The same thing this morning in Clapham common playground, the one opposite grandison road, a blond little boy, around 2 years old, had his Phillipine nanny with him, or I can say on his own and his nanny with her group of chatters!
I'm a nanny as well, but I wouldn't ignore a child like that!
So the nanny had long dark her in a pony tail and a pink coat, and the little boy had very blond hair and dressed in blue! Hope someone will recognise them!
It's such a shame that some nannies do this job only for money, without caring for children!

Thanks KTPearce and Emmaki for highlighting two examples of bad nannying and two ways to deal with it. I would have wanted to know if I was the parent of either of those children. I have had nannies and au pairs too. They can be good or bad just like nursery workers and anyone in any other job. Any method of alerting parents to bad practice that has been witnessed is a good thing in my view. I wouldn't think it was any better if it had been a parent responsible for the child in those situations rather than a nanny but when it is a nanny it is easier to put an end to the situation with disciplinary action or sacking. And judging by those descriptions I think regardless of whether they were 'one offs' or a sign of regular neglect I think I would still think disciplinary action such as a verbal warning was warranted.

emmakl wrote:

I think I did the right thing

I think you did too! Please don't ever not step in .... If any caring parent is concerned about a situation, then that situation warrants intervention IMO

xx

I whole heartedly agree with emmakl on this and would add that it should make no difference whether it's a nanny or parent/family member. We've all a responsibility to protect those less able to protect themselves in our society and I applaud KTpearce and anyone else who has been brave enough to step into such a situation to help out. It's when we stand by and do nothing that we really do a disservice.

There have been times when my boys have found themselves in a tough spot and I would certainly hope someone would be there to help them out if need be, as I would do the same.

Just wanted to say thank you so much for all the support for my post. Shocked and I are certainly singing from the same song sheet!

Also GES77 thanks for your post, this is exactly why I decided to post my experience in the first place.

Thanks again x

GES77 wrote: However, what I will say is that I reported a strange man to the police a fortnight ago because he was sitting, alone (i.e. without a charge), on a bench IN the playground on Wandsworth Common, engaging in conversation with the children in the playground. My nanny (whilst distracted, looking after two of my other children) noticed him and took my eldest child away from the man. The man then became abusive to my nanny.

Just wanted to thank you for posting this, as I often take my children to this playground!

Reading all this ...I am just glad that my LO goes to a daycare nursery.
I would rather that he be in a regulated safe enviornment while I am at work than be with nannies or people who hold personal responsibility for his care but may or may not be bothered about his welfare .
I could monitor them at home (nannycams) but who is to say what happens in parks etc.
I think reporting to relevant parents is the right thing to do . They have a right to know and question people they are paying to look after their child !

Its not to offend the nanny brigade but to secure the welfare of the little ones ...

I dont understand why nannies get upset. Ktpearce was talking about this nanny in particular not all of them. It is obvious, to anyone with some common sense, that there are good and bad professionals in every trade.

On the other hand, unlike many mums, nannies are getting paid, often a very good salary to do a job and should be sacked if they don't do it. And at the end of the day, it is in the interest of the children to have a mum, even if she is crap at it (unless of course she is a junkie, alcoholic, etc...), whereas it is not really in their interest to have a bad nanny. I think we all see the difference, right?

Well done on doing this, I agree that all the parents should know that.

But, everytime, there is a post like this, it's like a fight between nannies and mums ... No nanny is perfect but trust me, how many times I have helped kids trapped, stuck in a playground or in a playgroup because their mums were busy on the phones or chatting up with friends. No one is perfect.

30 minutes unattended - that is so shocking, and so scary. I completely agree that this in unacceptable and completely unprofessional.

I just feel sad for the poor boy, if I was there I would have given him a big cuddle!

I am replying to this thread from a Nanny's perspective. I am prob midway between helicopter nanny and encouraging independence nanny.

When out and about with my charges I keep at least one eye on them all the time. I do chat to other nannies and mums and I do check my phone from time to time. Again like previous poster stated this is usually work related ie making play dates, checking school messages or sending photos to Mum at work etc.

