Tina's StoryTina is my name. I guess you could say I have been a nanny in training my entire life. Professionally I have been a Nanny for nearly 9 years and in the early childhood education field for 19 years. I live in Golden, Colorado and have lived within 15 minutes of here since I was 4 years old. I began volunteering as a swimming instructors aide at the age of 10 and fell in love with teaching. I started in daycare when I was 14 as an aide. I worked for a few centers in my time and have seen the good and the rotten. I really didn’t go looking for a nanny position because I thought that nanny = maid. Cleaning an entire house didn’t seem fun to me. In 1996, a good friend of mine told me about her adventures as a career nanny. She was a real part of a family and loved to go to work everyday, even Mondays. I wanted that, the connection with a child or children and working along side parents. I visualized the difference I could make. My first position was for 4 children and an old golden retriever. (The puppy came later!) I learned to be quick and efficient. I learned the word multitasking! Those children gave me a great sense of accomplishment and love. In 1998, I nannied for a couple with an 8 month old baby. I had an open relationship with my employers and any conflict was resolved quickly. Baby number 2 came along 2 1/2 years later. Even today, I keep in touch with these two wonderful children. I was with this family for 5 years. Just this year, 2003, I was hired on with a new family with a 2 yr old and newborn baby girls. I am enjoying this extension of my journey and have bonded well with this family. Do I know what the future hold for me? No. But I do know, as long as I am on earth, children will be a part. |
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tina's Story
Kari's Story
Kari's StoryWhen I was younger, I loved going to the neighbors who had toddlers and hanging out with them. I have always enjoyed the company of younger children! When I was 10-11 I started babysitting for families in the neighborhood, and my sister and I took on a full time babysitting job in the evenings for a family that lived nearby. We were young and that job did not last very long. It was too much for us at that young of an age I think we were 13 at the time, I am not sure of the age but I know we were young! I babysat for various families in the community and really enjoyed the children. I think the most I made babysitting was $2.00 an hour! I had an older sister who had always told me I should go to Nanny school. I was like nanny school? I really didn't think much of it. We had neighbors that had 4 younger children and I was always watching them. Some weeks in the summer I was watching them full time and I was making $2.00 an hour for 4 kids but, I enjoyed those kids, I even went over and played with them even when I wasn't supposed to be babysitting. I had no idea what I was going to do after I graduated from high school.. I just knew the thing to do was to college. Nanny school was in the back of my head, but I didn't think I would ever make enough money to survive on being a nanny. I took care of children full time through all my summers in college I don't think I ever even made $100.00 a week, but I enjoyed what I was doing and I was getting paid to have fun. I took on full time jobs when I was done working a full days work with the children. When I was away at college I had no idea what I was going to major in, I changed my major every month. One day I discovered Family Life/Child Development program at school, So I thought I would pursue that and get my Parenting Ed Licensure to go with it. So I got my BS and graduated, but now what? I was working full time at a local Super market and worked my way into management, so when I graduated, I moved to Rochester and worked in the grocery chain. I worked 6 months as a supervisor and I thought to myself, I want to take care of young children not teenagers! I found a job as a toddler teacher at a local day care, but the day care was poorly run so I thought I would find a job in one of those fancy national chain centers. Big mistake. I then realized the small poorly run day care center was more on target. At my new job, the children were treated like little robots, they had to stay on their cots for 3 hours no matter what and every child had to do the same thing as everyone else day in and day out. I was looking through the want ads in the local newspaper and found a nanny job that was going to pay me as much as I was making as a teacher. I decided I would give it a shot! It is the best move I have ever made! It was for a family with a set of twins who were 20 months when I started out and a 3 year old girl. The children got individual attention and it was a great job. Two and a half years later I became pregnant with my daughter and was having a rough spot with my family, so I thought I would look for a family that paid well.. Big mistake! I quickly learned that the amount of money that I made was not as important as my relationship with the family and the children. I went back to my old employers after my daughter Maddie was born. I went back and worked with the family for almost another year. Some of the reasons