White House Nannies

Book excerpt: As president of Washington's premier nanny placement agency, White House Nannies, Inc., Barbara Kline has spent the last twenty years handpicking and delivering nannies to elected officials, cabinet members, advisers to the President, and the media who report on their every move. In this hilarious account of her life in child care, Kline discloses the mayhem that ensues when these powerful parents find themselves at the mercy of tiny tyrants—and the nannies who offer their only hope of salvation. From finding the "perfect nanny" to firing the "perfect nanny," from refereeing mommy-nanny disputes to keeping mum about family secrets, Kline casts a keen eye on one of the most complicated relationships under the sun: that between extremely busy people and their nannies. Following the major events that launch powerful D.C. parents into parenthood (discovering they're pregnant; hiring a fabulous nanny; giving birth; hiring a second nanny in a pinch when the first one is nanny-napped), this book goes behind closed doors in our nation's capital to reveal the laughter—and, of course, the tears—involved when overworked professionals attempt to raise a child. The Nanny Diaries meets Primary Colors in this delightful ride on the bottle-and-bib-strewn Beltway.