Confessions of a Substitute Mommy

When did parenting become throwing your child into the arms of a nanny?

I have potty trained toddlers. I have taught children their numbers and their ABC's. I have taken children to the zoo to see monkeys for the first time. I have bandaged scraped knees, I have soothed bruised egos, I have taught children how to swim. I have witnessed the transformation of a bumbling 1 year old to a jibber-jabbering curly-haired three year old. I have seen the obsession transition from pirates to legos to matchbox cars to science experiments to soccer. I have taught siblings that pulling hair, pushing, and calling your sister a "poo-poo face" is not appropriate. Who am I? I'm not the mother. I am the nanny.

Parents cannot have the best of both worlds. Dad cannot have a full-time/over-time fulfilling ladder-climbing career while Mom has a full-time/over-time fulfilling ladder-climbing career and still adequately pour into the lives of their children and give them the love that they deserve.

Not to mention the fact that many times when both parents work outside of the home, the cost of taxes and childcare eat away at the second additional income. The second income then becomes just about the individual's fulfillment and purpose rather than the money. I understand that, but staying at home and raising children is equally if not more fulfilling than working outside the home. I know that many will disagree, but would you rather the "hired help" witness your baby's first steps instead of you? Would you rather your child accidentally call the nanny "mommy" occasionally and forget who actually runs the household?

I wouldn't.

Confessions of a Bachelor's Degree Holder

I have spent over five years as a child care provider and see myself doing it for at least another year or two. I always saw myself being a nanny, babysitter, family assistant, or nursery worker, only for as long as I needed to. But in this economy, it seems like a Bachelor's Degree, international and volunteer experience, and additional teaching certifications does not land you in the job you want. Thus, grad school looms. When I attend friend's bachelor's degree graduations, inside I feel a pang of sadness and a bit of cynicism. I see these bright, shining smiles, full of hope and expectation and I realize they don't see the next few days, months, years of job searching, of employers telling you you don't have enough experience, of bills looming and your job as a barista just not cutting it.

Society and the education system don't really tell us of the horrors that await after graduation. If you aren't in a super "high-demand" field like engineering, computer sciences, or medicine, it seems like you are destined to work as a nanny, barista, mall kiosk attendant or landscaper until you hit the end of your rope and cave in to graduate school, some other technical school or just jump ship and teach English overseas. Ok, I know, I am making massive generalizations here, but coming from my experience, and many others like me, getting a BA (in addition to thousands of dollars in school loans) doesn't necessarily bolster you up for success. Employers want experience. How do you get experience? BY GETTING A JOB. How can you get a job? By getting experience. You sense where I am going here.

I don't have an answer to this conundrum. Something needs to change. Schools need to stop spewing out 10x more teaching degree graduates than there are jobs. Schools need to analyze the reality of the market. Adequate, even excellent education doesn't necessarily give you the upper hand anymore.  Tuition needs to be less. Employers need to give graduates a fighting chance.