Alright guys.
1st post and here we go. Point number 1:
Nannies aren’t stupid.
Hard to hear through the many layers of unaware assumptions piled high about us that you've acquired through societal contagion, so I’ll say it again. NANNIES AREN’T STUPID.
This is a hard fact for many people to comprehend which–if you think about it too long, and believe me when I say I have–really says some messed up things about our society.
Why do we believe that people who choose to be around young people in a private home setting are mentally challenged? Why isn’t nanny work considered ‘real’ work? Why are we often expected to follow idiosyncratic rules at work, complete an impossible daily schedule (put the twins to bed at the same time as you tutor the oldest in fractions and do four loads of leftover weekend laundry), and 'pester' our bosses about wanting our paycheck ON TIME this week, all with a smile on our face? Then we tell people outside our sector that we work as nannies and the only thing we often get asked is when we are going to get ourselves a real job. This is a problem.
Though I like my particular nanny job–a lot–there are so many fundamental things that are wrong with a place of work that doesn’t give you a lunch break, that has no human resources department, no overtime, and no applicable federal labor laws. And there are even more things wrong with a society that doesn't honor and positively acknowledge those that work in my profession.
How are we nannies portrayed in the mainstream media and society at large? Well, we are in movies like Mary Poppins–which I’ll get into on another post but I'll give you a quick taste and just say in Mary Poppins, our sole purpose in life is to show rich people how to be human and then go off on our merry way, asking nothing emotional in return (what about the two-way street my mother was always telling me about?). Other places where we get some face time in society? The news, where we always, invariably, shake babies.
Yes, I said it. It seems that nannies shake babies more than anyone else on the planet. We also sleep with our bosses, tell all the family secrets, and–the absolute worst of all—KIDNAP THE CHILDREN!!!!!! Just like this Jan. 20, 2010 Texas article says, ONE angry San Antonio nanny ran off with the kids after she got fired. And now the whole world is privy to our insane, unstable psyche where our small minds burst when we lose our jobs. The message is clear: even though you have to go to work and let us take care of your kids, never, ever REALLY trust us or our minds to pull off anything that slightly resembles intelligence.
I’m not saying that there aren’t some people out there who shouldn’t be nannies. That’s in every job sector. But the bulk of the nannies working in the U.S. are amazing, hardworking women from all over the world. We need to strengthen our voice--the voice that isn’t about placating our bosses or trying to help our sector save face by acting passive and polite. Cause the truth is we deserve to have and assert our opinions into the cyber abyss like every other person on the planet.
So, welcome to me.
