Saw a nanny on our street .....

fab post blu. you sound like my kind of boss

Blu, you are common though

Blu - love your post lol (obviously i know you were being, whats the word - flippant?)

not an otter you ar too strict

It's times like this I'm glad I'm too piss poor to afford a Nanny! If the Mother's happy why are you so bothered? I think you should wind your neck in really!

We paid our nanny less than the going rate because of her accent.

Obviously had she been staying for 18 years it would have been worth sending her for elocution lessons, but we allowed her to let DS watch tv sometimes because the accents on CBeebies - especially Charlie and Lola, were an improving influence.

I can't understand why people pander to these screaming children, though. When I used to leave DS with a stranger in order to go to my high-flying career, if he kicked up, I just used to give him a slap. Then, I found, he was actually glad to see the back of me.

You were 'horrified' by a nanny letting a child watch TV at 11.30am?

Gosh, I'd like to live in your world - it must be sunshine, flowers and fluffy bunnie-wunnies all the way. If such things offend your sensibilities - stop curtain-twitching.

I can understand doing this, sometimes if a child is upset, it is easy to say let's go and watch TV. you sit down with the child on your lap, and have a cuddle and actually, the TV never gets watched, it is just in the background quietly and you can use that time to soothe the child, talk to them calmly, reassure them and ask them about what has upset them.

When they are calm and happy, you then say, Let's turn this off and go and do some....painting, lego, whatever.

I would imagine that the child was probably tired, my mindie 3 year old is at that time and would often then fall asleep on my lap and I would put her down for 30 mins before lunch.

I would rather my nanny kept my child happy promising him 1/2 hour of something he likes when I leave the house, that leave the house thinking he is being educationally played with while really missing mummy.

That's my opinion on the matter. It's so easy to make judgements on people's lives based on a tiny snapshot of what really happened. Child's father may be in hospital. TV might be the only treat the child gets that day, and this might be pre-agreed with the parents that when mummy leaves, child gets 1/2 hour of Tv.

I thought wind up as well tbh. If not, get a life love.

actually THINK THIS IS A WIND UP

So we have the "heinous" childcare misdemeanours of a 3 year old being allowed to watch TV at 11.30 a.m? a nanny with a "rough" accent? Talk about net curtain twitching!

PARP!

fgs. What des a little TV matter? it sounds to me as if the child was ujpset at being left and the nanny was doing something to comfortl the child and cheer it up.

agree with jimjams.

also think we should give the nanny a break! She is only human, dealing with a stroppy, maybe tired kid is hard going, especially when mum is involved too!

maybe the little boy had 5 minutes in front of his favourite video then they went on to do something else!

nannies are humans, doing a paid job like all of us, no-one does their job perfectly ALL the time!!

and you all know nothing about this child. OK chances are he was 3 and having a normal paddy, but maybe he has other issues. DS1 (aged 7) will have a paddy out on the street because he wants to go and look at a nehbours door, or check an open window or stare in their car. I can just about drag him back to the house if I have to- although I struggle, and its dangerous as I risk him bolting and when we get in if he hasn;t come in willingly he'll headbutt the door to go out again, so its far easier to say "lets do X' and have him come with me willingly. It's called distraction from an obsession. Only big rewards will work- tv wouldn't for him, but maybe changing a lightbulb or hoovering would.

Point being you have no idea from looking whether this was just bad behaviour or something more. To look at ds1 on the street he looks like a pefectly normal child behaving appallingly. In fact he's severely disabled and can't speak a word, and no you can't tell just by looking- he looks completely normal.

I have no idea how you people have so much time to spend worrying about what other people do. I barely get through my own life, certainly don't have time to start tut tutting at everyone else's, especially when I know zilch about the situation (not just this thread numerous others),

Sorry but i let my 3 and 5 year old watch TV as well

during term time 3 year old at home in the afternoons may watch 2 or 3 programmes per week (20 minute programme)...

no time for telly after school!

in holiday time i guess they watch on average 4 - 6 20 minute programmes per week... tho often i get to Thursday / Friday and realise we have yet to switch on the Telly!

The TV has its place.... there are lots of educational programmes out there, and lets face it TV IS part of 21st ceuntury life, so i dont see the problem with letting children experiance it!

Also im a full time sole charge nanny.... the idea is that i look after the children when mum isnt there.... and why should they miss out on a few TV programmes just because their mum works full time?

We do only turn the tv on the watch a programme and turn it straight off afterwards.... we also have sky+ so we always have a selection of the favourites recorded, so we can choose the programme at an time of the day, fast forward the adverts, watch the programme and turn it off.

Personally i dont see a problem with that! and nor does my boss!!!

(i do think that 'rewarding' a tantruming toddler with the prospect of telly is wholey unacceptable tho )

I left after 2 years as they moved countries, and they had local indian nannies (one each) from then on and were spoilt rotten. And anyway there are no such things as angelic teenagers these days are there??!! And even if I was their nanny I'm no more likely to have improved a teenagers hormonal angst than the next person. Personally I can't handle the lack of respect and manners many teenagers display these days. But thats a whole other thread....
Back to the subject in hand, I agree with starlover, we shouldn't judge this nanny/child/family from one incident but it does open up a can of worms regarding how nannies deal with diffcult situations. It all boils down to communication between the nanny and the employers in the end, and no one really should condemn this nanny as for all we know this is how the mother wanted it to be dealt with. I personally would hae hoped for more initiative on the nanny's part but then thats just my view and its worth about nowt in the grand scheme of things. :)

I would be happy for a nanny to do whatever I do. and that does mean plopping ds in front of the tv now and then!!! lol