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Original poster

City lawyer with toddlers can't cope

821 replies

RosieIrene · 11/06/2007 23:30

I work FT at a city firm and have two dd 1 and 3. Have a full time daily nanny but still can't cope. Work all day, come home and put kids to bed and work all evening to make billable target or have to go to client functions. So stressed out that on weekend just want to sit in garden with kids and do nothing. Can't sleep, can't talk to anyone. How do people manage?

OP posts:
bundle · 14/06/2007 15:42

um anna, you could try umm relaxing a bit

krabbiepatty · 14/06/2007 15:42

I wodnder if MN HQ would consider a new topic "Anna and Xenia have a bundle re SAHM /WOHM, other people join in a bit" then poor folk like the OP could start these therads with impunity.

Anna8888 · 14/06/2007 15:44

Relaxing about what? Leave my child in a playpen with some plastic toys and an Algerian nanny and hope for the best? Or let her do loads of stuff with lots of people and see how far she can go with no pressure, just opportunities?

Eleusis · 14/06/2007 15:44

Ummm... I thought I was keeping up... but I seem to have misses something about thick nannies.

Come on, fess up. Whose got a thick nanny. Certainly not I!

Eleusis · 14/06/2007 15:45

OOOOooooooooo.... did you just insult Algerian nannies???? Oh, you are going to be in big trouble.

anniemac · 14/06/2007 15:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Eleusis · 14/06/2007 15:47

What wrong with plastic toys? DS would be very unhappy if I took away all his noisy flashing plastic thingamabobs.

Anna8888 · 14/06/2007 15:47

Where's the insult? My daughter's English/French, many, many nannies here are Algerian but personally I don't think an Arabic speaking nanny will do much for her language/cognitive skills. Which I care about, as you know.

Eleusis · 14/06/2007 15:48

Buttons, man. Buttons are cool. And so is Thomas.

Yet you have an xbox????

ScottishMummy · 14/06/2007 15:48

thread has considerably wandered from RosieIrene OP - How are u babe hope u get soeme resolution, and a good rest.

Anna8888 · 14/06/2007 15:49

Hate, hate, hate flashy plastic toys. The junk food of toydom. I don't put junk food down her throat (and I thought you weren't very keen on junk food either Eleusis?), and I don't put junk in her brain either.

Eleusis · 14/06/2007 15:49

Oh, why not? I think Arabic would be a very useful language. I'd be quite happy for my kids to learn Arabic.

Anna8888 · 14/06/2007 15:50

Her brothers have an X-box. Nothing to do with me. But I'm not going to stop her hanging out with her brothers, on balance it does her far more good than any harm that can come from watching them playing games.

Eleusis · 14/06/2007 15:51

Okay, I do not at all equate junk food with plastic toys.

I don't particularly like plastic flashing toys either, but DS loves them. And it isn't about what I like. If he can push something and cause it to flash, beep, make music, any sort of action reaction scenario he loves it.

Anna8888 · 14/06/2007 15:51

In absolute terms Arabic is very interesting. But it's a lot of hard work for a child to become bilingual, and not recommended to introduce a third language at this stage.

Eleusis · 14/06/2007 15:52

Andif it keeps from pushing the bloody buttons on the washer in the middle of a spin cycle than hey that's good for me too.

bozza · 14/06/2007 15:54

eleusis you are deluding yourself. Nothing will keep a toddler from pushing the buttons on the washing machine.

Anna8888 · 14/06/2007 15:55

Well, you could have just not provided the flashing plastic toys in the first place if you don't like them. Any we got given went straight to recycling. And she's just not interested, like in TV - not interested. I do think you can and should shape your child's tastes - it's like the junk food issue. I don't put junk down her throat, I don't fill her mind with it. Sure, she gets exposed second-hand - but that's all it is - like the rest of the world she has to learn to deal with it, but it's not part of our home and family.

Anna8888 · 14/06/2007 15:56

Or just teach him to put the washing machine/dishwasher on himself? My daughter just loves doing that and gets a real feeling of achievement from it, far more than from random pushing of buttons...

francagoestohollywood · 14/06/2007 15:57

Don't Algerians speak French? Actually many women who come from developing countries to work in the EU have high qualifications. The fact that my friend's nanny, a woman from Peru with an engineering degree is a nanny actually says a lot of the world's current situation. My friend is quite happy that her children are learning a bit of Spanish, btw. But then again I have the impression that only English will do for you Anna.

krabbiepatty · 14/06/2007 15:59

That post about the feeling of achievement from the washing machine was a post too far, Anna8888, I unmask you as a serial windup merchant possibly aged 14.

Eleusis · 14/06/2007 15:59

And also, when he hurls them through the air at D the plastic ones don't hurt as much as metal or wood.

But, the point is he likes them, and I want him to have things he likes, not just things I like.

Anna8888 · 14/06/2007 15:59

English or French, because those are her languages.

We have a half Hungarian-half Algerian babysitter who speaks beautiful French - but she's an student of interpreting. The run of the mill nannies tend to speak it less well...

bookwormmum · 14/06/2007 16:00

My dd has a toy washing machine - seemed to do the trick. Wish the real machine was as quick though .

Anna8888 · 14/06/2007 16:01

krabbie - oh no, she adores putting the washing machine and dishwasher on... she feels very proud and says "I did it" pointing at her chest... what's so odd?