why I quit the 2nd time around was because I didn't feel it was fair for the children I was taking care of or for my daughter. They were all in different stages of their lives. The twins were giving up their naps and they were involved in activities and wanted to hang out at the pool more. The children loved Maddie and Maddie loved the children, but I felt I wasn't being fair to either. I quit that family and took my time finding my current employers. I have been with them for almost 3 years. When I started working for them, my charge was 3 months, my daughter was 15 months. My daughter and my charge were exactly 1 year apart. It was the best arrangement and still is! Maddie and my charge are just like brother and sister. My employers love the relationship the 2 have formed, and because they were both close in age I didn't feel like I was neglecting either one. My husband gets off work at 3 so he will come and get Maddie so I can have the one on one time with my charge. I have the best of both worlds! There have been times where I have thought of quitting to find a more "professional job" cause people commented all the time I have a 4 year degree and I am nannying, why don't I find a better job? What they don't realize is that I have the best job I could have right now! I have a great relationship with my employers where I am respected. People ask me all the time what makes a great nanny/employer relationship. I know there are many that don't agree with me, but I say treat it like a marriage. Each side gives and takes a little. When I do have problems I have learned that communication is the best solution! The most important thing I have learned from being a parent and a nanny is that it is a lot easier being a nanny than a parent. I used to be so judgmental and critical of parents and I have learned it is so different on the other side of the fence. I love my job and could not ask for a better job or better employers! |
Susan's Lehman
Greetings to all.
My name is Susan Lehman and I've been a career nanny for 18 years. I remember very clearly seeing the movie Mary Poppins when I was 5yrs old. I was amazed!
When I was out of college and wondering about a career move, I saw an article in the St.Louis newspaper about a new nanny program. I was
intrigued! I enrolled along with Glenda and several others and graduated with a certification at the end of 1984. I was thrilled,it truly felt like mycalling.
In the spring of 1985,I packed a few belongings, and flew across country to work in Malibu,California.
I thought I had died and gone to heaven! I was in charge of two infants, the children of research scientists. Baby Heaven!
A few years later, I was ready to try my hand at a different aspect, nanny placement. I was hired to be an administrator ,then worked my way up to
placement, and teaching at a nanny school in Beverly Hills. It was fun and exciting,but I longed to be back in the home with an infant.
My next job was with an actor/producer couple with a baby girl in Santa Monica. I stayed almost 6 yrs!
I traveled with them, went on location to do films, and had a wonderful time. We got along famously!
Then the Los Angeles riots hit and I was ready to make a move.
On to northern California where I took a position with another infant. From Hollywood to Silicon Valley! What a change. Again I stayed a long time, almost 7 years, which takes me to my present position with 2 wonderful little girls that I've been with for 4 years. (Madison is 4 and Sydney is 2 and one half)
What an exciting 18 years it's been, I can't imagine doing anything else. I love it. Thank you!
Harriette's Story
 Harriette's StoryHarriette Grant passed away on June 30, 2002. She had been a nanny for 40 years. You can read her story in the book Like a Second Mother but here is my tribute to her life and her enormous contribution to nannies everywhere. The following article about Harriette Grant first appeared in the NAN Newsletter in June of 2001. A nanny for the ages by Glenda Willm Propst These are some newspaper headlines from 1961: U.S. Breaks Off Diplomatic Relations With Cuba; John F. Kennedy Inaugurated as President of the U.S. Peace Corps Established by Kennedy; UN General Assembly Condemns Apartheid; ‘Freedom Riders’Attacked by White Citizens in Anniston and Birmingham; Bay of Pigs Invasion; Kennedy and Khrushchev Meet in Vienna to Discuss Disarmament; Berlin Wall Constructed; Actor Gary Cooper Dies at Age 60. These are some popular books from 1961:Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein; Catch-22, by Joseph Heller; and Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller (the first legal publication in the U.S.). Some of the popular movies that year were: "West Side Story," "The Hustler," and "Judgment at Nuremberg." And among the most popular songs were:"Love makes the World Go Round," "Moon River," "Where the Boys Are," and "Exodus." How many of you remember any of these events and cultural markers? How many of you were even born in 1961? Well, even if we are among those who were not yet born in1961, there was an event that in some way affected all our lives that year. This event did not make the headlines, but it changed our lives all the same.In July, 1961,Harriette