A horrible, terrible, lousy, rotten, yucky no-good day

(edited from initial posting...)

Yesterday was a dull, cloudy, rainy day. It was also a PD Day, so the kids were home from school with Nanny. In the hope that it would provide some small thing to look forward to, I gave Nanny a few dollars and told children that in the afternoon they could bike or scooter to Timmy’s for a treat, and check out the playground across the road. (Button: “But it’s full of snow!” Me: “The snow is probably almost all gone by now. It’ll be a bit wet and messy, but you can still have fun.”) I also left a list of “jobs” – reading and typing for Mustang, some Kindergarten workbook pages and “reading” for Button. Even so, I left the house at 8:40 with a heavy heart, fearing the day might not go well.

It went far worse than I might have imagined. Over the course of the morning I got several phone calls from the kids, indicating that things were not going at all well. Nanny was not in control.

When I walked into the house at 5:00, the children were at the computer - looking at some very inappropriate material, accessed by random clicks from my home page - and had been for (according to Mustang) “three hours” (likely more). Nanny had tried to get them to stop but they wouldn’t listen. (Hello?? If they don't listen to me when I tell them to turn the computer off, I just reach over and press the off switch. It's really quite simple...) Their jobs were less than half complete.

At the supper table everyone was upset. Nanny confessed her impotence (“I know it is my responsibility to get them to do their jobs, but they won’t listen to me.”) I informed the kids of my decision to put a password on the computer that I won't give to Nanny, so they won't be able to access it unless I'm home. Everyone felt and acted miserable.

After supper, I took Nanny aside for a talk.I suggested that it would be best if she tried to find another employer – Mustang needs a strong personality to handle her, I need someone with a strong personality to deal with Mustang. (Nanny is very quiet and does not convey authority.) I told Nanny I do appreciate the housework and cooking she does, but that what really matters is being able to handle the children. It would be best for all concerned if she were to find another employer and I find another Nanny. I suggested to her that if she is going to work with children, it would be best to care for infants, or find someone with quiet, compliant kids. Or else see if she can find a position caring for an elderly person.

So why has it come to this head? In my opinion, it boils down to the fact that Nanny has been unable to establish any kind of a real relationship with Mustang. (She gets along well enough with Button, but Mustang is a horse of a different colour. (Pun intended!)) Failing that, Mustang feels no need to obey Nanny, and Nanny can't seem to find any way to get through to Mustang that she should.

I have long felt that, while Nanny might be okay with the kids during the school year, when Mustang just has a couple of hours with her, I could never leave her in charge during the summer holidays, when she'd have to keep them entertained and in line for the whole day, five days a week. This has now been conclusively proven.

Anyhow, the rest of the evening was spent getting the kids to do the work that they didn’t do during the day. No swimming, no movie (our traditional Friday evening activities).And, as a consequence for the misbehaviour and disobedience to Nanny - since a large part of it centred around computer use - not only will my computer be password protected, I will enforce NO computer for a month (other than Mustang’s doing her brain exercises – more on that later). AND no movies or TV for a month. They will have to find other ways to entertain themselves.

And I think I’m going to have to cut my other musings short, as I just heard a big bump from upstairs, signifying that kids are getting out of bed.