When I was about nine, and
in the 4th grade, my friends and I had big dreams of creating a
babysitters club, just like in the books. Our club never got off the ground,
only because we were never actually allowed to babysit anyone. I first started
babysitting when I was twelve years old. I watched two kids, a brother and
sister duo who lived in the house across the street. Technically I was alone
with the kids but I was close enough to home that my mom would be able to hear
me scream. None the less that first family opened doors for me to watch kids
for their church bible studies and for friends of theirs. I later moved on to
watching kids for families in my own church, watching kids in the nursery on
Sundays. I would stay over night in homes while parents went to weekend
retreats. I began working for a gymnastics company that went into schools to
teach gymnastics to pre-K aged kids. Which brings me to the present day, were I
have become a part time Nanny.
Many
people/parents confuse nannies with babysitters; we are going to clear that up
right now. As a nanny to a family I am not 12 years old and you cant pay me
five bucks that’s just wrong. Nannies work in your home on a regular basis,
they care for your children, discipline your children, teach them right form
wrong, play with your children and make sure they are fed, bathed, happy and
healthy. A babysitter just makes sure the house doesn’t burn down before you
come back from dinner and a movie.
All
my life Mary Poppins has been one of my favorite movies and I can’t even watch
someone fly a kite without bursting into song:
“Let’s go fly a kite! Up to the highest height!”
The
point is that as a nanny who is a better role model the Mary Poppins herself?
Nanny McPhee is a close second. As a nanny I strive for the kids I watch (from
here on out known as the twins) to be as happy with me as Jane and Michael were
with Mary Poppins. No I can’t pop us all into a chalk drawing or win a horse
race on merry-go-round ponies. However I have learned a few things from Mary
Poppins that I use on the twins. Things like:
“In every job that must be done there is an
element of fun.”
The
twins are still very young and are still grasping the concept of cleaning up
after the dump all their toys all over the playroom. I’ve learned to make
cleaning a game and they laugh at my silliness but they help put the blocks
back in the basket. Being a nanny and working with kids is a joy, I have a job
that I actually really enjoy going to.
The
problem with being a childcare provider is you can’t work solely with children,
even though that’s where all the fun is. You are forced to also work with
parents. I’ve noticed that families who know me on a personal level seem to
take me for granted, while families that found me though my ads realize that I
may leave them at any moment for another family. I have yet to find a balance
in dealing with parents. I’ve told families I know on a personal level that I
would no longer watch their children during church, yet somehow their children
still end up dropped in my lap by a smiling parent. I’m not sure there is a
balance, but it’s a shame to have parent’s behavior ruin my attitude towards
watching their children.
I
love kids, and in a few weeks I go back to school with my new major in early
childhood education specializing in special needs and deaf studies. Every day
is a new day and the future is bright as I work towards my dream of opening a
daycare.
Chloë
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