Supernanny Icon: Annie Braddock

Posted: May 28, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Supernanny Icons, Tales | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

nanny

Although I made it clear in my inaugural post that this blog “ain’t no Nanny Diaries,” I can’t help but think of that book (by authors, and former NYC nannies, Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus), and subsequent film (starring Scarlet Johanssen and Laura Linney) when deciding on my next Supernanny Icon, Annie Braddock. Read the rest of this entry »

Supernanny Icon: Jessa Johansson

Posted: November 13, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Supernanny Icons | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jessa Johansson

Now, today’s series spotlight choice, Jessa Johansson, may come as a surprise to any of y’all who are familiar with this character on HBO’s Girls. Jessa (played by the luminous Jemima Kirke) is unreliable, curses, loses the kiddos at one point, and ends up having an inappropriate flirtation with the father of her charges (I won’t even get into the debauchery of her off-duty shenanigans, though if you’re a fan of the show, you already well know!). So, no, she is not an obvious candidate for Supernanny Icon status, (In all honesty, she’s not even someone I would refer as a nannying contact.) but hear me out, as there are traits of hers that I find to be: at the most admirable, and at the least amusing. Read the rest of this entry »

Supernanny Icon: Fräulein Maria

Posted: September 28, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Supernanny Icons, Tales, Tunes, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

There are so many inspiring things about my job. For me, nannying is more of a calling, which brings to mind the story of a certain Supernanny, Fräulein Maria, who also found her true calling to be with a family who -until she entered their lives- had been estranged from one another. Maria’s effect on the children and their father, Captain Von Trapp is a bonding one, her sweetness and song uniting them together; the emotional climax of the film happening when the Captain hears his children singing and, overcome with his long repressed love for them, and surmounting his fears about being a father, joins them in song. Read the rest of this entry »

Supernanny Icon: Aibileen Clark

Posted: September 18, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Supernanny Icons, Tales, Tips | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Children, on an almost universal level, are always seeking some kind of approval. Some are hoping to feel treasured, others to feel smart, still others to feel that they are a good little person. Some want to be all three, some would be happy for any praise sent in their direction. Welp, enter Miss Cheryl. I am monumentally magnanimous when it coms to doling out accolades on my charges. I praise them to help establish their self-confidence, but mostly I pay them compliments because they are true. Watching The Help, and acknowledging its clearly problematic emphasis on white people capitalizing on black stories, I was so moved on a professional level, by the relationship between Viola Davis’s Aibileen Clark and her charge, Mae Mobley whom she calls “Baby Girl”. In every scene with Mae Mobley, Aibileen’s whole body language changes, into a mode of care and comfort. She’s definitely a Supernanny!  Read the rest of this entry »

Good Nanny vs. Supernanny

Posted: May 22, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Supernanny Icons, Tales, Tips | Tags: , , | 3 Comments

Once people find out I’m a nanny for hire, they are always very interested in my schedule, my accountability, the children’s ages…tons of questions. And I’m happy to answer any and all. It’s important to me to get the word out that nannying is not exclusively performed by Au Pairs to the rich and estranged, the uneducated who have no other job options, or sleepy geriatrics. There are a growing number of college-educated, bright, funny, sweet young women who are choosing to be a nanny above pursuing another profession. I most certainly am one of them. I have never ended up making a resumé because, once I started nannying, a year and half before graduating college, I never looked back.

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