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[quote=Anonymous]I've read a lot about nannies and the love they feel for their charges on these forums, talking about how they care for the kids like their own and how they would die for them, the scorn given to those who admit to only extremely liking their charges. Honestly, it gets me a bit concerned.

I am a nanny and I do not love my two charges. I don't feel badly saying so; they are often rude and annoying and make my work day much less pleasant than it could otherwise be. The eldest takes great joy in being snotty and disrespectful and the youngest throws violent tantrums that he is much too old for because his parents feed into them. If I were a 50 hour/wk nanny I would likely be able to curb this behavior, but as a part-time employee I must simply make do.

Even though I do not love my charges, and in fact don't like them very much some of the time, I am still a wonderful nanny. How can this be possible? Because I am a professional. I have buckets full of patience, endless praise for positive behavior, the inexplicable ability to pull out the fun sillies and make up games at a moment's notice, and the child development training to properly work through behavioral issues as they crop up rather than mindlessly yelling or shaming them.

I would be worried if I loved these children as much as some nannies say they do theirs. Strong emotional bonds can easily cloud judgment, causing nannies to stay in horrible employment situations due to their "not wanting to leave the kids" and at times even causing one to forget who the parent really is. Now I'll admit, when working with infants and very young children, I can end up loving quite easily. It's different with school children, and I believe that is perfectly fine. They are at school every day with teachers who do not love them, yet provide them (hopefully) excellent care and support. They are with their parents in the evenings and on the weekends and are by no means starved for love.

I read ads on the internet from parents hoping to find nannies who are looking for work out of pure love for children, rather than a paycheck. This is completely absurd. I chose this field because in general I enjoy spending my time with children, exploring the world and learning together, more than nearly anything else. A chef enjoys cooking more than anything else, prompting her to become a chef. It is still a job, so why should it ever be more to me than that? I'm an adult and I have bills to pay, so I need to work; the point is to pick work that fulfills you. As long as a nanny is fulfilled and mostly enjoying her job, assuming she's also good at what she does, the subject of 'love' is completely arbitrary.[/quote]

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