Nanny Observations

Psychology majors make the best parents.  Or they must, right?  Because they would understand better than nearly anyone else what it takes to shape a person.  I'm a nanny.  For the next three months I am fully responsible for twin five year olds for nearly 9 hours a day, five days a week.  So, not a full time guardian of any sort.  But I am about to spend more time with these children than do their parents.  And I assume that means, that the things that I teach them and the way that I act with them will at least sort of shape how they will act.  (At least for the upcoming months.)  

I can still see that with the kids I nannied last summer.  The little girl, Sophia, was two last summer, and the little three year old that stands before me every once and a while says "aw, rats" and snaps her fingers.  A whole year later and she still copies my mannerisms.  If that isn't scary, I don't know what is.  Who ever thought that it was a good idea to let me influence their small children was absolutely crazy.  I'm not saying that I think I'm a bad person or bad influence, but shouldn't there be some sort of class that you go through before you unleash all of your unnoticed bad habits on impressionable 5 year olds?  

I've never dealt with kids that behave like these twins do.  And you know, maybe thats because I've never watched twins at any age before this.  Twins are a whole different animal than mere siblings.  They have had each other around since literally the time of birth, so they are each other's very best friend.  They understand each other better than anyone else on Earth will ever be able to.  But at the same time that means that at five years old Alex has the full ability to make Iselin cry and cry with just a few words.  He always knows just what needs to be said.  And she, she knows that given the proper amount of ignoring and isolation, Alex will whine and cry and hit her- full of rage.  But...despite the fact that Alex had to have two time outs today for hitting Iselin, and the fact that she broke into tears at least once, when left alone - with no audience to act for- they couldn't be happier to spend time with each other.  

I left them in their bedroom today while I went to the kitchen to cook some dinner.  And I went back upstairs and quietly opened the door.  It was so quiet I expected to find two sleeping children snuggled into their beds.  But then I spotted a flashlight beam shining through the sheet hanging over their bed, forming the wall of their newly constructed fort.  And I rounded the corner to find two little blonde heads, side by side, giggling over the book that they were reading.  Using a little metal flashlight to see.  Completely content in each other's company.  I was absolutely dumbfounded.  I couldn't believe that these were the same children that were fighting relentlessly only an hour before.  I have a feeling these kids are going to surprise me countless times before my summer with them is over.