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Show Church stand on 'nannies' sparks controversy By TOM HARALDSEN For a number of years, many girls from Davis County, and the state of Utah as a whole, have spent the months following high school graduation working as mother's helpers, or nannies as they are commonly called. Because Be-cause of the importance of families, fami-lies, as stressed by the LDS Church, young Mormon women are in demand by professional couples, cou-ples, generally from the East it cited interviews conducted with nannies working in the Weston, Massachusetts Ward of the LDS Church, a ward with a heavy population popu-lation of LDS girls working as nannies. nan-nies. The article stated that "choosing to become a nanny is an emotionally emotional-ly wrenching, often spiritually devastating de-vastating way for a young woman to leave home for the first time." It used responses from nannies in the Weston area to counteract what it called two popular myths about shire, responded to an inquiry about ab-out nannies. He closed his article by saying, "If she (the nanny) approaches the job with a shallow testimony, selfishness, weak family fami-ly ties and support, and vague or unknown goals, the experience can be shattering and may lead to discouragement and sin. If, on the other hand, she approaches it with a strong testimony, an eye towards service and personal growth, and a supportive, loving family, she will long remember the experience as averaging between 30-50 placements place-ments a month until June. The number dropped to 20 that month, and fell even further to 15 in July and 13 in August. The Bountiful-based business, now in its fifth year, has placed over 1100 nannies since its inception. incep-tion. Of those, 70 percent have filled fil-led the entire length of their contracts. con-tracts. Sheri feels that girls who are considering being mother's helpers are better off going through an agency rather than simply respond ing becoming a nanny because I thought it would be fun," stated Sheri Dalrymple, a 1984 graduate of Viewmont High. "My experiences experi-ences as a nanny were wonderful, and I can't believe that they (the magazine staff) couldn't find positive posi-tive comments." Sheri and her twin sister Kari both served as nannies. Sheri, who now works at Helpers West, got her nanny position through an agency, while Kari did not. "I went through some of the same challenges that all nannies do," she said. "It was my first time away from home, and I did get homesick at times. But despite what the magazine stated, nannies can make good money. I paid my own way back home and went on several trips around the East coast while I was there." Sheri' s "family" had two young boys, ages 3 and 1 . Like most families fami-lies who hire nannies, they were successful, affluent, and not LDS. She found the job involved much more than babysitting, but disputes the magazine's claim that nannies as a whole are subjected to 12-14 hour days and mundane housekeeping house-keeping duties. "The agency I was placed with of Massachusetts, and we're not hearing those negative comments. My feeling is that church leaders in that area wanted to stop them from coming. We have over 2,000 girls in Utah leave as nannies each year. Where else will they go for jobs?" Traci Roberts England is a Cen-terville Cen-terville housewife who also worked work-ed as a nanny in Norton, Va. She was 22 years old when she left, but the experiences she had as a nanny have helped her as a young mother of two small boys. "When I was a junior at Viewmont, View-mont, I had a teacher who was very positive about the experiences of being a nanny. So when the opportunity oppor-tunity came for me to go to the East coast, I was thrilled. And I can honestly say the experience was a lot better than I thought it might be," she said. Traci enjoyed "lots of free time," and perhaps more importantly, impor-tantly, "I learned a few little tricks from the mother of the children that have helped me with diverting attention and discipline." She admits that having lived away from home prior to becoming a nanny was a big advantage. "I think most LDS girls who are 'doing it right as nannies' will be y"?' " ' ' ' " " ' rww""'" "W"t f " ' " ' 3 , ( -'-'A , 7 ? ' '' ''' s ', i j' "f..t..;:c. ' y H I S ; ' O O C 0 ' ; -1 &t - O ' : " O C O X " If V - " " v ;" ' ' H j Is v s ' v "My experiences as a nanny were wonderful, and I can't believe that they couldn't find positive posi-tive comments." I TRACI ENGLAND ...prepared her for motherhood SHERI DALRYMPLE ...nanny experience was great - -,...,! ..I, had a clear understanding of what the couple's expectations were," she explained. "We do a thorough telephone interview here with the hiring couple and the nanny in a