COMMUNITY ESSAY : A Real Nanny Dilemma : Many caretakers have limited English skills. Will kids they watch fall behind?
Over the last two years, the hiring of undocumented workers as so-called nannies for the children of the well-to-do has caused scandals and sidelined political careers. While debate continues over the ethical and moral implications of paying these workers under the table and avoiding the taxes that other American employers are required to pay, another and perhaps more vital issue is being overlooked: the welfare of the children under the care of these workers.
As a mother (of a 3 1/2-year-old) who works approximately 30 hours a week, I rely on a baby-sitter to care for my child when I am away from home. In choosing a caretaker, it was of vital importance to me that that person be a legal resident of the U.S., have proper training, education, experience, a love of children and speak fluent English, the primary language spoken in the United States.
In the well-to-do neighborhood in which I live, most of the children are cared for by Spanish-speaking nannies whose English skills are severely limited or sometimes nonexistent. I have heard one or two parents boast that the first word their child learned was agua, Spanish for water. These caretakers are not able to read a storybook to the children, hence, television becomes their medium of entertainment.
The nanny of the past--in Britain primarily--was schooled in the traditions of her culture and often possessed a level of education that approached that of the children’s parents. The nanny’s job was as much to educate the children and to prepare them for their place in society as it was to love them, play with them, bond with them and take care of their basic physical needs.
The nannies of today often, like classical nannies, spend more time with the child during waking hours than the parents do, and may care lovingly for them. But one can only wonder what the social, educational and societal impact will be when our children’s primary daily contact is with an adult who can communicate only in a foreign language and from the viewpoint of a foreign culture.
The parents of these children are vocal in their belief that it is a great advantage, that their children will grow up to be bilingual, when many of them already seem to me to be lagging in learning proper English.
Is multiculturalism the goal of these parents, or is it really to save a little money on baby-sitting? Parents who have a choice should wake up and make the necessary sacrifices to invest in their children, who represent America’s future.