PP, its not your nanny, so it should be none of your concern...
Seriously though, "compelled to say something"?? What exactly did OP, or any of the women who post anonymously on the internet about nannies they don't like, think they would accomplish?

PP, I am the one who asked OP to reconsider it where the caregiver was clearly the mother.

I understand what you're saying but you've taken my questions to a place I really never did (nor intended them to go). The point is simply that if this wouldn't have seemed strange were the adult and child of the same race, it probably isn't a big deal. Professional caregivers are of course held to different standards than parents, and I did say that it didn't sound ideal, but it also doesn't sound from OPs post like something that really matters. Maybe the nanny is in school and preparing for a final exam, maybe she had a ton of issues to handle with her credit card or health insurance, maybe this single hour of attentive-but-not-quite-engaged care isn't enough to justify a public complaint. That's all I'm saying.

It's none of your concern, PP's, unless this is your nanny. If not, then don't comment if it bothers you so much that you're going to talk negatively about the OP and her post. It doesn't matter if YOU think it's neglect--all that matters is OP thought something seemed 'off' for the nanny to be so distracted like that, and felt compelled to say something here, just in case.

Maybe the parents have already talked to the nanny about being more hands-on, maybe they don't know she is doing other work while watching baby, maybe a lot of other scenarios.....again, if it's not YOUR nanny, why bother commenting??

Also, to the PP comparing her actions to those of a mom's: that's a moot point, really. If it WAS the mom (which I'm not saying couldn't have been the case, it could have), then so what? Nannies are not held to the same standard as moms are to their own children. With a mom's presence, you can almost always be confident of an inherent unconditional love that's there for the child (in most cases, obviously not all). Therefore, even on slightly distracted days where she is not fully present, we know the baby/child will be cared for. In some cases, yes, the mom's parenting skills are horrible and the child could benefit from more interaction/love/help/etc. But unless it's outright abuse, we can't do anything about that. However, with a nanny, we can! She can get fired and the parents can find a better childcare provider. In other 'nanny' cases where it's NOT outright abuse and there are behaviors present that are acceptable occasionally for a parent but not for a nanny, we DON'T know if that's the worst it gets or if the nanny's neglect turns into actual abuse when no one's around--hence, the importance of calling it to attention if one feels so compelled to do so.

I can't even start with these "bad nanny" sightings. OP, you know nothing about the circumstances of this nanny's employment or the needs of her charge. And really, you sat at Starbucks for an hour creeping on someone else?

Op, you sound like a busy body who was spending a little too much time profiling this nanny (who could have very well been his mother).

OP I guess my question to you is... if you had thought this woman was the child's mother would you have felt like she was neglecting him? Not burping the baby isn't ideal, but maybe there's a reason for that. Going an hour without picking up a 3mo is also not crazy, especially if the child isn't in distress. So, would this have seemed strange and neglectful if she'd been white (or if the baby had been black)?

^^ This is uncanny. Was the nanny wearing a blue and white skirt and white top? I was in that exact location at about the same time this AM. The description, nanny and baby, is exactly what I saw walking down Western. I was also at Starbucks, but didn't see her and the baby (if this is one and the same). Anyways, if this is the same thing, baby is fine. I could make out the face as I drove by. Eyes open, seemed content. If this is the same situation, I'm playing powerball!!!

This is the OP. The not picking up to feed and burp was what bothered me the most. If you have one baby to watch you can definitely hold him to feed and burp him. And honestly the fact that the baby really seemed like a second thought. Like I said she had her laptop out with papers and when she wasn't on the phone, she was working on her laptop or texting. When she got off her second call I thought to myself "oh now she's going to pick up the baby" and she just went back to her laptop. It was almost like someone who was working another job and had the baby there. Maybe the parents know and don't care. But it would bother me if that much time went by like that. My former nanny would take calls too but this just seemed different.

About French speaking African countries - yes there are a number of countries in Africa that speak French like Benin and Comoros, Senegal, and Mali.

Sorry I couldn't give more details. I was hoping the car seat with the green shade would help given the other details. The stroller was of the snap n go variety. I could see one of the Aiden and Anais blankets on the baby but I also realize those are very generic as well.

Anonymous wrote:PP many places in Northern Africa were once French colonies, there are plenty of French-speaking Africans.

OP, it does sound like maybe you're being a little uptight though. I mean, it's a 3 month old... how much can she really do with him? If she's feeding him and rocking the car seat then she's not exactly ignoring him, even if you would be (or would want your nanny to be) a little more hands-on.

+1 though he should have been burped, and I'd rather her be talking to the baby not on the phone, but it seems no great harm was done.

A three month old definately should have been picked up to be burped. -Nanny

PP many places in Northern Africa were once French colonies, there are plenty of French-speaking Africans.

OP, it does sound like maybe you're being a little uptight though. I mean, it's a 3 month old... how much can she really do with him? If she's feeding him and rocking the car seat then she's not exactly ignoring him, even if you would be (or would want your nanny to be) a little more hands-on.

French speaking African? Do you mean Haitian or a French person who happens to be black? Do they speak French in Africa? I thought South Africans spoke English and native languages or Arabic if they were from northern Africa?

I know this sounds like a stupid question but since you can't identity any other characteristics or features this woman's language is very important. In Haiti they speak a different Dialect of French.

Nanny was young-looking and black. Since she was French speaking I would guess French speaking African? I couldn't see the baby as he was in his car seat the entire time but when I left I tried to sneak a peak. The baby was caucasian, probably a boy, with a bald head. Baby was small so maybe 3 months? I am not sure if it's a boy though. Sorry I couldn't get more of a description of the baby. Family uses Dr. Brown's bottles and the car seat had a green shade. This was in the Friendship Heights Chevy Chase pavilion.

The situation really bothered me and for a while I couldn't tell if I was being too uptight. And maybe I am but I had a nanny for my older son and I feel like I would be incredibly upset if this was my nanny. When the baby fussed, she just rocked him in the seat. She rarely engaged him at all and spent her time texting, emailing, or calling other people. The bottle feeding from the car seat would really bother me too, especially since she didn't pick him up to burp at all.

Please provide some sort of discription of the woman and the child. Thanks.

A nanny hanging out at the Starbucks in the Chevy Chase Pavilion in Friendship heights...in the last hour hasn't gotten off the phone or computer. French speaking nanny. She's just fed the baby from the car seat and didn't pick the child up at all to burb or anything. And now the baby is fussing and she's texting and just rocking the car seat. I would be fuming if this was my nanny. The car seat looks like a chicco brand with a green shade.