An
alert reader, found this excellent
piece in the Daily Telegraph by British reporter
Sarah Ebner on male
nannies or
mannys. She interviews Holly Peterson's for her book The Manny
due for American release in a few months. Peterson (who has 3 children) notes "Boys play differently to women,
the nanny is more of a
comforter, while the manny is a 'throw me across the room' kind of guy. They
fool around, play football and are happy to run around and around the
park.'' Of course we knew this all along, in an old
At-Home Dad Newsletter article I wrote
10 years ago daycare daddy John Wise said "The only structure around here is snack, nap and lunch
time." Wise calls it the "rhythm method". "Why would you
want to break that rhythm by forcing another activity when everything is fine.
If things are running smoothly we will continue with it as long as the kids are
enjoying it." 2 other day care daddies I interviewed for the same
story had a similar "let the kids run around" style.
We can thank Britney Spears (and her Fed-ex) for sticking this whole manny issue into the limelight last year, but an interesting stat may reflect the true public opionion. In an online survey from a Tinies Nanny Agency quiz it was revealed that four fifths of mothers would feel threatened by a female nanny, but only half of the dads felt the same threat.
Posting on the manny story in the message board last week "Carlos" wrote:
"Careers have been more important for a long time.. take a look at the before school
program that includes breakfast. or the after school "latch key"
programs. it seems that most of America would rather "farm out"
time with their kids. The saddest part is that most of the time the second
parent is working and earns just enough to pay for the new cars in the driveway,
and day care expenses. I even know a few stay at home parents that send
their kids to day care 5 days a week....(so they can have a break)....does that
qualify as a stay a home parent? or is it skipping out on the kids and perusing
laziness as a career? I think it's about time
that The "Manny" gets some attention. I'm waiting for the debut of
"Super Manny"....
Updated: Thursday, 22 February 2007 9:14 AM EST
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