Nanny Net News

A newsletter for Parents, Nannies and Agency Owners
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Vol. 1, No. 9                 July 2000
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Deborah Smith, Editor 
Parents With Nannies, Inc.
Deborah@4Nanny.com

This newsletter is distributed by subscription only. If you
wish to unsubscribe, you can find instructions at the end of
this newsletter.
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IN THIS ISSUE
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* A Note from the Editor 
* The Nanny/Parent Relationship - An excerpt from this month's 
featured book, The Professional Nanny by Monica Bassett
*Child Safety Reminder: A True and Terrifying story from one
of our members
* Our New Success Series
* Meet the Moderators
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"Myth, Only the very rich use nannies."
"Truth, The middle class uses more nannies and other home
child care providers than any other economic group."
source: The Good Nanny Book

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Editor's Note:

Well, you may have noticed that we've been experiencing 
a mild identity crisis over the past week or so on the 
website. We had decided it was time to officially change
over from the Parents With Nannies name and logo to the 
easier to remember, easier to say, 4Nanny.com. You may 
have noticed the new logos up on the site.

Well, what we were not expecting was that this 
"easier" name and logo would come with a host of 
nasty problems, like the threat of a lawsuit for starters. 
Yeah, what fun! So, in order to avoid the hallowed 
halls of our esteemed Judiciary system, we began the
search for a new, more wonderful, more descriptive,
more everything name. And I think we found it in 
4EverythingNanny.com. 4EverythingNanny plans 
to be just that, for everything, from classified 
advertising to tax and health insurance information 
and services, and everything in between. We hope 
you will bear with us as we make all the changes 
necessary to incorporate our new name and logo, and 
please reach us and bookmark us by using the new URL, 
4EverythingNanny.com.

We have a lot of information about what's happening on 
4Everything in this issue including a great group of 
volunteers who came on board since our last newsletter. 
You can read more about them under our "Meet the Moderators"
section.

We also have a true and terrifying story from one of our
discussion group members that you really must read. You
will never leave you second story windows open again.

Finally, we have a new feature that I hope to continue 
every month, our "Success Series" where we have
invited parents and nannies who have successfully found 
a nanny or job through our site to share their experiences
and how its working out with their new arrangements.

THE WINNERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NANNIES' FREE ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIPS ARE: JENNIFER BISHOP OF WOODBRIDGE, NJ AND HADERA WALLACE OF PITTSBURGH, PA. Congratulations ladies a representative from NAN will contact you shortly to get you all signed up.

A NEW SWEEPSTAKES FOR JULY
Win a Free "Children Are My Priority" Wall Clock.
a joyful design by Teresa Walsh©, premier artist in the 
world of teachers, parents and charities. A Great Gift 
for Nanny, Teacher, Camp Counselor, or Coach. Go here to
enter now! http://www.4nanny.com/Sweepstakes.htm

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THE PROFESSIONAL NANNY: BY MONICA BASSETT
Read an excerpt on the Nanny/Parent Relationship here:
Read an Excerpt

Order the Book
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WINDOW SAFETY: A TRUE STORY 

I just want everyone with young children to realize 
what happened to me and my family yesterday. 
Duncan (2 ½) and Caleb (1) had just gotten out of the
bath, and I put diapers on them both. It is a ritual 
that Duncan gets to jump on our bed after his bath…not 
a planned ritual, but it just seems to happen that way. 
I didn’t even THINK that there would be a problem as
serious as this. I understand the risks of jumping on 
the bed. I jumped on the bed as a kid with my sister. 
I know that the boys MIGHT get a bump on the heads, 
maybe even a broken arm, if they fell just right…<cringe> 
But I also understand the risks of overprotecting, and 
try to allow my boys the freedom to be children. I was, 
however, unprepared for THIS!

The bed is pushed up against the wall, with the headboard 
flush against the window. I left the room for a couple of 
minutes. I heard a weird noise, which I think back now 
and realize EXACTLY what the noise was, and it will 
forever haunt me. I came out of the spare bedroom, and 
into my bedroom, and found Caleb on the other side of the 
headboard, standing by the window, on the window ledge. 
I could not find Duncan at a quick glance. But I did see 
the screen was missing and the window was pulled open from 
only a couple of inches, to wide open. I now knew what 
that sound was…it was Duncan’s body hitting the concrete 
below, from the second story, along with a whimper that 
I don’t know if it was made consciously, or if it was from 
the air being forced out of him as his little body hit 
the ground.

