Park Slope Nannies Tell It Like It Is

Photo via Prospect: A Year in the ParkThanks to the success of the film The Help, nannies are a hot topic. If you’re a Huffington Post journalist looking to write an article about today’s minority women hired by rich white folk to take care of their oh-so-special-and-unique children, there’s only one place to go for interviews: PARK FUCKING SLOPE.

When I grew up in Park Slope there were nannies -- You couldn’t blame a tourist for wandering into PS on a weekday and assuming it was the center of a white baby black market (though there were also plenty of grandmas and latch key kids).

The Help glorifies the job of caring for rich people’s kids -- while pursuing your own dreams! -- but Park Slope nannies beg to differ. To paraphrase them in the Huffpo article: “It’s just a job and not one that pays particularly well. The only ‘benefits’ are not having to bathe the filthy bastards because mommies consider that bonding time.”

The real tragedy is how unlikely these women are to ever actually achieve their goals. The grueling hours and round-the-clock availability expected of them leave barely enough time to care for their own families let alone their personal passions. "I didn't come here expecting I would work as a nanny, says one of the nannies interviewed. "I thought I might be a teacher or a nurse." These days she can’t even make the time to catch the aforementioned movie that her employers will probably see to convince themselves they’re helping, not stiffing, her. 

But look on the bright side: by not going to see The Help the nanny won’t have to spend a whole hour’s pay on a $12 movie ticket. Now if only they’d stop asking her to take their Coop shift.