mean, and made underclassmen hope they’d get him/her for class…..

- RochelleSc

Posted 10/13/08 10:33 PM

Just fired our “well screened” nanny from an agency after 2 weeks. At interview she declared to be totally healthy, then after hired admitted to being on disability and wanting to draw full salary from us in addition to disability pay. Then today, my weekly cleaning ladies told me that last week they witnessed her verbally/emotionally abuse my 4 year old to the point that she totally berated him and he retreated to his room hysterical. SHIRLEY HEWITT of Lithonia GA - Do not ever hire her - Run from her as a nanny!

- gamom3

Posted 12/10/08 09:02 PM

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR PARTTIME/FULLTIME JOB? I am looking for Nanny/Babysitter Or someone who can handle my personal and business errands at his/her spare time. Someone who can offer me these services:Mail services: Receive my mails and drop them off at Fed ex(nothing illegal).Shop for Gifts Sit for delivery( at your home) or pick items up at nearby post office at your convenience. Let me know if you will be able to offer me any of these services. Please get back tome If you are interested let me know I will be looking forward hear from you soon Email me Directly here: TRACYSITTER@YAHOO.COM I will be looking forward hear from you soon Thanks

- TRACY

Posted 05/08/09 09:59 PM

Wow- pretty narrow minded if you ask me. I’m sure there are exceptions, but in my experience (friends who have nannies, not personal) I have both seen and heard nothing but positive feedback where having a nanny is concerned. I think in the average “nanny” household the reality is that the nanny is really the “general house keeper” and is used as a reinforcement with the children when needed. Nannies give a household the peace of mind that there is one person focused on maintaining order at home. For those families who hire nannies with the job description of doing nothing but take care of the children then perhaps some “bonding” time needs to be negotiated between mother and child. As I see it, “nanny” is an all encompassing term used to describe a person employed by the household to run the household- which includes the kids, but does not make them the priority. I have the utmost respect for the nannies I’ve had the pleasure of knowing, and same goes for the people who hire them.

- Nathalie

Posted 05/11/09 10:05 PM

emerald, I have to say for the mormon nanny comment, if they said something like that, they probably aren’t very good mormons

- Kirsten

Posted 05/19/09 10:50 AM

Put me in the category of “former Nanny now pissed off at reading this” I did childcare in other peoples homes for years and years, some of the best times I had, I met so many wonderful children! Then I was a live-in Nanny for a year for three great kids. I loved them, took great care of them, and the only reason I left (after giving lots of proper notice) was because I wanted to be closer to my friends in another city… There are some wonderful women out there doing excellent jobs as Nannies, so it makes no sense to insult all the great ones by trying to make a point of the few bad ones. There are awful people doing awful jobs in EVERY profession, but no one goes around insulting ALL teachers just b/c a few are nasty. Or ALL doctors b/c a few are incompetent. That is quite an ignorant thing to do.

- Cat B

Posted 09/24/09 10:34 AM

This post is 100% ignorance. Obviously you’ve never employed a sensational nanny! Nannies are the partner in parenting, the extra set of hands, the everything to families. By the way- it’s National Nanny Recognition Week this week… Where those who DO give their life to caring for someone else’s family can be appreciated for the impact they make in the loves of children, each and every day. Thank you, to great nannies, everywhere, for all you do!! Pay no attention to this horrible rant from an angry mom who obviously hasn’t a clue how an amazing nanny could make her life a heck of a lot easier.

- A Nanny Who Has Dedicated Her Life To Caring For Other Families

Posted 09/24/09 02:23 PM

What a TERRIBLE, angry, ignorant article. If you hire correctly, through a reputable agency who does vast due diligence in screening amazing caregivers for a family, walking you through all of those difficult steps that you talk about in your rant… If your nanny is a member of professional groups such as the International Nanny Association or National Association for Nanny Care and attends conferences, continues education along the way… None of this is true!!! None of it at all! Great nannies are educators, cleaners, nurses, drivers, errand runners, confidante’s, language teachers, social immersers….. A great nanny can be *EVERYTHING* to a family and earns every penny that she earns- typical wages can range from $350 per week to well beyond $1200/wk, depending on experience, education, responsibility level, geographic area, etc. And a wonderful nanny is worth every penny. Happy National Nanny Recognition Week to all of the hard-working, spectacular nannies out there!

- NOT full of ignorance

Posted 09/24/09 02:34 PM

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