When I have kids someday...
The funny thing about being a nanny is that you are constantly reminded that these are not your kids and as much as you want to raise them the way you want, you can't. Learning the in's and out's of the family can be challenging cause you never quite know what specifically the parents are strict on and where they let things slide. Sometimes I feel like the parent nobody likes 'cause I have to play bad guy so much of the time.
My least favorite hour of the day...dinner. For some reason lately it has been an uphill battle. No one wants what I cook or they don't like how I cooked it. No one wants to eat their veggies or finish their water. Especially for the 5 year old, you would think it was a fate worse than death to simply even sit at the table. The new game: "but I'm just not hungry!" How can you not be hungry!?!?!?
But what I really don't understand is why there must always be tears. It is food. You should eat it. But since you don't want to eat it, you must cry about it. Your cries fall upon deaf ears my child for this nanny has no comprehension of what you are saying. The second the whine starts and the tears fall, I stop listening.
Most days I try to win the battles but somedays I realize I just have to choose. "Ok. You don't have to finish your tortellini but finishing your veggies and water are always the non-negotiables. You know this Max." As I listen to myself I realize that even when I lose some of the daily battles, I always win the war.
Then Mom and Dad come home and everyone is so happy to see them. I suddenly disappear. The kids ask them for this that and the other. The parents always say yes and I realize that I am the bad cop. That is who I have been hired to be. Slightly frustrated but happy to be done with work for the day, I quietly take my leave. "Bye Natalie. See you tomorrow. Thank you." A chorus of voices on my way out reminds me that I am important in the lives of these children even though they aren't mine. And I wouldn't do a thing differently even if they were.
My least favorite hour of the day...dinner. For some reason lately it has been an uphill battle. No one wants what I cook or they don't like how I cooked it. No one wants to eat their veggies or finish their water. Especially for the 5 year old, you would think it was a fate worse than death to simply even sit at the table. The new game: "but I'm just not hungry!" How can you not be hungry!?!?!?
Most days I try to win the battles but somedays I realize I just have to choose. "Ok. You don't have to finish your tortellini but finishing your veggies and water are always the non-negotiables. You know this Max." As I listen to myself I realize that even when I lose some of the daily battles, I always win the war.
Then Mom and Dad come home and everyone is so happy to see them. I suddenly disappear. The kids ask them for this that and the other. The parents always say yes and I realize that I am the bad cop. That is who I have been hired to be. Slightly frustrated but happy to be done with work for the day, I quietly take my leave. "Bye Natalie. See you tomorrow. Thank you." A chorus of voices on my way out reminds me that I am important in the lives of these children even though they aren't mine. And I wouldn't do a thing differently even if they were.
Hi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteIsn't grand that you can go home, knowing that when these Chicklets are grown, they will thank you for the non-negotionables? Or that is what I would like to believe.
These kiddos do love you and you are giving them great memories even if they don't think so at the time.
Keep up the good work!