Thursday, June 14, 2007

Summer is here..hire a 'manny'!

Summer vacation has arrived at my house and the words "I'm bored" have already escaped my seven-year olds lips. To make matters worse, most of the schools in the area are still in session and none of the summer activities have started-not that it matters. My daughter has adamantly and steadfastly refused to go to camp for the summer. She wants a babysitter (of course, what she really wants is for me to spend the summer with her as her entertainment director-which just ain't gonna happen!). So, I got her a babysitter.

Back to the babysitter saga. I think I interviewed 15 or 20 college age girls. Not one of them was a 'doer'-someone who could keep a bright and energetic seven year old out of my office. They didn't bike, swim, play soccer. They didn't like board games, reading or going to the library. They did like to get their nails done and play inside. I was beginning to get discouraged. Would I ever find someone who would keep my child safe while keeping her busy?

Then along came Daniel. That's right, Daniel-a 21 year-old college student-and yes, he is male.
And yes, he is great!

When my mother heard the news she was aghast-'a boy, what is wrong with him that he wants to babysit.' She didn't seem to hear the part about his great references and that he was going into elementary school teaching. She could only focus on his sex! In her mind, boys should not be babysitters and if they were they must be pedophiles.

Talk about bias-or yet another 'ism' and right under my nose.

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