I have seen parents/nannies/au pairs seemingly being more neglectful than I would be but unless I saw them doing something very upsetting I would be wary about drawing attention to them as I'm aware that I'm only witnessing 5-10 minutes of an often 11-12 hour day and I don't know all the facts. I am however aware that there are many children abused or left in distressing situations because an adult hasn't been responsible enough to do something about what they have seen.

I guess it's a fine line between people looking after children differently from how we would and actual neglect.

It is good that the original poster made this thread as from what she has said it seems the 'nanny' really wasn't being attentive but I would caution parents not to jump to conclusions and and judge others based on a small glimpse at their day.

Dear ktpearce,

Many thanks for doing what you did and by posting it here. It is thanks to people like you that tragedies are avoided. It is not only our business to look out for people that cannot defend for themselves, especially children, but our responsibility. If necessary, in extreme cases, it is our responsibility to phone social services, regardless of whether the person in charge is the mum, the dad, or the nanny.

The fact that the friend said it was none of your business shows what type of person she is.

In our jobs we have our clients and colleagues to give feedback about us and our bosses remunerate us accordingly. In the case of a nanny, the only feed back she gets is ours as small children cannot give it. There is no reason why they should be above everyone else and their work should not be checked and fed back to their employer.

I hope the mum sees this post.

All the best and well done.

I don't normally get involved in these debates as they tend to go round and round in endless circles.

However, what I will say is that I reported a strange man to the police a fortnight ago because he was sitting, alone (i.e. without a charge), on a bench IN the playground on Wandsworth Common, engaging in conversation with the children in the playground. My nanny (whilst distracted, looking after two of my other children) noticed him and took my eldest child away from the man. The man then became abusive to my nanny.

The point of me recounting this tale is that we do live in a bubble of perceived safety. But it is NOT always safe and therefore any adult in charge of children needs to be watching the children NOT texting on their phone.

I would be furious if I was the mother of the young boy in the OP.

I asked her 'are you responsible for this child?' and she said 'yes, I'm his nanny'.

I could have picked that boy up, put him in my pram, told him we were going to find his nanny and abducted him. Fact. Alone or not being watched, same thing.

I am not starting a nanny witch hunt, I had an amazing nanny who is now my friend. She was visibly upset when she last visited and my daughter didn't recognise her , most nannies are amazing and I have complimented and taken advice from many nannies.

But, as a parent, you never know what is happening when you are at work unless someone tells you. I thought long and hard about posting my initial post as i didnt want to frighten the parent but nothing happened this time and next time it might.

Also, I gave this nanny the benefit of the doubt first time round then she continued not to watch him, that's when I intervened. It was half an hour at least of not watching him at all. She had her back to him, sitting on a bench paying no attention at all. Not good enough!

Articles like this are very sad to read.

As a nanny of 10 years I hate to hear about parents feeling that a nanny only 'sits around on there phone' there have been many a times I have helped a child up if fallen over and given them a cuddle until a parent has come over, stopped a child from running in a road, helped a child who was lost in a soft play - and safely brought the child back to the parent whilst sitting with other mothers (whilst caring for too children that i nanny for) who I would never judge, just try to help as know how hard it is to have eyes in the back of your head at all times.

As a nanny i try hard to change the views that nannies just sit down and chat when out as this is not the case, and found nappy valley a lovely area to work in as lovely nannies and parents. many parents have helped me in the past, after all it is nearly impossible to be able to spot every incident if caring for two children, you just try your very best.

Although i cannot talk for every single nanny, there are amazing nannies who really do work hard and care for children in the best possible way. I feel this type of brief encounters were the nanny is described in such a scary way very freighting for parents, especially parents returning to work for the first time and thinking about choosing a nanny.

i often have parents coming over and saying how much fun/ care i look like im having with the children in my care when they realise i am a nanny and not the children's parent. i have had many of the parents i work friends, tell how much care is give when they have seen me out, and i don't know the friends. its a real compliment,as after all our job is to provide a safe, stimulating and loving environment for the children in our care. Its sad that parents don't see posts like this, just as someone else describe a 'witch hunt' and describe nanny's in general like this. The title itself is upsetting - I don't watch parents!

I really do hope the child is safe and cared for and hope this was a 'one off' due to a reason you and I don't know about, and of course I can understand your worry as the way you have described the incident it is very unprofessional.

I can't imagine how scared the mother of the child would be reading that initial post.

Thank you for your support