RELATIONSHIP THESAURUS

NANNY AND CHILD



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HELPFUL TIP:

Relationships are part of the very fabric of your character’s life. How well or poorly they get along with others oftentimes comes down to personality, so carefully consider the positive traits and negative traits of your story’s cast. Another factor that can pull characters together or create friction is motivation, so keep each individual’s goal—both at the scene and story level—in mind as you write.
DESCRIPTION:
A nanny is hired by a family to be the caregiver of a child or teen. Whether they live in or out of the family home, a nanny provides supervision when the child's parents are working, traveling, or otherwise engaged. Under the right conditions, the child and nanny may bond with one another like a parent and a child. But conflicting desires may create a more challenging relationship, impeding trust and creating difficulties. With the child's parents being another critical component of the nanny/child relationship, this relationship is fertile ground for obstacles.

RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS:
Below are a wide range of dynamics that may accompany this relationship. Use the ideas that suit your story and work best for your characters to bring about and/or resolve the necessary conflict.

A full-time nanny who lives in the home and has constant access to the child
A nanny who lives on their own but carries out their working duties inside the child's home
A nanny caring for more than one child in the home
An only child who has the nanny's full attention
A nanny and child who share a strong, loving bond
An authoritative, controlling, or even abusive nanny 
A child who rejects their nanny as an authority figure

CHALLENGES THAT COULD THREATEN THE STATUS QUO:
A child desperately wanting their parent's attention and rejection the nanny's affections
The nanny struggling personally with infertility
A live-in nanny having to move out of the child's home
The nanny and the parents developing different opinions about how the child should be raised
A sibling developing a condition that requires more of the nanny's time and attention
The child going through a rebellious stage and becoming disrespectful 
The child telling their parents a lie about the nanny
A stressful situation for the nanny (a victimization, the death of a loved one, etc.) that diminishes her patience and tolerance for misbehavior
The child's parents becoming jealous of the nanny
The nanny developing a relationship with one of the child's parents
A financial change for the family that impacts the nanny's hours or income
The nanny having to reduce her hours, resulting in the family bringing in a second caregiver
The child not bonding with the nanny
The child confiding about something disturbing that the nanny feels she must relay to the parents
The nanny being given more responsibility than was originally agreed upon
The child developing a serious illness or behavioral issue 
A former employer of the nanny coming forward with unsettling information
The child becoming injured on the nanny's watch
The nanny suspecting or witnessing child abuse by a family member
The child being exposed to something inappropriate by the nanny (swear words, inappropriate media content, etc.)
The nanny developing extreme religious or cultural ideas

WOUNDS THAT COULD FACTOR INTO THE RELATIONSHIP:
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POSSIBLE CONFLICT SCENARIOS:
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CONFLICTING DESIRES THAT CAN IMPAIR THE RELATIONSHIP:
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CLASHING PERSONALITY TRAIT COMBINATIONS:
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NEGATIVE OUTCOMES OF FRICTION:
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FICTIONAL SCENARIOS THAT COULD TURN THESE CHARACTERS INTO ALLIES:
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WAYS THIS RELATIONSHIP MAY LEAD TO POSITIVE GROWTH:
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THEMES AND SYMBOLS THAT CAN BE EXPLORED THROUGH THIS RELATIONSHIP:
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