INA in the News
Nanny to the Rescue: Waltham's Top Nanny
to Help Out 'Nanny 911' Producers
By Christopher Moore/Tribune Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
WALTHAM -- For once, reality television
may have gotten it right.
Fox
Network's "Nanny 911," a show that pairs undisciplined families with strict
British nannies, has received high praise from Waltham's own expert on the
subject: Michelle LaRowe, the International Nanny Association 2004 Nanny
of the Year.
"We
all get together and watch it," said LaRowe, referring to her circle of nanny
friends. "It's the most accurate perception that the public has seen of a
nanny in a long time."
Though
LaRowe is not involved in the show, she is scheduled to attend a casting
call for its second season at the Cambridgeside Galleria Saturday from 11
a.m. to 4 p.m. She won't be picking out families who need the most help;
she'll be there to give pointers to parents interested in improving the care
of their children.
LaRowe
praises "Nanny 911" for portraying nannies as intelligent, capable professionals
-- not as glorified baby sitters, an assumption she said she often faces.
"Today's
professional nanny is an educated woman, sometimes a man, that has chosen
to work with children because they love it," said LaRowe. "We're child care
professionals. Some have a master's in education."
A
nanny to a Newton family, LaRowe works under a 50-hour-per-week contract,
even working overtime occasionally. She is intimately involved in the emotional
and cognitive development of the two boys for whom she cares.
"You're
there to be a team player in raising the children," she said. "Some parents
view it as having a co-parent."
LaRowe
will be addressing the benefits and misconceptions of nannies to parents
at Saturday's casting call. All families are welcome, whether or not they
are trying out for the show.
Despite
the realism of "Nanny 911," LaRowe cautioned parents not to expect life
to imitate art when it comes to hiring a nanny. There is one crucial
difference between television nannies and real nannies: "They go in for
a week and do what we do over a period of years," said LaRowe.
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