feedback for "Infant Industry 2: The Hippest Babysitter in America"

1. Wow.  A gay guy in his 20s in New York City is the hippest babysitter in America?  I never would have guessed.  Thank you for this informative report.

   posted by : GetOffMyLawn on 2/14/2007 at 2:00 PM Flag For Abuse

2. I would've liked to see something substantial on the local nanny trends, to be honest. This wasn't it at all. Not sure what you were going for here.
   
   

   posted by : Maujer on 2/14/2007 at 8:04 PM Flag For Abuse

3. The article does not mention or infer that Ryan is gay, does a guy who is single and works with kids have to be gay?  Ryan could be starting a trend -- more guys in childcare.  Guys bring so much life and fun to the playground as is evidenced by the great dad who plays with all the kids, gets them to play together and have a great time, we've all seen this at least once.
   
   In Germany where there is a Kinder (day care) on every block, we saw a much higher ratio of men in childcare.  They did not have the stigma that we do here that it's women's work or that you're not doing "real" work if you're in child care.  From our unofficial observation, it looked as if about 25 - 30% of kinder teachers were male.  And, as mentioned above, the male teachers were on the playground playing with the kids while the female teachers were sitting on the bench chatting with each other.
   
   It also offers a nice balance for kids to have a male caretaker.  We recently visited a private school (stateside) where one out of every 3 teachers is male.  This was the first I had seen in the US, I think it's great.
   
   

   posted by : yvetteyasui on 2/15/2007 at 11:55 PM Flag For Abuse

4. What's your social life like? Do you have a girlfriend?
   No, I don't have a girlfriend, because I'm gay. That's another thing. In Minnesota, if parents knew I was gay, I wouldn't be babysitting their kids. Most of my parents now know and don't care. I don't ever talk to my kids about it, obviously, not that I think they would care, because they're, like, four. But I'm still awkward about it, even though the families that do know are so great about it. Like, I'm really close to my ex-boyfriend and he's in the hospital recovering from cancer and they ask me about him all the time. It's really nice.
   
   Um, yes it does, Yvette. The article kind of specifically mentions he's gay, as above. In fact it seems to be part of his young, hip persona.

   posted by : Maujer on 2/19/2007 at 2:28 PM Flag For Abuse

5. Just wanted to say all that garbage about parents in MN not letting him babysit if they found out he was gay is B.S.  Not sure exactly what part of MN he's from, but his generalizations don't apply to any of the hundreds of people I know here in Minneapolis.  Funny - Babble appears geared toward coastal parents - what with the little slams against Iowa (bacon fed babies?) etc.  I grew up in Boston, but have sown my progressive roots right here in the heartland.  Have met more open-minded, inclusive people in MN/IA and even the Dakotas than I ever knew in 22 years in America's Athens.

   posted by : BBBGMOM on 2/28/2007 at 11:38 AM Flag For Abuse

6. I would also like to stick up for Minnesota! Minnesota is one of the most historically progressive states in the country. Maybe where Ryan grew up in Small Town, MN (like all small towns), people were not as accepting of his liberal views. But the Twin Cities is incredibly open-minded to all types of people--unfortunately, this article makes it sound like all Minnesotans are running around condemning those that might not be the "norm." How sad. Minnesota, especially Minneapolis, is a great place for kids to grow up and learn to value all views.
   

   posted by : sslorus on 3/14/2007 at 3:16 PM Flag For Abuse

7. I think this article was wonderful!  Much needed comic-relief in the middle of my busy work day. Also, I think it's nice to read about childcare workers who are doing fun things and allowing kids to be kids. As parents, especially in NYC, we want our nannies or babysitters to read our children the classics and teach them another language.

   posted by : flatbushnik on 11/4/2009 at 11:13 AM Flag For Abuse