Momma Tales: My Nanny Forgot to Pack My Kid’s Food! Whose Fault is It?

November 29, 2019

By Itoro Ugorji

Often, we assume that once we have kids our hearts’ desires are met and it will be “happily ever after”.

Most of us wing it because parenting instincts are natural. But the pressure to do it right often overwhelms us, more so in this age of technology where information overload is an ever-present risk.

This column will help you minimise that risk at best, even if we can’t eliminate it.

Here’s our first story;

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Temilade is the definition of a hard working woman. At the age of 32, after several attempts at becoming the first female Manager in her firm and a few bouts with IVF, she’s finally a Mom and a Manager – 2 positions she is very proud of.

But being both can sometimes mean sacrifices…some of which she’s definitely not willing to make. Not to mention juggling her husband’s needs as he works from home.

An attention-craving husband, a toddler barely walking and a Managerial role that’s making her pull out her hair. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Her life is a rollercoaster, and we’re tagging along for the chills & spills.

Let’s dive in to a typical day for Temilade – her nanny of 2 years has done something most would describe as unforgivable.

I heard it buzz twice. My train of thought just shattered. I let out a long hiss as I reached out to pick my phone, my eyes still glued to my monitor as I attempted to put together the tiny shattered pieces of my thoughts.

“This presentation has to go out in the next hour,” I mumbled to myself. And at the same time picked the call, the caller was persistent. “Good afternoon, Ma.” I heard the very familiar voice of Ms Ajoke. I did a double-take then instinctively looked at the phone screen as if to confirm the caller. “Is Jola okay?” I asked frantic, forgetting to acknowledge Ms Ajoke’s greeting. Every call from the creche was a PRIORITY call. “Yes Ma, Jola is great. We noticed no meals were packed for him today. He just had a pack of cookies and an empty food bowl.” I literally fell off my chair. “I’d be over with something in a few minutes. Thank you so much Ms Ajoke.” I stuttered.

Without as much as a glance to my P.C, I scurried to my feet, muttered something about ‘coming back shortly’ and headed to the nearest mart. As I drove, I called home. Jola’s meal was sitting on the worktop in the kitchen. My nanny, who had been with us for 2 years, had forgotten to pack it in his diaper bag. My 18-month-old had no meal for the day. What kind of irresponsible was I? I chided myself – ‘but I have a nanny’. Whose responsibility is it?

My thoughts trailed off as my phone rang. “Temilade, it’s 11 and I’m yet to receive the presentation slides. And you were not at your desk.” My Manager’s voice thundered through my phone. Exasperated, I opened my mouth to offer an explanation but no words came. The thought of my little Angel at the creche without a meal brought hot tears to my eyes.

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Written by Itoro Ugorji

Itoro runs a top-notch creche in Lagos and has the passion and experience to walk us through Momma Tales. She will be filtering the noise to share tested tips, based on live examples, even as she brings us the voices of other women along the way.

Fasten your seatbelts for the rollercoaster ride that is Parenting, with the funny yet deep relatable accounts of the life of today’s working mother.

Welcome to Momma Tales!