I grabbed the baby, and the cordless and called 911. 
911 did not go through the first time. By this time, I 
had run out the front door. I pounded on the neighbor’s 
door, but didn’t wait for anyone to answer. I saw two 
teenage girls across the street. I screamed, like a 
lunatic, “Take my baby, take my baby!” They looked at 
me like I had snakes coming out of my head, until I screamed, 
“My two year old fell out of the window!!!!” 
They ran over, and took Caleb from me as I was in the 
process of calling 911 again. I ran around to the back 
to find Duncan, limp and listless. I was absolutely 
hysterical. I called for some other people to come 
over, to talk to 911 while the ambulance was on it’s way. 
I just couldn’t stand there talking on the phone. 
I was afraid to touch Duncan when he was listless. 
I thought that he was dying. I could not handle that. 
I definitely did not remain calm! Finally, he started 
to come to, and was moving his head around, crying pretty 
bad. When I would go near him, I was so upset that I made 
it worse for him. He got really upset and tried to move 
towards me, although he could only move his head. 
I though then that if he were to live, that his neck 
or back would be broken. By the time the paramedics got 
there, he was moving his legs a little. That was somewhat 
comforting, but I kept thinking that if he did have a 
spinal cord injury, he could be making it worse by moving.

The paramedics brought him to the hospital on a backboard 
and wearing a neck brace. He kept going in and out of 
consciousness. At the hospital, they took his temperature, 
95 point something, I think, 6. So, I figured he was going 
into shock. Again, he was dazed, falling asleep in between 
bouts of crying. The doctors ordered a CAT scan for his 
head, abdomen and pelvis and a full set of x-rays.

Thanks to the Lord up in Heaven, all of the tests came back 
negative. He was admitted for observation overnight. 
I stayed with him. (I still have not taken my shower…
a full day later) He was throwing up, I suppose 
indicative of a mild concussion. But, at 3 am, he 
seemed to “snap out of it,” and was aware of where he 
was and who I was, and that he wanted to drink something.

They released him this morning. He came home and has been 
the same precious Duncan that he always is. You would never 
have known that he had such an accident. I truly thought 
he was going to die. My whole world would have ended that 
day. It was the worst day of my life. I know that I can
not protect my boys from every danger. At the time when 
we didn’t know his prognosis, I blamed myself ENTIRELY. 
I see now, that I cannot be with both of the 100% of the 
time. But I CAN go out and buy window guards, and do 
some other baby proofing touchups that we had been neglecting.

Please believe me that your most precious children can be 
taken from you at ANY moment. I thought that moment was 
yesterday. Please forward this to everyone that you know. 
It is so important that everyone with young children take 
a good look at the dangers lurking in their homes. 

Kristin Carpenter - Family Coordinator
Pram and Proper Nanny Agency, LLC

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Success Story

As a working mother of 2 boys, ages 2 and 4, 
high quality child care is a priority in my life. 
I have had a few different live in and live out 
nannies over the past 4 years, a few were good 
and a few were terrible. This year my family was 
relocating to a new state and we decided to try 
an au pair. The numerous moves concerned the 
au pair agency since we were going to be in CT 
through May, temporary housing for a month in 
June, on vacation for a week in NY State, then 
into our new house in NJ in July, they thought 
it would be better if the au pair joined us once 
we were settled into our new house in August. 
This left me with no childcare for the summer, 
since our current nanny was a college student 
who was leaving us in May. I never thought I 
would find someone willing to move so many times. 
I called two agencies who place summer nannies, 
but both felt our situation was too difficult. 
With no other option I began searching ads on 
Parents With Nannies and was pleasantly surprised 
to find so many high quality nannies on the site. 
I corresponded by email with 3 different girls, 
then called them each for phone interviews. I 
knew as soon as I spoke to Heidi on the phone she 
would be perfect, but moving 3 times in one summer 
was not what she really wanted. She began speaking 
to other families, and I reconsidered other nannies. 
Neither of us found the right match and she decided 
it was more important to be with the right family, 
than to live in one place. Since I did not go through 
an agency I was very diligent in checking references, 
I spoke to her previous employer, read written 
references and even spoke to her parents. I also 
gave her the email address of our current nanny, so 
she could ask questions about my children and about 
our family. 

