Category: Observations

As a kid, did you ever have that experience of grabbing your mom’s leg only to realize that it wasn’t her leg? In fact, it was actually some other lady’s leg and now she (and your mom) are laughing at you…

Well, this has been happening to me constantly lately, except in reverse and not at all in the same way.

You see, I’m Filipino by ancestry. (American by birth. White by assimilation.)

I’m short, brown, young(…ish), and usually dress down when I’m out and about… and because of this I’m commonly mistaken for the NANNY.

I’ll be spotting my son on the monkey bars when suddenly random children will run  up to me demanding a snack… or to tattle… or to ask permission to go down the slide…

I just smile and point them in the direction of their real nanny, who is usually sitting on her rear at the faaaaaaar side of the playground chatting on her cell phone and totally oblivious to the fact that I could have sold her little meal tickets into child slavery by now.

(A bit dark, I know but seriously… Mom and Dad? Did you even bother to check her references?)

I get it. I get it. Mommy is blond and goes to work. Nanny is… umm, ethnic and goes to the park, but I sometimes I just want to say…

“Hey Kid, just because I’m BROWN, doesn’t mean I’m here to do something for YOU…”

(Stupid UPS)

At least, no one has tried to lure me with a promise of a fat salary, room and board, and a greencard  in exchange for “jumping ship”, but I know it’s coming any day now…

(By the way, that picture looks remarkably like me doesn’t it? I found it by Goggling “nanny”. I am NOT amused…)

As usual, we got completely off topic at book club the other night and ended up discussing parenting. Not a total surprise as this is a book club associated with the local moms’ group I just joined (but more on that later…)

Someone brought up the Duggar Family and I brought up liking their show on TLC, “18 Kids and Counting”.

There. I said it. I like watching the Duggar family.

Okay so they have a crazy number of kids, but they also seem like a genuinely happy and faith-filled family. The parents have done a great job instilling their kids with a strong set of values, and they “practice what they preach”… so to speak. (You can read their “house guidelines” here).

As a practicing Catholic raising my children within a similar set of morals and beliefs, I happen to admire this about them. I only hope my kids turn out as well-mannered, respectful, and kind as theirs seem to be.

And sometimes it’s just nice to see watch something lighthearted and fluffy at the end of the day…

Well, one of the other moms could not have disagreed with me more, stating that she’s interested in the Duggars’ parenting book, but finds their religious fervor “creepy”…

“Did you know that they don’t let their kids to watch TV and control what they see on the Internet?” she asked.

(Well, YEAH. It’s only mentioned in the intro of every single episode!)

“Well, you know they’re not doing a very good job of preparing their kids for the ‘real world’…blah, blah, blah...” she continued to chastise until I pointed out that, except for the 18 kids, the Duggars don’t seem all that different from the most of the parents I’ve met so far in California…

Ahem, ahem. YOU!

… and yes, this is the same crowd of “what’s Nickelodeon?” fame.

In the very short time I’ve known these ladies, we’ve discussed all manner of parental ills from feeding kids artificial ingredients to lavishing excessive praise, and especially excessive (meaning “any”) TV watching…

In general, they seem to have come to the exact same conclusions about parenting the Duggars have, citing all the “typical” reasons…

“Yuck! Only BAD mommies let their kids watch Dora and eat frozen chicken nuggets…”

“The school system is so… LACKING…”

“English is not to be spoken in our home. We want to hold on to our heritage and traditions…”

Yet, once these same limits are attributed to religion beliefs, it gets called “creepy”. So tell me, Readers, what is it about FAITH that oogs people out?

No judgment. I just want to hear your thoughts.