Product Description

As president of Washington's premier nanny placement agency, White House Nannies, Inc., Barbara Kline has spent the last twenty years handpicking and delivering nannies to elected officials, cabinet members, advisers to the President, and the media who report on their every move. In this hilarious account of her life in child care, Kline discloses the mayhem that ensues when these powerful parents find themselves at the mercy of tiny tyrants-and the nannies who offer their only hope of salvation. Offering "an especially insightful insider's perspective," White House Nannies also "addresses more serious questions, from what nannies really think of their employers and their young charges to the tricks of hiring a great caregiver for your family" (Child magazine).

In this "very funny, very insightful, and very well-done" (Kirkus Reviews) memoir, Kline casts a keen eye on one of the most complicated of relationships under the sun: that between extremely busy people and their nannies. Following the major events that launch powerful D.C. parents into parenthood (discovering they're pregnant; hiring a fabulous nanny; giving birth; hiring a second nanny in a pinch when the first one is nannynapped), this book goes behind closed doors in our nation's capital to reveal the laughter-and of course, the tears-involved when overworked professionals attempt to raise a child.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1846665 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-04
• Released on: 2006-05-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
As a working mother struggling to find good childcare, Kline turned her problem into a treasure trove, first by founding a small business, White House Nannies, Inc., that solves childcare problems for the nation's elite, and now by writing about their desperate, amusing cases. While the meandering pace of her book requires some getting used to-it takes 44 pages and several interruptions to find the first candidate, a nanny suitable for a prominent TV personality-readers will eventually appreciate that Kline is using this first narrative as a thread around which the rest of the stories are woven. And some of the stories are amusing. "A young nanny from California first realized she'd moved in with an unusual family when she heard the biotech executive mother put her children to bed via intercom: 'Lizzie and Carter, get into your jammies.'" D.C. cognoscenti will recognize many of the families Kline describes, but even readers outside the beltway will know at least one of the clients: political duo Mary Matalin and James Carville, who require help when their beloved nanny, Ella, dies while they're on vacation. But the book provides a lot more than just the gossipy pleasure of peering into famous nurseries. Kline offers trenchant insights about the callous way many parents view their nannies (i.e., "somewhere between a pet and an invisible life form"), the reluctance to pay properly for the work itself and the difficulties dual-career couples have while trying to juggle their ambitions and their loved ones. She also offers lots of wonderful, if indirect, advice about how to get along with your nanny and how to deal tactfully with outrageously demanding customers. Of interest to anyone who's ever hired a babysitter, Kline's will also intrigue aspiring nannies and small business owners.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–After struggling to find good child care in the Washington, DC, area, Kline decided to open White House Nannies, which caters to the nation's most influential people. Over the 20 years that her agency has been in business, the author has managed to garner a collection of anecdotes and stories that are not only funny, but also serve as a lesson to anyone with, considering having, or taking care of a baby. Even those thinking about starting a small business can benefit from this book as they read about Kline's trials and tribulations. Over the years, she has become an expert on how difficult–and important–it is to find quality child care. She not only provides examples of good and bad experiences but also offers practical advice on a variety of issues. She explains that many parents view their nannies as somewhere between a pet and an invisible life form, seeming to forget that this is a person whom they have entrusted to take care of their child for 10 or 12 hours a day.–Erin Dennington, Fairfax County Public Library, Chantilly, VA
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From the Inside Flap
"For years, Barbara Kline has kept countless Washingtonian families’ homes, jobs, and sanity intact. Now, her extraordinary page-turner, White House Nannies, will keep you in stitches with countless nanny- capers from your nation’s capital. Enjoy the perils of the most powerful at their most pitiful as they confront the panoply of problems that plague working parents everywhere. Newsmakers, news breakers and masters of the universe are no match for the nanny network."
--Mary Matalin