15 Things You Understand About Motherhood After Working As A Nanny

By

When you get a job as a full-time nanny, you are suddenly thrown into the crazy world of motherhood. You form a unique bond with a family and children, who you will find yourself referring to as “my kids”. You act as an understudy, filling in for the part of mommy or daddy when they aren’t available. From the messy and unpleasant to the beautiful and profound, you see every part of motherhood as a nanny. Regardless of your lack of biological children, you will feel as if you can relate to mothers. You will understand the things your mom always said and did when you were young, and you will be able to gauge your own capabilities as a potential future parent. Here are 15 aspects of motherhood you will understand after working as a nanny:

1. Transporting a sleeping child is harder than extreme Jenga.

One wrong breath and all your hard work comes tumbling down.

2. Getting a child to sleep or eat is sometimes the biggest achievement of your day.

The things you hold most dear, eating and sleeping, are merely inconveniences for children.

3. You can get used to others’ bodily functions very easily.

Having snot wiped on your sleeve, getting spit up on, and changing stinky diapers eventually become so routine, you won’t even bat an eye. Baby poop on your finger is not the end of the world.

4. It is very hard to refrain from talking about your kids while out with your friends.

Everything they do is adorable or hilarious to you, and you want to share. They are the most important part of your life, of course you’ll want to tell a million stories about them.

5. Children’s TV shows have declined in quality since the good old days of your childhood.

Peppa Pig and Bob the Builder are not nearly as wholesome and educational as Barney and Sesame Street.

6. A hug from your kid is sometimes all you need to completely turn your day around.

You can be stressed about a million things all at once, but when your kid squeezes you, everything else loses importance. Children have a unique way of knowing when you’re upset, even if they could not possibly understand what is on your mind.

7. It is very easy to become that adult that says “back in my day…”, because you’re suddenly exposed to just how different it is to be a kid nowadays.

As you watch five-year-olds navigate a tablet, you’ll have to contribute a story about how back in your day you played stickball outside because the iPad wasn’t even a twinkle in Steve Jobs’s eye yet.

8. You will come up with crazy expressions of anger, surprise, and excitement in order to avoid swearing in front of the kids.

Sometimes ridiculous phrases like “Oh, sugar monkeys!” escape your mouth and you have no idea where they came from…

9. Taking care of kids is a lot like the weekends you had in college.

Little to no sleep, a good deal of tears, and lots of vomit.

10. Physical possessions are not as important as you once thought.

If your kid is playing happily, is it really the end of the world he tore the new shirt he’ll outgrow in a few months? No. Physical possessions can be replaced, youth cannot.

11. No one ever means to say all the cliche mom things, they just come out.

One day I found myself saying “I can hear the TV just fine and your ears are 17 years younger than mine!” and that’s when I realized I had turned into a mom.

12. Kids want to be just like you, they emulate everything you do.

The easiest way to keep a kid calm is by remaining calm yourself.

13. Bill Cosby was right- kids really do say the darndest things.

Kid logic is the best. Children view everything with such simplicity, it’s smart to take pointers from them sometimes. Even if their advice isn’t always the most sound, it will certainly make you chuckle.

14. Taking care of children really is a full-time job, and deserves to be treated with the same respect.

It’s important, necessary, rewarding, and exhausting. Anyone who thinks that being a full-time mother or father is easy has clearly never had any experience in the area.

15. Watching a child learn, grow, and discover is the most rewarding thing you can ever do.

As a childcare provider, you will have a great influence on the children and they’ll have a great influence on you. You’ll learn just as much from them as they’ll learn from you.

Originally published here.