but it also begs the question of why we pay teachers so little, and lavish celebrities and professional athletes with more money than they could ever hope to spend. It all tells me something is seriously wrong with our society's priorities.

We shared a nanny with a friend earlier this year and a few family members asked how much we paid her and I told them. Without fail, they expressed shock and insisted I was paying too much.

The sad thing is I felt we were paying her a pittance, not nearly enough for the peace of mind she brought us, but it was what we could afford.

To me, knowing someone is providing safe, loving care to your child is priceless and they deserve the utmost respect.

I live in a neighborhood where a lot of families use nannies.  I'm also younger than many of the moms around, so I've made friends with some younger nannies.  I consider the relationships to be pretty equal, although I'll sometimes forget that some of them don't have the same education I do when having a conversation.  (I mentioned something about the equator to an English-speaking Caribbean nanny, and she had no idea what I was talking about, although I consider her a very intelligent person.)

I'm a teacher and did some summer child care a couple years before having my own kid, so I've been on both sides of it.  I also found I could make connections with parents when they realized I was one of "them," but generally found it easier to talk to other caregivers at the time.

The issue has come up recently since I've been trying to organize a couple neighborhood playgroups where people would rotate homes.  There are some families who want their kids to participate, but the kids would come with the nanny, and people have mixed feelings about that.  I can see both sides of it, and don't feel strongly either way.  I think it's great to meet nannies and include working families in the playgroup mix, but also can see how parents home with their kids all day would rather establish relationships with other parents.  When you consider the topics that could come up (breastfeeding, postpartum issues, partner relationships, caregiver issues, bedtime, etc.), you can see how it could be good to keep it to just parents.  I've also found it awkward when I've gotten to know a nanny/kid pair and then meet the parents much later in the game.  I've even had parents give me creepy looks when I'm out in public and know their kid's name (but then I explain and it's usually OK).

And anything that remotely smacks of "womens' work" -- teaching, nurturing, making things run smoothly -- is devalued.

We simply need more women -- more mothers -- in positions of power to start shifting these attitudes. And even then it won't happen overnight.

I LOVE my daughter's caretakers. I adore them, they are fabulous... I hope they know how much I appreciate them! I try to give gifts and the like when I can, and have been collecting for the holidays- money is tight but they deserve so much! I guess it's just up to people like us who understand how valuable they are to tell them, all the time, and show our appreciation.