Grant began her career as a nanny. At that time there were no newspaper articles about nanny salaries or benefits there were no formal nanny training programs in the United States, there were no nanny support groups, and there were no nanny organizations. Harriette was just 19 when she started taking care of Sylvia Whitman. In the book "Like a Second Mother," Sylvia writes about a very different Harriette from the person we know. Sylvia’s "Rat," as she affectionately called her, changed her hair color every week, and their house was the best patrolled in the neighborhood because all the policemen had a crush on Harriette. Harriette was with the Whitmans nine years, and she maintains a close relationship with Sylvia Whitman, who is now all grown up with a child of her own. In 1970 Harriette moved to Washington, DC, to care for the Brown children, with whom she stayed for 20 years. Even after the children were teenagers, Harriette remained and helped the Browns part time (she took a second part time job with another family in the neighborhood). Harriette was there when one of the Brown children graduated from Princeton University, and when her other "child" graduated from High School. While she was in DC, Harriette began to get serious about solving the problems surrounding the lack of support nannies had. Harriette Grant was one of the founders of the very first nanny support group in the USA. It was called ADCAN - the Association of DC Area Nannies. The group still runs strong today, and prides itself on being the oldest nanny support group in the nation. Harriette was also a founding member of International Nanny Association, served on its board of directors, and was the INA’s first Nanny of the Year in 1990. She was one of the three co-founders of NAN in 1992. When Harriette moved to New York City in 1999, she became one of the founders of the Professional Nannies of New York. I first met Harriette Grant at the INA conference in Vail, Colorado, in 1988. We were going to be serving on the INA Board together. It did not take long for us to realize that we had the same concerns, the same vision, and the same passion for the nanny profession. After the conference, we burned up the phone lines on a regular basis. We became very good friends, and in 1992, along with Eva Harkness, we founded the National Association of Nannies. In 1997, when Harriette asked me to run with her for Co-President of NAN, one of my greatest concerns was that it might hurt our friendship. We promised each other not to let that happen. I think we’d both admit that at times it has been a struggle, but we served as Co-Presidents for the last four years, and we are still on speaking terms. We did not always agree, but we always respected each other and we have always tried to make what was best for NAN our top priority. NAN benefited from her vision, her professionalism, her steadfastness, her wisdom, and her commitment to the Nanny profession. It’s a little overwhelming to think of all the things that have happened in the last 40 years, and of how far the nanny profession has come. I think of all the changes Harriette saw and of all the nannies she encountered on her journey. When I think of Harriette Grant, I think of the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail." Harriette led the way where there was no path. She blazed a trail for 40 years, .As her torch is passed, we can all learn a valuable lesson from her life, her example, and her dedication to her career. It is up to each of us to continue the work that Harriette started. We are pioneers of the nanny profession, and it is our job to continue to blaze the trail. Harriette, you have been our friend, our leader, and our inspiration. We will never forget you and we will work hard to continue your legacy. You leave us with many wonderful memories but a hole in our heart that only you could fill. Rest in peace dear friend. |
Cindy's Story
| Cindy's Story I have been a nanny for 6 years and worked for a family for ten years as a babysitter and then as their nanny. I went to college and got my degree in Special Education, but I didn't like the lesson plans. I hated it. I loved working with children who have disabilities though. I have been doing that since I was 14 years old and now I am 24. It has been 10 years and I still love it. I decided that I liked being a nanny and wanted to continue with it. I loved working with a family and the relationship that you gain from it. Right now I work for two different families and I like it that way. I also baby sit for families at night and on the weekends. I love it. Children are just a part of me. At church I do the nursery for the children for our women's meeting. I teach Sunday School to the 4 and 5 year olds. My life wouldn't be the same without the decision I made to be a career nanny. Cindy Piper |
Myrna's Story
How the nanny profession chose me…by Myrna
I am honored to stand before my peers as an example of a professional nanny. In 1990, I would not have imagined for myself that this day would come that I would be chosen to speak to you about my personal story of success in our chosen profession. Indeed, the emphasis on choices is poignant in how I arrived to this point.
