The Teddy Bear has been Compromised

Being an ex-nanny, I love the Nanny Diaries as it depicts aspects of the harsh nanny life. I watched it the first week I was in the States with my new host mother. I was excited for this new life; I would lift around kids, play in the sun all day, meet new people. Reality hadn't kicked in yet that I had one of Satan's spawn, disguised as a seven year old boy, and a host mom who denied my existence after I left.

We were Type C nannies : we were on call, ALL the time. Now after being locked out of the house a couple times, and having a meltdown; it was decided it would be best if I "rematched". Meaning I had to evacuate the premises within two weeks or be deported. It was a harsh two weeks (the two leading up to a very hard Christmas) and I didn't know if I was gonna survive them. But I found a great family, five minutes away from the house I was living in, with an angel of a daughter. So I moved and discovered kids weren't all that bad.

To be relied on by these kids is major. There is that one moment where you look into the kid's eyes and you just know, despite all the snot-filled tantrums, you loved them.

Annie Bradock: Okay Mrs X, now it's time for a few simple childcare rules.

Human Resources Director: Oh, alright, the teddy bear has been compromised.

Annie: Slamming the door in your kid's face is NOT okay. Spending more time on a benefit for kids that you've never met than you do with your own blood is NOT okay. Going to a SPA when your kid has a fever of a hundred and four and not answering emergency calls, that officially makes you an unfit mother....

Now I know you all busy with your hair appointments, and your watsu massages and your attempts to stay young so your husbands won't leave you. But here's an idea! Why don't you try eating dinner with your child every once in a blue moon. And heads up here, lady, try smiling once in a while. People hate you.

Yes the moms are super conscious about their looks and before we enter their home we are told to beware of the fathers! But the biggest moment, is the heart wrenching goodbye between the nanny and the child. It stays with you forever.

I still think of my little American girl everyday.