conference call before she ever accepts the job." Sheri produced a copy of the agreement which Helpers West uses in its conference calls. It asks specific questions regarding those duties, cooking chores, driving demands, de-mands, hours and salary which the hiring couple intends to pay or expects ex-pects from the nanny. Kari did not use an agency, and she spent her time working in New York for a considerable amount less than Sheri earned. Still, she found the experience fulfilling and one of growth. "I didn't go out there to try to convert people," she said. "That's a silly argument. What upset me about the way nannies were addressed in the article is that it implies that some of these problems prob-lems the girls experienced were the sole result of being a nanny." Susan Stewart is office manager at Helpers West, and she added that "you can't blame these problems prob-lems on being a nanny. We've had a number of girls in that same area too busy to get into trouble. I traveled around Washington, D.C. a lot while I was there, and I learned more about American history his-tory there than I ever did in my schooling." The LDS Church has maintained that its position on nannies is neutral, neut-ral, neither advocating or discouraging dis-couraging such employment. But many feel it has taken a stand, citing cit-ing the last sentence of a bulletin sent to wards and stakes in March. It reads, "Because of reports obtained from priesthood leaders in areas with a large number of nannies, nan-nies, and from nannies themselves, it is suggested that young women not be encouraged to accept positions posi-tions as nannies." When that bulletin was first issued, it also came under attack from proponents of nannies. Church spokesmen failed to elaborate elabo-rate on it, simply stating that "it says what it says." Ironically, if the Church had taken a position discouraging girls from becoming nannies, it may come in conflict with an article published in the Church's "Ensign" "En-sign" magazine in February. Under the regular "I Have A Question" Ques-tion" section, W. Steven Rubow, formerly a. bishop in New Hamp- character-building and testimony-strengthening testimony-strengthening a worthy means to a worthy end." His response also suggests that LDS nannies contact the bishops in their new areas as soon as they arrive. ar-rive. Helpers West claims that it has previously been able to get that information from Church headquarters head-quarters prior to the girl's departure, depar-ture, but that it is difficult to get it now. A spokesperson in the Church's membership offices admitted that giving out that information infor-mation to a person other than the nanny herself "isn't our preference." prefer-ence." How has the nanny placement business been affected? According to Mrs. Stewart, Helpers West was ing to classified advertisements soliciting nannies. "Agencies can assure a nanny of more pay, fewer surprises and better bet-ter screening. Ideally, a girl should be 19-21, perhaps have a year of college or at least a year away from j home behind her, and willing to ' make a one year commitment." She said salaries range from $160-$250 a week, depending on the area, plus room and board ! While admitting that saving money does take a dedicated effort on the nanny's part, it is possible. "Even those who don't come home with a lot of money have good experiences," Mrs. Stewart added. "They learn to stand up on their own." coast, who want to employ them. But recent comments from the Church, including instruction sent to local leaders in a bulletin last March and an article in the church's "New Era" magazine in May, may be hurting the nanny business. Agencies such as Bountiful' Bounti-ful' s Helpers West are seeing a decreasing de-creasing number of young women expressing interest in becoming nannies, and most such placement agencies have more openings than . girls to fill them. Perhaps the most damaging article, arti-cle, according to placement agency officials, was one that appeared in the "New Era," a magazine geared towards LDS teenagers. Entitled "Nannies, No Spoonful of Sugar," being a nanny; that it can be a missionary mis-sionary experience for LDS Church members and that it can serve as a good way to save money. The magazine has come under fire for the article, particularly from agencies which are in the business of placing nannies. "New Era" editor Brian Kelly was quoted in an article in the Provo Daily Herald in July as saying, "I can tell you we worked hard to try to find some positive comments." But one Centerville woman who herself worked as a nanny in that same Weston Ward said the problems prob-lems cited in the "New Era" article arti-cle are exceptions to the rule. "I didn't want to go to school right after I graduated, so I looked |