A nanny can make a big difference

One morning Eloisa fed her 14-month-old client child strapped into his stroller. I considered her one of the most well-qualified nannies because she exhibited both warmth and intelligence. She spoke good English and had taught herself a few words in several other languages: Japanese, Arabic, and was currently reading the Bible in Hebrew. Raised a Catholic, she now practiced Judaism. She had also sampled the Church of Latter Day Saints upon arriving in the US. I asked how she prepared for this job? To my surprise Eloisa had never been a caregiver for children as young as the three boys in this family. She had three children of her own, ages 25, 23, and 12, and simply applied her good judgment. When she first started working for the boy's family, he did not talk at all. The previous babysitter never took him to the park, and instead induced sleep by driving him around in a carseat for hours. She neglected to teach him how to talk or repeat words with him, Eloisa explained. She felt his full-time working mother did not talk or teach him either. When the mother spoke, she gave commands as opposed to making conversation, or teaching through gentle repetition. "I teach him to speak [by repeating,]" she says. English or Spanish I ask. "Both." During my year of research in the park, the boy blossomed from quiet and unsociable to confident and relaxed, and Eloisa got a raise. Her self-instruction indicates that Eloisa aspires to much more than babysitting. But in the end fulfillment came from the boy's progress. Nannies and mothers share similar goals.