What a change to the atmosphere and mood in the parks over the weekend. We were at Carl Schultz Park NYC. I saw only one or two caregivers and the rest of the adults were parents or grand parents with their little ones. The kids were having a ball. One of my boys was playing with another little boy and the Mum asked me the name of my boy and tried to start a conversation. I managed to introduce my boys, and myself but was then interrupted as her little boy decided he wanted to move to a different area of the park. The Mum politely excused herself, got her stroller and followed her son. I said to her ' How come nannies manage to have not one but many conversations on duty and we cannot even complete a couple of sentences?' Her reply was ' I have no idea'.
The strangest thing I found was the park benches were almost totally unoccupied with Moms and Dads following their little ones on their foot and standing beside the jungle gyms.
I wondered into a play room around 1.30 pm and witnessed the following. One nanny was lying on the floor talking on her cell phone. The other nanny was on a couch with her feet up talking on the cell phone. I could not see any children. On my way out, I saw two toddlers playing with a blind and trying to pull it down. Both children were between 15-24 months. I dreaded to think what would happen if the blind came down on both of them.
Later on in the afternoon, I went to John Jay Park again in the UES as my children were there with my nanny. I saw many nannies sitting around and chatting to other nannies while the kids were running around. Up to 3 of those kids were out of the sight of a couple of nannies. Those kids were following my kids around. I am aware that it only takes seconds for a child to be abducted or for a child to run out of the park....
These sightings are seen far too often. It makes me feel very sad when I look into the eyes of these kids knowing they are looking for company and someone to play with. Is this satisfactory to the parents? Or do I just have higher expectations of caregivers?