I am the youngest of two children born to Haitian immigrant parents devoted to giving their children a better chance to surpass the disappointments of lacking opportunities in their homeland. So my mother left behind her nursing career and my father, principle of a private school in Port au Prince to start a new life. Little did I know at my conception that I would mirror many of their persecutions that they so hoped to avoid for us through my choice of pursing a nanny career. You see, around the time they came to New York US
I assumed that I would become a pediatrician one day. If you understood Caribbean parents, they instilled in us very early on that a white collar profession is the ultimate symbol of success. I subconsciously carried this training with me as I achieved great success academically through my school years. Naturally, I rebelled against my parents conservative ways in my teens as I tried to formulate my own opinions and thoughts about the world and my place in it. I remember a volatile conversation with my father at one point when one of those ah ha moments struck my core. I wanted a fancy pink & green polo shirt to match my asymmetrical hair do and gold hoop earrings. He emphatically told me he would not give me the money for one and that when I earned my own money that I could have whatever I wanted. So my reply was, “so when I have my own money I can do whatever I want”. I think that I still live by those words today. I started babysitting at the age of 13. First in the summer, then I became a walking weekend rolodex for the neighborhood by high school. However, it wasn’t until my freshman year in college that the tables were turned around with exactly how I would work with children. I heard for the first time in Chapel Hill , NC
I quickly grew tired of becoming a live-in nanny and longed to live on my own. With the help of my best friend as my roommate and mentor, I left behind the glory days of my cushy life and sought another nanny position. I was fortunate to find a neighbor in Chapel Hill who needed a nanny after the birth of her daughter. I took the position full time at $5 an hour, full medical coverage, a car, and annual bonuses for performance reviews. In NC, this was sufficient for me to live on my own. I learned a great deal about infant care during this time and the catalyst that changed the direction of my nanny career occurred during this position. I was earning 50cent incremental raises every 6 months but during my tenure with this position I was still struggling to make ends meet and wanted to step up my work performance to earn more. So, I sought another certificate in child development in evening classes and began to look at curriculum models to use with preschoolers. It was at this time that I assumed that my path was taking me towards opening up my own daycare center but with the centers that I visited I felt something vital was missing. The wonderful connection of working with a child one on one. So, I developed curriculum to use in home with my toddler charge. I created a weekly schedule that I followed around a theme. It was so much fun and reduced the monotony that I felt when I was working in a reactive mode around her feeding and sleep schedule. Despite familial pressures that I was working as a “domestic” which was against everything they had worked hard to avoid for me I loved what I was doing and felt at last that I had a career developing here. I chose to find a way to make nannying work for me beyond just getting by. So, in my 2ndyear with the family, I requested a meeting to augment my salary and was told by my employer, “Myrna, you’re earning $6.50 an hour here, you’re not going find anyone else who will pay you as much as we are”. I felt like I was back in the living room with my pops, and the words came back to me, money provides options. I submitted my resignation without forseeing the devasting pain of loss that I would experience as a part of a nanny’s career vowing to never allow myself to get so emotionally attached to my charges again. My best gift to her was exposing her to the hobby she treasures to this day, trains.
I found my 3rd family at double the salary for two adopted children with full benefits. This position was perhaps my most unique job as I was hired by the mother’s power of attorney while the mother was away for several months. I learned over the course of this position the Montessori philosophy that I embrace to this day, managing household employees when the principle was away, and the delicate balance of parent consulting. I was a part of nurturing this family back to stable ground and have a beautiful god daughter that I never expected to have.
