In New York, there are three basic kinds of nanny’s. The weekday nanny, the night nanny, and the weekend nanny. Some families have one, and some have all three. Its fairly easy to guess when each nanny works. You start as the weekday nanny and work your way up. The reason the weekend nanny is so desired is because on weekends, parents who are rich and bored and have nothing better to do than spend their money on three nanny’s for their children start to feel guilty about neglecting their children all week they schedule “family time”. So they pack up the Range Rover (never without the weekend nanny) and head for their house in the Hampton's.
Now, as the weekend nanny, the car ride down is one of the more demanding times for me. I have to put the DVD’s into the entertainment system and give the kids their snacks and juice when they get hungry. Who knew Barbie’s Fairytopia DVD had so much foreshadowing and juxtaposition? Once we get to the 10,000 square foot beach front monstrosity its time to get settled in and explore the house. Oh wait, theres no unpacking to do because you buy doubles of all your items so you have one for your apartment in Manhattan and one for your house in the Hampton’s? Great thinking ahead guys, thats economical. Guess that takes care of the unpacking...
Now is typically when guilt trip induced family bonding outing number one occurs. I is not required to tag along for these because they want to spend time with their children and “there’s really nothing for me to do”. Some of you may be asking why you bring the weekend nanny along if your going to spend time together as a family. I asked this question, and my response “Well you just never know.” Okay, so whatever am I to do all afternoon while I’m in a strange house and this very strange family is “bonding”. As luck would have it, the family keeps a second Range Rover at the house just in case situations like these arise and the help has nothing to do. They can take the $80,000 car into town to shop!
When I got home that night though, that’s when the really difficult work begins. First, the parents put their children to bed (The parents must do it because they’re not comfortable with anyone but the night nanny. Seriously.) Then it is my job to sit with the baby monitor (which is equipped with an HD camera) and make sure no one dies while the parents are out... While I watch Netflix and eat junk food.
Writing this has really made me question why I’m in college. That was quite possibly my dream job.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteThis post was ridiculously humorous. This is the type of thing that you hear about on t.v. not in real life. I have never been to the Hampton's and maybe that is why I find it so fascinating but still I really did enjoy reading it. I have raised my younger brothers and have been around children all the time. For female's it is a very common role. But as for the task that these folks ask for you to do you really have to have alot of patience and I must confess that I do not have. So I admire your hard work and dedication and I for one am very happy you are in college also.
Have a great evening,
Jmedina
Dear lord, entitled rich people and kids...I think I may have stolen the car and killed someone.
ReplyDeleteMy jaw just hit the floor. I know *these* people exist, they have to (I read about them in the news), but your detailing really takes this to an extreme once we get to the actual job. I wonder: how did you get the job? How long were you in New York before you became a nanny? And did you work with an agency? What qualifications does one need to apply?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know the process of this and where it fit in with your life as a student. Did the trips take away from your time to study and work at school?