• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

Can a Childcare Know-It-All Actually Know it All?

February 17, 2011 by Heather Ames Berkowitz Leave a Comment

I am constantly meeting and interviewing Nannies. It’s a favorite part of what I do, in no small measure because I too was a Nanny, for many years. So just the other day, I’m interviewing a Nanny who, after ten years with her current family, is leaving. When I asked why, she replied, “Well, the kids are older now, and they’re self-sufficient, which is nice.” We discussed those ten years she spent with the family as she helped raise the children, and we got to talking, Nanny-to-Nanny, about caring for infants, and how, in just ten years, so much has changed: everything from which way the car-seat faces to how long we let a baby cry it out – even when to introduce peanuts!

Of course, we’re all well aware that there are no hard and fast rules to raising children; there’s no “instruction manual,” as the old joke goes. But doesn’t it seem like no matter which parenting styles and techniques we’ve embraced as a Mom or Dad, Nanny or Caregiver, there’s always someone, usually an expert, ready to refute it? Maybe you saw it on your favorite website, or on Oprah, or on Oprah’s favorite website. There are always going to be new studies with new data and new guidelines. Remember those “studies” that linked MMR vaccines to Autism? Or, did you know that, only fifty years ago, well-respected pediatricians instructed parents to actually “sun” their babies, believing that it was healthy! Today, we know that a severe sunburn is not only unhealthy and dangerous – it can also be considered neglectful.

If you’re anything like me, what’s most frustrating is that we won’t ever know it all. No matter how many years you’ve worked, no matter how many kids you’ve raised, no matter how many articles you’ve read or workshops you’ve taken – no one knows it all, not even Dr. Spock, and certainly not your chatty neighbor with the 8 “perfect” grandkids. Childcare is not finite and unchanging. Just as children are always – always – growing, changing, and evolving – so too is childcare; it changes and evolves, much like our children. And, lest we think it’s only the children who are growing, changing, and evolving – we do too. We also grow, change, and evolve; we do it with our children, we do it because of our children – and most of all, we do it for our children.

No one ever claimed raising a child was easy. But whether we’re that child’s Mom or Dad or Nanny, one thing is certain: as their caregivers, we need to trust our instincts. We need to read and study, to ask and listen, to try and try again.

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About Heather Ames Berkowitz

Heather is a seasoned, career nanny with over fifteen years experience in the Southern California area. Ten of those years were spent with a high-profile family with whom she remains very close. She holds a BA in Early Childhood Development from California State University at Northridge, and is the Co-Founder of Classic Nannies, a 100% female-owned nanny referral agency. Heather is devoted to establishing loyal and long-standing relationships between selectively chosen nannies and the families who deserve them. Countless families have benefited from Heathers experience, education, and dedication; now you can too! Modern Moms receive a special discount on all placements. Heather Berkowitz
Co-founder and Family Consultant
www.classicnannies.com

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Search

ModernMom Boutique

ModernMom TV

Featured

20 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Had Kids

After seeing and holding the newest member of our family … [Read More...] about 20 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Had Kids

Must Have

winter

Pre-Holiday Must-Haves

"It's beginning to look  a lot like Christmas..." The … [Read More...] about Pre-Holiday Must-Haves

Did you know?

Freeze Cooked & Smoked Ham

How to Freeze Cooked & Smoked Ham

Symptoms of Pregnancy If HCG Injection Is Taken

How to Break Your Water at Home When Pregnant

How to Break Your Water at Home When Pregnant

basal temperature as sign of pregnancy

Basal Temperature As Sign of Pregnancy

10 foods to improve sperm count and quality

10 Foods to Improve Sperm Count and Quality

How to Help Young Kids Lose Weight

Child Too Big for a Toddler Bed

When Is a Child Too Big for a Toddler Bed?

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2021 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.