The Nanny Time Bomb

From your baby's perspective, choosing the right nanny is probably the most important decision a parent can ever make: this book is about making the best possible choice. Coming home to an abused, badly injured, or even deceased child is a parent's most horrific, unimaginable scenario. And yet it happens: In 2012, two small children died while in the care of a nanny. The Nanny Time Bomb is the most accurate and comprehensive analysis of the current crisis in child care, offering case studies and practical advice to help parents make the most educated, well-informed decision when choosing a nanny for their child. The book takes the reader through various types of nannies—from graduates to undocumented workers—thus allowing parents to see how the industry has evolved far past schoolgirl babysitters. Setting itself apart, Jacalyn S. Burke's exploration of the different types of nannies offers a new perspective on child care not only for parents but also for those interested in larger sociological trends. This book gives a voice to the often-unheard grievances of nannies, showing why they may snap; explaining how to prevent tragedies; and describing how parenting has evolved. The author's examination of current cultural and social trends will be useful for a wide readership beyond parents.

From your baby's perspective, choosing the right nanny is probably the most important decision a parent can ever make: this book is about making the best possible choice. Coming home to an abused, badly injured, or even deceased child is a parent's most horrific, unimaginable scenario. And yet it happens: In 2012, two small children died while in the care of a nanny. The Nanny Time Bomb is the most accurate and comprehensive analysis of the current crisis in child care, offering case studies and practical advice to help parents make the most educated, well-informed decision when choosing a nanny for their child. The book takes the reader through various types of nannies—from graduates to undocumented workers—thus allowing parents to see how the industry has evolved far past schoolgirl babysitters. Setting itself apart, Jacalyn S. Burke's exploration of the different types of nannies offers a new perspective on child care not only for parents but also for those interested in larger sociological trends. This book gives a voice to the often-unheard grievances of nannies, showing why they may snap; explaining how to prevent tragedies; and describing how parenting has evolved. The author's examination of current cultural and social trends will be useful for a wide readership beyond parents.

Frank Furedi returns to the theme of Fear in our society and culture. In 1997, Frank Furedi published a book called Culture of Fear. It was widely acclaimed as perceptive and prophetic. Now Furedi returns to his original theme, as most of what he predicted has come true. In How Fear Works, Furedi seeks to explain two interrelated themes: why has fear acquired such a morally commanding status in society today and how has the way we fear today changed from the way that it was experienced in the past? Furedi argues that one of the main drivers of the culture of fear is unravelling of moral authority. Fear appears to provide a provisional solution to moral uncertainty and is for that reason embraced by a variety of interests, parties and individuals. Furedi predicts that until society finds a more positive orientation towards uncertainty the politicisation of fear will flourish. Society is continually bombarded with the message that the threats it faces are incalculable and cannot be managed or contained. The ascendancy of this outlook has been paralleled by the cultivation of helplessness and passivity – all this has heightened people's sense of powerlessness and anxiety. As a consequence we are constantly searching for new forms of security, both physical and ontological. What are the drivers of fear, what is the role of the media in its promotion, and who actually benefits from this culture of fear? These are some of the issues Furedi tackles to explain the current predicament. He believes that through understanding how fear works, we can encourage attitudes that will help bring about a less fearful future.

From propaganda released by the Third Reich to legislation passed in more than fifty nations, smoking is one of society's favorite targets. While the public goes along with persecuting smokers, Theodore J. King is here to tell us why we shouldn't. In this book, which does not advocate smoking, King surveys smoking bans in the United States, England, and Ireland, documenting their effects on society and commerce. King interviews many people, including members of the medical community. King takes his arguments further, showing how and why bans on smoking extend to other areas of our lives-how smokers are only the beginning. Anti-smokers represent an agenda that involves everything from personal property to the way you raise your children, what you eat, and your right to freedom of speech. Authoritarians have willing accomplices in the press and government to take power at the individual's expense. Learn how anti-smoking fanatics use tobacco control as an effective form of social engineering. King offers solutions so that smokers and non-smokers can be accommodated in a free society, where it must never be a crime to smoke in a bar, in a car, in the open air, in a restaurant, or at home.

In Narrating Practice with Children and Adolescents, social workers, sociologists, researchers, and helping professionals share engaging and evocative stories of practice that aim to center the young client’s story. Drawing on work with a variety of disadvantaged populations in New York City and around the world, they seek to raise awareness of the diversity of the individual experiences of youth. They make use of a variety of narrative approaches to offer new perspectives on a range of critical health care, mental health, and social issues that shape the lives of children and adolescents. The book considers the narratives we tell about the lives and experiences of children and adolescents and proposes counternarratives that challenge dominant ideas about childhood. Contributors examine the environments and structures that shape the lives of children and youth from an ecological lens. From their stories emerge questions about how those working with young clients might respond to a changing landscape: How do we define and construct childhood? How do poverty and inequality impact children’s health and welfare? How is childhood lived at the intersection of race, class, and gender? How can practitioners engage children and adolescents through culturally responsive and democratic processes? Offering new frameworks for reflecting on social work practice, the essays in Narrating Practice with Children and Adolescents also serve as a vehicle for exploration of children’s agency and voice.

Unemployed and with no place to live, Stephanie Cartwright answers an online classified ad. The nanny job in small-town Serendipity, Texas, will give her a chance to start over. And she'll be helping out teacher Drew Spencer, who desperately needs someone to watch his three-year-old twin boys. He knows better than anyone that his boys can be a handful—so he makes the offer on a short-term basis. Soon this big-city girl is charming both troublesome twins—and their handsome country dad. But can this temporary bond turn into a permanent promise?

This memoir recounts the life of Gertrude Pollitt, a social worker, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, and educator. Born in Vienna to a loving and cultured Jewish family, Pollitt narrowly escaped the clutches of the Nazi Regime and fled to London. After the war, she relocated to Germany to help children whose lives had been shattered. Pollitt recalls her journey from displaced immigrant to successful therapist in her own words, describing her personal challenges, her patients, and her professional development. Children of Separation and Loss is a stirring testament to the power of perseverance and the determination to survive crippling emotional losses.