Bite Me!…No, Wait! Don’t!

Posted: October 9, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Edward Cullen of Twilight. You’re welcome, moms.

I understand the long-standing allure of the vampire as a mythical creature (I’m a huge fan of Anne Rice), and the resurgence of vampires in pop culture by way of literary franchises such as Twilight and True Blood (both the brainchilds of female authors, gotta love that!), comes as no surprise to me. It’s an attractive premise-the idea of immortality, strength, power, passion, and the lifestyle it affords: late nights, sleeping the day away, no grocery shopping -hey, being a vampire sounds good to me! However, there is one aspect of the vampire legend that gives me major pause (pause, Team Jacob, not paws) and that is the whole biting part. As a Supernanny, one of the issues I run into occasionally is kiddos “turning” into biters. Now, it’s my duty to break them of this habit during my time with them, hopefully preventing it from happening in my absence. Read the rest of this entry »

Get Your Role On!

Posted: September 4, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Now in my sixth year of nanny life, I’m on a regimented rotation with several families, however in the whole of my nannying thus far, I have had commitments spanning from exclusivity with a single family, to juggling up to five on a regular schedule. Each family has a different dynamic -different number of children, range of ages, spectrum of childcare needs- and so I adapt my Miss Cheryl persona per house accordingly. I walk in the door, ready and in character! Lines memorized, no second takes. Read the rest of this entry »

Oh, sNAP!

Posted: June 4, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Miss Cheryl, Tales, Tips | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

In almost every household in which I have nannied—whether long-term, short-term, or just sporadically—naptime is inevitably an issue. Every child is different, and so the siesta spectrum is a broad one. Some children are getting to an age when they can refuse naptime as a matter of principle, some are seemingly psychotic in their sluggish behavior leading up to naptime then sudden burst of energy once in crib—the individual issues are infinite!

As to the aforementioned blatant nap-refusers, I have seen my fair share. In my experience, the just-saying-no-to-naps (JSNTN) demographic seems to be 2.5 to 4-year-olds. Doc, pint-sized Read the rest of this entry »