Nanny in need is a friend indeed

On learning that her nanny was off for two days during the final weekend of April, my two-year-old baby protested by weeping. The fact that only her dad and I were left to put her to bed was too harsh for her to accept. Compared with her nanny, we are dispensable.

I told my little one many times that the nanny will come back. But, she kept on saying: "Ayi, ayi, ayi..." That's Chinese for nanny. And, that's child psychology too for you, a potential gold mine for the emerging homemaker services sector in China.

It's possible my baby mistook a temporary separation for a permanent loss. She wept and wept and sobbed into sleep, perhaps realizing tears don't always work.