Back to the Start

Most everyone spends a good portion of his or her day simply deciding what to eat. Whether or not all people put much thought into this is debatable but still, choices must be made. As a nanny I am constantly thinking about what to feed G. It is a huge responsibility making sure you fill that little body with food that is both nutritional (important to me) and tastes good (very important to her). As long as a little thought is put into the process, I have found a balance is certainly attainable.

Before I became a nanny I spent many years building experience as a babysitter. It was my choice college job after a 6-month stint working behind the counter of Cold Stones. If I had continued any longer I surly would have developed carpel tunnel or at the least died of embarrassment from forced public singing. Anyway, my first job as a babysitter was to care for 1-year-old twins. You may think you read that incorrectly but it is true, a mother trusted me, an inexperienced, never changed a diaper in my life, 20 year old college student whom she didn’t know anything about, care for her twin babies. As it turned out I actually knew what I was doing however her poor choices only hindered every decision parenting deems you responsible for, which of course included feeding. The twin’s diet was designed solely around convenience, a.k.a. anything microwavable or prepared food available for sale within a 5-block radius. The twins and I became well known at several chains including Pizzeria Uno’s and Burger King. I can remember watching them cram Chicken Fries in their mouths and cringing at the thought that their growing bodies were being feed by…Chicken Fries. Not that I wasn’t familiar with fast food, just that is was a treat, not a staple. It all came to a head the night the twin’s mother turned around from the freezer to face me holding their dinner. Now I was used to feeding them frozen food but this time it was different, it was Hungry Man TV dinner. Very soon after she left I walked to the garbage shoot, tossed the meal, box and all and made dinner from scratch.

I will never forget this moment in particular as I learned my limit to what I will feed a child in good conscience. Overall, my first job as a babysitter was truly priceless. I gained an abundance of knowledge and I am forever grateful to the twin’s mother for “taking a chance on me” for I may not be where I am today without it.