Although “Real Housewives of D.C.” was a mega disaster, the fabulous, wealthy families similar to those featured still exist. And you know where they live? All around us here at AU in Chevy Chase/Bethesda and NW D.C. And you know who is raising their kids? AU students doubling as nannies.
So here is this season’s cast of the Real Babysitters of D.C. Laugh, pity, and relate to their outrageous stories. Mazel!
Nanny S: S has babysat for 2 families during her time here at AU. Her most recent gig was with a good old-fashioned nuclear family starring the lawyer dad, Jennifer Connelly look-a-like stay-at home-mom, and their three super smart kiddos. Jennifer Connelly doppelganger was the type of woman we all aspire to be, a post-3 kids size 2 donning True Religions and Hunter rain boots while picking the kids up from school. Very unlike the typical stay-at-home mom look of sweats and a bathrobe. S stated that her employers expected her to constantly provide stimulating activities for the children, essentially never leaving them to play independently.
S’s most unusual moment during her stint with the family happened one day at bath time. “The two older kids, Girl age 4 and Boy age 3, were taking a bath together-when all of a sudden Girl grabs Boy’s penis. When S asks Girl to stop, Girl says, “But I just want to feel it!” S says, “Keep your hands to yourself, Girl. If you want to touch your brother, touch his shoulder.” Jennifer Connelly doppelganger was watching the madness ensue in the bath, and began telling the story of a family friend whose children were having similar bath-related issues. “My friend’s little girl asked her mom, If pee comes out of my brother’s penis, does poop come out of my poopus?” My friend replied with “No, poop comes out of your anus.” S was shocked at the candor of Jennifer telling this story in front of the kids and of Jennifer’s friend’s response. The only words S had ever heard for that region of the body was tush or bum.
Nanny M: M has babysat for over six families- one of whom’s grandmother is Cokie Roberts: Emmy-award winning journalist and novelist. During her time as a nanny, M has gone above and beyond standard babysitting activities. The craziest of M’s missions was to travel to Whole Foods to buy Kale and fish oil for the mom’s crash diet. When she’s not carpooling kids, running errands, doing laundry or playing with the kids, M spends her time admiring and envying the Good Housekeeping-esque interior designs.
When M used to take the kids to tennis, she witnessed an interesting dynamic at the picnic tables. There was the Mom table and the Nanny table. “The tables were completely segregated based on relationship to the child, M said. All of the Moms were sitting there covered head-to-toe in designer clothes. While the Nanny table, consisted of Spanish speaking middle-aged women and a few other college students.
Nanny Z: Z is pretty new to babysitting here, and there are several things that she finds very different. The first is that the four kids she babysits for have had nannies their entire lives. Z also says that the parents are really uninvolved and barely know what is going on in their child’s lives. “When I come and babysit for the parent’s date nights, the kids don’t see their parents all day. It is really hard on the little girls.” Z also said that she had to inform the mom of a field trip occurring the next day.
Z also feels that her authority is very restricted. The parents want their children raised a certain way, but are not around to do it. The kids are getting mixed signals because there are so many adults in their lives and the nannies have no real power. This is a common occurrence in DC babysitting; as these are families the babysitters have not known their whole lives.
I, Nanny T, have had over 13 babysitting jobs while here in D.C. I can relate to all the experiences of the three previous nannies. I have babysat for some families that have me do errands and chores, some families were the parents don’t get home until 10 p.m., some families that allow their children to have 30 minutes of screen time a day (TV, computer, video games), and some families with crazy rules they read in a parenting book, but are flat out stupid. However, I have babysat for awesome families that love to spend time together, watch TV, and take vacations as a family.
Some may believe that D.C. is a town run by politicians and government employees. But while those politicians are running the country, AU students are running their households.