Mannies take over Manhattan, the world

I grew up watching the Nanny. Chances are you did too. I babysat during high school and was a nanny during college. And a lot of you probably did the same thing. As women we have always been shoe-ins for the child care field. I always knew that if all other job prospects failed in the city, I could be nanny even though I despised the idea. Now, thanks to the rise of the manny, that occupational field is hard to break into as well.

By CC Staff

The concept of the manny was recently made popular by first time author/billionaires daughter/Upper

East Side mommylite Holly Peterson with her novel, The Manny. The book is based on Peterson’s own experiences with her 19 year-old manny John “Sunshine” Margaritis; whom she hired to help her son break through his tantrums as well as to take care for all three of her children.

After reading the article in Vogue, I didn’t really have a problem with Peterson and her manny. She hired him for a legit reason (her son) and the article was interesting and down to earth. It was the nine thousand other articles (she has received press in almost every major newspaper and magazine—including The New Yorker) that started to piss me off.

Every review is incredibly lengthy and only praises Peterson, the novel and the concept of the manny. Maybe it’s her money or social status that provided some sort of sway. I mean, REALLY, it’s Chick Lit, not the next great American novel. It’s as if having an affair with the nanny (or manny) is a new concept. Doesn’t ANYONE remember the 1996 movie The Babysitter’s Seduction with Kerri Russell. And what about The Nanny? Fran and Mr. Sheffield end up together. I mean come on, people. Doing it with the babysitter is old news.

So, why the undue press for Peterson and her manny? It could be that she is rich and has a well known name among the Manhattan upper crust. This certainly attributes to the fact that she had enough money to fund and film this ridiculous short parody promoting her book. She also had enough socialite friends (The Tinz makes an appearance), a cousin director AND the use of her fathers ten room apartment for the two weeks it took to film the short spoof.

So good work, John. You hunky surfer dude/tshirt “designer”/manny. You were so smart to become a man nanny. Not only are you probably making upwards of 100K a year but you’ve also single handedly robbed the ladies of their natural right to monopolize the child care industry. You have become the poster child for mannies everywhere despite the “grief” you first received from your friends. Fortunately for John, “now that they [his friends] see how much fun I have and stuff and they’re behind desks or doing what they’re doing. I get to hang out all day with kids and I love it, so it’s cool.”

It really is so cool and stuff Sunshine. Really.