Any time I think about having children (Imani and Yusef) I always assume that they will go to a daycare while I am working. I have never given any consideration to hiring a nanny…..at least not until I read this article this morning.

Nanny Hunt Can Be a ‘Slap in the Face’ for Blacks

My first thought was “Oh great. The Times is at it again.” Especially with lines such as

“interviews with dozens of nannies and agencies that employ them in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Houston turned up many nannies — often of African-American or Caribbean descent themselves — who avoid working for families of those backgrounds. Their reasons included accusations of low pay and extra work, fears that employers would look down at them, and suspicion that any neighborhood inhabited by blacks had to be unsafe.”

But I read the article and gave it a fair chance to throw me off with blatent racist remarks before I posted about it. Compared to my last Times experience I didn’t walk away wanting to blast the author. While the article is definitely filled with ignorance, it’s not hers. So my questions are 1) Will it be as difficult as they make it seem for ME to hire a nanny when the time comes? 2) Can I really blame someone for not wanting to service a particular area when the news is full of stories about violence in those areas? Hell I don’t live in certain areas for that same reason. 3) Will I be one of those African Americans who is prejudiced against hiring a nanny that is the same color as me because oh her language skills like they mentioned in the article? Or will I want another sista who will understand my daughter’s hair? I’m sure that is something that I would take into consideration at some point.

I have always worried about my children becoming too close to the nanny and that was my reasoning for automatically assuming that we would go the daycare route.

What do you think?