Parental Love

Much of The Nanny Diaries focuses on families and parental love. In her own life, Nanny has two parents who love her, advise her, and pay attention to her, even though she is a young adult. Both her mother and father are concerned that her nanny job for the X family is not right for her because she is being taken advantage of by Mrs. X. Despite their apprehension, Nan's mother and father support her as best they can. For example, when Nan is left alone with an ill Grayer, she calls her mother in the middle of the night for advice on what to do with the coughing, feverish boy. Her mother tells her how to make him comfortable and relieve his symptoms, then wants Nanny to call her back in an hour to update her about Grayer.

In contrast, Mr. and Mrs. X do not...