Tribute to yaya

September 9, 2007 | Filed in: Household

Many people take their nannies and household help for granted. I know a lot of my friends do and sometimes people in my family do too. I have seen many stories on the news about helpers being maltreated by their employers. Others have been raped, starved and even killed.

I hope that I was never cruel to my yaya’s or help. Although I cannot recall ever being evil to them, I do remember being irritated when my clothes were not washed or my food was not served in time.

Now that I have my own family and employ two helpers (one yaya for each of my kids), I have never been more appreciative of them. I rely a lot on my nannies because I am a working mom and have to depend on them to run the house most of the day all week long while I am out working in the office. I cannot imagine myself ever being cruel to the people who cook my food and take care of my kids. I do not want to come home one day to find out that my kids are gone and my food has been poisoned - dramatic I know - but it does happen.

And it is on their days off that I truly feel the appreciation.

Imagine yourself without a yaya, left to take care of two rowdy boys and a demanding husband. Well on weekends without my yayas that is what I do. And believe me, it is not an easy task. Forget about taking a bath (during the day), staying clean and pretty when you need to pick up after your boys, cook your family’s meals and make sure everyone is fed and happy. Oh and forget about having time to blog! Haha.

I am glad my yayas are kind and they absolutely love my kids. I wouldn’t know how to survive without them.

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21 Comments so far

[...] Read more… [...]

Lucky you….

Treat yayas with TLC and they treat your kids with the same TLC. The yayas of my 2 girls (who have their own families now) still visit my girls, even making them ninang of their kids. Love lasts a lifetime. You are blessed to have them indeed.

oh, how i wish i could have a yaya/household help philippine-style. that would be a real treat for me.

here in france, nanny’s are limited to taking care of your child during daytime, that includes feeding them and putting them to siesta. the bathing, washing their clothes part are of course the responsibility of the parents. so we do all those after work.

household help naman could do everything except cooking, because they normally go like 3-4 hours a week, depending on the size of the house. and this too, is a very expensive solution.

i was once telling frenchguy that my life would have been more comfortable if i live in the phils.. and he interpreted that as a complain. so subject closed hehe..

Mitch - I know! Its very difficult to find good help. The yaya I had when I was a kid stayed with our family for so long that they have become family already. I went through several yayas before the ones I have right now.

Noemi - I wish the experience I have will be the same for my kids. My yayas are the closest to the best friends that I have. If you know what I mean.

analyse - I guess that’s why I was never attracted to living abroad. I know how much work it is to keep house. I am very grateful indeed to have such great help. Besides day care centers are not very popular here in the Philippines - there are very few and very expensive.

Wow, yaya for each of your two kids. I don’t have one, yaya, I mean but I have three kids. Its good I’m able to bring the two little ones with me when I go to work. The kids learn to look after themselves and I try to have them help in their own little ways. Your “lucky” to have good yayas.

julie - I wish I had the same situation as you that I could bring my kids to work with me. And I admire you. With three kids, I know how much of a challenge it is.

Hay naku, miss ko na si manang ever! Here in the US, my domestic life has been so topsy turvy. I realized how much I depended on our household help back there in the Philippines.

I have two kids, a gradeschooler and an almost toddler. Everyday is a crazy day for me. From waking up in the morning to make breakfast for the kids, to bathing them at night before going to bed. Then there’s work, cooking, laundry, homework, etc…with a yaya, there is rest!

Ibalik nyo ko sa Pilipinas! Hahaha!

Joy - I can never say it enough I guess. I am much too lazy (hehe) to settle down in a foreign country where household help is hard to come by. I also cannot just trust my home to someone I cannot consider family.

Good for you that you have found great yayas for your kids. I often wonder where I could find one for mine.

Angel - I actually went through 4 yaya’s before settling with the ones I have now. And I also went through 2 harrowing experiences with the previous ones. It is fortunate that I found good ones and it is really hard to find the perfect help these days. Good luck finding one! But I suggest that no matter how desperate you are - never hire from agencies. My two cents only.

[...] Anne wrote an interesting post today on [...]

[...] bahay na patawad” (a.k.a the house that does not entertain carolers). I laughed when I heard my yaya tell us about how she heard some street kids talk about our house to other street [...]

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[...] the normal red sauce to me. Whatever it is, it did not work for me, my hubby and my kids (oh even yaya hated [...]

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Hi! My name is ApplesH. I am a 30-something corporate slave kept alive by a steady stream of instant, brewed or flavored coffee. I can cook, clean, and drive like a maniac. I am also a devoted, demanding, and passionate wife. To my boys, I am a fiercely protective, doting, and proud mother. I am crazy about my husband and my kids. This is my life and here is my story.

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