Soo..., after having our after-school sitter for our boys for a bit, her schedule changed and we had to find someone else. We decided to go with a manny (male nanny), because for one thing we had a manny apply! While he was not able to stay with us long unfortunately, it was a very interesting experiment!
The dynamic between the boys and our manny was different than between them and our female sitters. For one thing, the play time was much more rough and tumble. More fighting and wrestling, jumping and punching.
When they were not fighting with him, he was less likely to intervene if they were roughhousing with each other. The female sitters would have stepped in much earlier. You may see this dynamic in your own household when Dad is in charge vs Mom or if parents have two different parenting styles.
They also interacted with him differently - they saw him more like a buddy rather than someone they had to listen to and respect, so that made his job a wee bit challenging. He had to work a bit harder to enforce discipline. Even when it came to complaining, it was different. For example, our little one gets into his moods sometimes where he gets whiny, over everything. With the manny, he was less so than with the female sitters. Again, you may see this dynamic in your own household where one parent gets all the whining and crying.
Finally, when it came to communication, think about how it is getting information from your husband or son or brother. So compared to the female sitters, who would very willingly tell me about the kids' days, what they ate, how they behaved etc. with my manny, I had to be more explicit and ask specific questions. Not a big issue, but certainly something I need to keep in mind.
In the end, we are not opposed to having a manny for the boys, if it works out, and the boys sure do love having another "playmate".
The dynamic between the boys and our manny was different than between them and our female sitters. For one thing, the play time was much more rough and tumble. More fighting and wrestling, jumping and punching.
When they were not fighting with him, he was less likely to intervene if they were roughhousing with each other. The female sitters would have stepped in much earlier. You may see this dynamic in your own household when Dad is in charge vs Mom or if parents have two different parenting styles.
They also interacted with him differently - they saw him more like a buddy rather than someone they had to listen to and respect, so that made his job a wee bit challenging. He had to work a bit harder to enforce discipline. Even when it came to complaining, it was different. For example, our little one gets into his moods sometimes where he gets whiny, over everything. With the manny, he was less so than with the female sitters. Again, you may see this dynamic in your own household where one parent gets all the whining and crying.
Finally, when it came to communication, think about how it is getting information from your husband or son or brother. So compared to the female sitters, who would very willingly tell me about the kids' days, what they ate, how they behaved etc. with my manny, I had to be more explicit and ask specific questions. Not a big issue, but certainly something I need to keep in mind.
In the end, we are not opposed to having a manny for the boys, if it works out, and the boys sure do love having another "playmate".
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