We are now 2 weeks into our temporary housing situation 
in NJ, Heidi has been with us for almost a month and 
without her I would be a mess. From the moment she 
got off the plane she fit it with my family. She is 
the most amazing nanny I have ever imagined, my kids 
love her. I am now a true believer in finding 
a nanny through the internet. It gives you an abundance 
of potential candidates and allows you to take control 
of the matching process. Communicating through email 
for a month before she arrived was the perfect way to 
incorporate her into our life. Every evening I would 
email her about our day and the things we did. She would 
write about school and her family and her thoughts about 
the summer. There was very little adjustment for either 
of us and I felt I knew before she arrived. 

Thank you for helping me to find Heidi and making 
a difficult summer easier. Lauren 

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Meet the Moderators

General Questions Board:
Hi I am Nicole, I am 30 years old, and married with 3 kids. 
My kids are 3, 19 months, and 6 months. I have employed 
nannies since my first son was born. I currently have a 
full-time weekday nanny, and a part time nanny on the 
weekends. No, I am not spoiled! I actually had to hire 
two nannies after I was in a horrible car accident about 
16 months ago. I was bedridden for a few months, and on 
crutches for 6 months, so I needed the help. I was pregnant 
on crutches! That was a sight! I own a business, and work 
full time. I adore my nannies! They are both amazing human 
beings and I couldn't do it without them!
Anyway, let's get chatting here! I would love to hear about 
other parents, and their issues, as well as issues that 
nannies have with us parents! I am sure we can all learn 
a lot from our combined experiences!

Child Behavior Board: 
Sandra is the parent of one son 
(he is 21 years) and has spent over 25 years working to 
improve the quality of life for children and their families. 
She began her career as an elementary teacher and switched 
to social services. Her degrees are in Elementary Education 
(BS) and Early Childhood Education Administration (MS). 
She currently directs the Family Resources Division for a 
large Childcare Resource and Referral agency in Florida. 
Sandra periodically presents early childhood 
and family support sessions at State conferences and is a 
member of NAEYC and the Association for Play Therapy. 
She is published in the ERIC database, serves on various 
community committees, is a member of the International 
Who's Who of Professionals, and sponsors a child in the 
Dominican Republic. She is very pleased to offer her 
expertise and support to Nannies and the families 
who have so wisely elected to employ them. 

Au Pair Questions Board: Co-Moderator.
Hi I'm Carol Pisapia. 
I am a mother of four, two boys ages 11 and 2 1/2 and
two girls (twins) ages 10. I personally do not have an
au pair (For financial reasons), but as you know I do
work very closely with them and their families as a
Community Counselor. I am relatively young, 32 years
old so I am able to take the girls many places eg:
Manhattan, Amusement Parks, Philadelphia, Statue of
Liberty, etc. I believe that my age also helps
promote a good relationship between my au pairs and
myself. 

Nanny Mentor Board: 
Hi my name is De-Shaun Silas.
I have been a nanny for the last 18 years. 
I have masters in Education and Psychology. I am 
also a grandmother of three. I am a part-time 
nanny for a lovely family. I also help my daughter 
run a nanny resource center for nannies. I am looking 
forward to moderating this new board and joining the community.

Nannies, How Was Your Day? Board: 
My name is Shel and I am a professional nanny of 5 years. 
I am in Southern California and am 28 years old. I can't 
wait to get to hear your stories and get to know you all! 
I am really hoping we can share some great stories on this board!! 

PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE TO STOP BY THE BOARDS AND WELCOME OUR NEW
MODERATORS! Here's the link. 

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I hope you have enjoyed this month's issue of Nanny Net News.
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! See you next month.
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Please send comments about this ezine to Deborah@4Nanny.com

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