As a result of my honing in on professional household service skills through nanny manager training along with an internship at a local Montessori preschool, I felt that I was ready for another challenge. I relocated to the DC area, driven to bring to life my namesake’s acronym, (MYRNA)Multicultural Youth Respect oNe Another. I had almost ten years experience as a nanny by this time and was fortunate to be a part of a professional nanny organization that supported my career endeavors. I learned the power of professional integrity, professional approach, and the beauty of crafting this career over time despite public perception that this is a short lived career. I assumed by this time that success as a nanny meant making the biggest salaries that the field allows and I pursued it ambitiously. I interviewed with celebrities, wealthy business moguls, and some of our countries well known successful self starters. During a working trial period for a family in the DC area, I was surprised to feel discontent in nurturing a child who was served her sippy cup on a silver platter, the request to avoid baking in the kitchen, so not to disturb the chef’s schedule, and the need to be on call at a moment’s notice and ready to travel anywhere around the world with little schedule advance. Again, my personal growth & maturity would show me another path. Hesitant to turn down a lucrative salary, I took a lower paying position with a family with adopted Russian children and it turned out superb! For 5 years, I nurtured their sense of imagination, exposed them to social settings, stimulated their cognitive abilities through my homeschool program, School in the Woods and most importantly gave them consistent loving care during their parents tumultuous divorce. With consistent parent consulting sessions I worked as the stabilizing force between both households until remarriage changed my work arrangement. I managed to forget my golden rule as I tried to mend my broken heart in yet another position. This position is where I am today.
Imagine a job description with 5 children, 60 hours a week, two busy executive parents and a request for damage control as three of the girls are entering their teen years. I had often said in the past that my position with any family would end as soon as the children hit puberty, well I was going to start this one with teen woes from day one. I didn’t have much in common with the parents when it came to philosophy in child rearing in fact this family was the exact opposite of many things I stood for. My serene days of make believe, homemade crafts, and organic cooking was replaced with frequent television, guilt ridden materialism, harried soccer schedules and chef boy r’dee. YIKES! With years of experience I knew that the close to 6 figure salary package along with the generic all 5 children have no issues, SURE…. Should have been warning enough Well, I chose to give it my best shot. Within 6 months, I was able to bring calm stability to these children and vicariously enjoy the roller coaster experiences of teenagers and 2 preschoolers. I am proud to be their nanny and they are so full of light. They have motivated me to shed 20 pounds, run my first 10K race, and purchase a 1920’s rowhouse that I have recently restored.
Through each nanny position I have gained far more than an agreed upon financial arrangement. I have gotten 15+gifts that are priceless. They are woven in my heart, and have individually helped shape me in some permanent way. Each position was much like a journey revealing elements that I could never foresee, but have given me the sustenance to forge on even in times where I have felt self doubt in continuing as a nanny or my ability to put my heart out there once again. I am lucky to have contact with all my charges past and present, and look forward to the holidays especially when I get the annual photos! WOW. I say to myself, what a phenomenal ride, how did all this arise from a simple college ad. So I humbly say to you, I honestly did not choose to be a nanny, nannying chose me, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity.
(Myrna Alphonse is a former CO President of the National Association of Nannies and currently serves as the Education Committee Chairperson)
Glenda's Story
My name is Glenda and I wanted to share with you today about why I am proud to be a professional nanny
First I would like to tell you a little bit about myself, so that you will understand the road I took to get to this point in my life.
I have always loved children. I can remember my first baby sitting job when I was 10 years. I offered to sit in the backyard in the wading pool with her 2 year old, for .25 an hour. She was at home but since she had 3 other children, she welcomed a break. Later on, when I was 12, I babysat most of my summers. It was all I ever really wanted to do, and it was something that I was good at, and I enjoyed it.
I babysat all through High School and had quite a line up of families that I worked for. I made .50 an hour and back then I guess that was a lot of money. Mostly I babysat for families in the neighborhood or in my church.
I knew that no matter what I did in my life, it would involve working with children.
When I finished junior college, my church was getting ready to open a Child Care Center
I was appointed the Asst. Director of the Child Care Center
The center opened with 12 children and I stayed there for 9 years. During the first 3 years we added 6 full time staff members. The thing that made our center unique was that we kept our original staff during the 9 years I was there, and added on more full time staff and part time workers. I liked my job, but I was almost 30 years old and the winds of change were blowing.
I cried every night the 2 weeks before I turned 30 years old.
I cried because I did not want to be 30.
I cried because I thought my life would be downhill from there.
