7th March 2007

Nanny Crisis Planning

posted in Child Care, Don\'t Know What to Make of This, Mom Friends, Working Moms |

tantrum.jpgAs a public relations professional, I have been schooled in the many areas of communications – media relations, employee communications (my specialty) and crisis/ issues management.  But even a sort-of seasoned communicator like myself is at a loss of words for how to counsel my friend on her latest nanny crisis.

First her nanny broke up with her (I always thought nanny break-ups were one-way, but I’ve been proven wrong.)  While scrambling to find interim child care, she found a new nanny, only to have the nanny not show up on her first day.  I couldn’t have made this up if I tried.

What this leads me to believe is that if you are in the world of having a nanny as your child care option, you need to have a nanny crisis protocol.  Not a ”back-up” plan (those are good too but I’m bad at dealing with reality.)  More like a series of steps you could take to deal with the unimaginable stress of having no child care.  Some suggestions (in order of importance.)

1) Go into a quiet room, shut the door, scream loudly and stomp your feet.  This technique will work especially well if you have a toddler because he or she can join you in your explosion of rage.

2) Call your mother.  In these types of situations you will need some sympathy points.  Nobody can say “everything will be okay sweetie” and “don’t worry” and sound like they mean it quite like Mom.

3) Get a stiff drink.  My morning drink of choice is usually a Bloody Mary. 

4) Call work. (I had to put that in here somewhere.)

5) Go for some sympathy shopping.  If the pity call to your mom worked well, you will be meeting her for lunch later that day somewhere conveniently located close to a mall.

6) When naptime for the baby arises, go online and e-mail everyone you know who could possibly know a nanny for you.  Everybody loves a panicked e-mail so you’re sure to get a lot of responses.

7) Call your husband and tell him if he ever wants to see you naked again, he’ll be sure to get home by 4 p.m. to serve the kid dinner and put her to bed.
8) Have another drink and watch some fluff on TV.  My choice?  American Idol.  You may be in a bad mood, but at least you’re not making an ass of yourself on national television.

9) Go to bed and worry about finding nanny dearest tomorrow.  You’re just not thinking rationally ever today.

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There are currently 6 responses to “Nanny Crisis Planning”

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  1. 1 On March 7th, 2007, Monica said:

    Amen! This is a fabulous posting and well, because you are talking about me, you made me feel better! And even succeed in making me laugh!!!!!

  2. 2 On March 7th, 2007, NKYGAL said:

    Too funny. You know what else is hard? When your cleaning lady breaks up with you… We are not rich by any means but after my second child was born we quickly realized that with both of us working that we just couldn’t get to everything. So to ease our “pain” my husband and I found this wonderful woman to come in a clean our house, once every two weeks for just $60! She was amazing. She didn’t do laundry or dishes, but she did all the things I hated, i.e. dusting and mopping! She moved about a year after she started and I still don’t think I’m over it….

    Great post as always NKYGAL
    BTW -I work in public relations as well!

  3. 3 On March 7th, 2007, selfmademom said:

    Wow, I didn’t even consider the ramifications of a cleaning lady break-up. That’s tough. Thanks for posting.

  4. 4 On March 7th, 2007, Elizabeth said:

    Or, the cleaning lady who had to go back to Mexico to be with her husband whom she hated but, who was worried about what the neighbors would think if she didn’t go back.

    Still haven’t figured out how she got the shower clean, and, she didn’t speak a lick of English, so, I may never have found out, anyway.

    OK, I’m rambling,now,aren’t I?

  5. 5 On March 9th, 2007, Amy said:

    I feel your pain, trust me. Nanny issues are hard, we’ve been through them. When I had my son, I did everything right, found a nanny who started weeks before I went back to work. Of course, the night before I was going back to work, she called and said her grandfather died and she had to go back to Guyana and wasn’t coming back (which I later found out was a lie, but anyway….). Mistake #2 nanny hit on one of our friends and became a stalker to him, the kept saying she wanted to quit, and then would cry about it that she didn’t want to leave. We finally just told her to leave. Nanny #3 worked for 3 years until we had another baby and decided that she didn’t want to watch two kids and left. We’ve got a good nanny now, but it took awhile to find her. I’m printing and keeping your list for if we ever break up with her.
    Great post as usual :)

  6. 6 On March 16th, 2007, The real nanny diaries » Self-Made Mom said:

    [...] Apparently, a former nanny of Madonna is planning on writing a “tell all” book about her time spent at the House of Fake British accents.  Apparently, a day later, this rumor was debunked, but the netherworld of nanny diaries still fascinates me.  It’s not that I’m concerned that one day my nanny will write a tell-all book about me and my family (what’s the worst thing that she’ll say, that I call too much? That I nag incessantly?) No, the only diary penned by a nanny these days that I’m interested in is the one she keeps of my son when I’m at work.  And, as we’ve learned, not all nannies are made equal, and frankly, neither are their daily logs.  I’m also fully against a nanny cam (not feeling up to debating this right now, though, sorry), so in my mind, the next best thing is a nanny note-taker. [...]

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