'The nurse must be adaptable, for it is not an easy thing to thrive in other people's houses; she must be discreet and never repeat to others what she hears; tactful with relatives and visitors, considerate to servants, immaculate in her personal appearance...' So went one description of a nanny's job which was published in Nursery World in 1925. In another issue in 1936 a nanny wrote, 'My charge would wake up every night and cry, sometimes for hours. Then one night, instead of petting her, I gave her a smacking. She was very quiet. So every night after that when she woke up and cried, I smacked her. At the end of three weeks, I found I had nights of undisturbed rest.' So, which one do you recognise? The changing picture of nannying past to present is one of the many views revealed in the upcoming 80th anniversary issue of Nursery World - make sure you get your copy on 8 December.
'The nurse must be adaptable, for it is not an easy thing to thrive in other people's houses; she must be discreet and never repeat to others what she hears; tactful with relatives and visitors, considerate to servants, immaculate in her personal appearance...' So went one description of a nanny's job which was published in Nursery World in 1925. In another issue in 1936 a nanny wrote, 'My charge would wake up every night and cry, sometimes for hours. Then one night, instead of petting her, I gave her a smacking. She was very quiet. So every night after that when she woke up and cried, I smacked her. At the end of three weeks, I found I had nights of undisturbed rest.'
So, which one do you recognise? The changing picture of nannying past to present is one of the many views revealed in the upcoming 80th anniversary issue of Nursery World - make sure you get your copy on 8 December.