And I cried because even though I loved my job,
There are times in our lives when we come to a crossroads, and we have to make a decision,
One Sunday afternoon, I was reading the paper and an article in Martha Carr’s column caught my eye.
I took the paper out to my parents and talked to my dad about it. He was not as excited as I was. He had questions. Questions, like what about insurance and what about benefits? And what about retirement? He also felt like I did not need to go to school, because of my background and my experience. I listened to him half heartedly because I knew already that this was what I was going to do. I would call and ask the questions he wanted answers to but some things, you know in your heart, and I knew in my heart that this was the next chapter in my life.
Suddenly, it did not matter to me that I would have to quit my job to do it, it did not matter to me that I would have work part time to pay my bills and my rent. It did not matter to me that I would have to drive on the highway in the city even though I had never done it before. The only thing that mattered to me, was that I was going to Nanny School
People began to make comments like, “ I bet that baby thinks your it’s mother”
Oh, I hear you babysit now!
I also resented having to defend my employers especially the mother, for choosing to have a career and children.
One night, a friend of mine were out with some other friends , and a woman came over and sat down, uninvited, and started to ask us questions. Where do you work? Who do you work for? Where is that? Etc , etc My friend Katie and I were trying really hard to be evasive because we did not want to go through the whole process of “We are professional nannies” Finally the woman just kept asking and prodding and we said The woman reacted very badly “ Oh my gosh, how can you stand that!, I would just go crazy if that was me, and on and on and on, until I could feel the built up anger rising out of my control.
Katie got me away from her before I lost it, but that night for me was a turning point.
Shortly after that, my employer came back from California with an article about a woman who was going to be starting an organization called the International Nanny Association. She told me that I should call her, and find out more.
That summer I went to my first INA conference with 4 of my St. Louis Nanny friends. This was a group that was just starting and the next year I was asked to serve on their Board of Directors. I served on their Board of Directors for 5 years, was also a Vice President, and was chosen their Second International Nanny Association’s Nanny of the Year in 1991.
I made many friends through my work in INA and in 1992, along with Harriette Grant who has been in this profession for 40 years this year, and Eva Harkness, who is now Dr. Eva Harkness, a nanny for 15 years who also taught in Community College Nanny Program founded the National Association of Nannies. We started NAN because we wanted an organization that would reach out and meet nannies where they were, and offer them support, educational opportunities and the benefit of mentoring from nannies who had been in the field for many years.
We offered a newsletter, that was done by nannies, and we held an annual conference. Through my work in NAN, I have met many nannies across the country, but another turning point for my professional life, came in 1997 when my husband and I bought our first computer and I was mesmerized by all the nannies online and all of the information online for nannies.
The internet offered an opportunity for me to network with nannies all over the world.
I was a member of the first online mailing list for nannies, I started a Chat room for nannies on AOL, and serve as a moderator for a wonderful group online called Parents with Nannies. This is a list of nannies, parents, and agencies who work together, give advice information and support. The parents can talk about the problems they have with their nanny and the nannies can offer suggestions and advice. Needless to say we have had some pretty heated discussions but it has been a wonderful chance to see the parents side of having a nanny, without being personally effected by it.
I tell you this because by channeling my anger into something positive, it has helped me to be able to grow as a professional.
In the last 18 years I have been with 2 families. They were both very different, but I learned a lot from both of them. I am still very close to my first family and when I got married 7 years ago,( a completely other wonderful chapter of my life) all of my charges past and present were in my wedding. I have always made sure that my employers knew about and understood my interest in the nanny profession on a national level, and make it very clear that the last weekend in September is the NAN Conference, and I need to have that time off.
I have found that by sharing my NAN newsletters with them, it helps them to understand how serious my profession is to me and how deep my commitment is. This also helps them to view me as , and respect me as a professional.
At that turning point in my life I came to the realization that some people get it, and some people don’t.
Some people will understand it if you explain it to them, and some people
Will never understand because they don’t want to.
*I am the one who has to be a peace with what I do, and I am proud to be a nanny.
*I am proud to be a nanny because I know that the children I care for need me, and I know that I need them.
*I know that for every thing I have taught a child, a child has taught me something in return.
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