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I was wondering what you all thought about installing a nanny cam into the home. We are thinking about hiring a nanny in a few months, and the notion is nerve-wracking! I've heard some say that nanny cams are invasive of privacy (but if it concerns my child's safety, who cares, right...?), especially when they are placed secretly. Others tell the nanny that they are being filmed. What are your experiences/opinions? Thanks!
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akcskye
As for this comment: "Or, you can do what we did (many years ago) and rely on your gut feelings, a background check, spend the first week or so at home and drop in unexpectedly often. No one can care for your children the same way you would, but there are terrific caregivers out there..." Yeah, that family did that too, and their child was beaten to a pulp anyway.
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EZ2Luv
If a nanny or any employee is offended that they are being watch to me that would be a big red flag that they have something to hide, I mean seriously we are all filmed in supermarkets and stores. Does that mean we should stop shopping or going into those places? As long as you make it known to the emplyeee that there are security camera monitoring the place there suldn't be problem. I mean you don't have to say "I have a nanny cam and I am going to be watching you" I have security cameras in my home and work. I am a nurse and I despense mediation at a substance abuse clinic. Because I am being filmed, does that mean I should feel like I am not trusted? On the contrary I feel better knowing that I can be seen. I have nothing to hide and I have been at this same job for 17years. Seriously, any confident nanny should have no problem with a camera. It is cover her butt too in case the child does have an accident it is there on film. Not to mention it only takes a split second for someone to lose their cool. I say go with the camera. This is your child and if a nanny is going to walk cause of being on camera, count it a blessing cause they might be hiding something. You can always hire a new nanny but our children are just too precious to take a chance. EZ
Any Agency or individual can be fooled if that is what the Nanny wants. After all, they often have training, and it's pretty easy to keep a good rep if nothing has ever been witnessed. Perhaps it's just little things, nothing major, but the thing is, those kinds of things tend to escalate eventually. Do you want it to be in your home that it escalates to a dangerous level? Is your child's safety worth losing a potentially good Nanny, IMHO - absolutely. If Nanny's want to be treated professionally, then they should understand security is just good business. If she wants to be treated like a member of the family, then she probably shouldn't work for someone who wants to use a Nanny cam, her choice, we all have them.
LibbyHawkins
Any Agency or individual can be fooled if that is what the Nanny wants. .
From a nanny's perspective, would the nanny NOT want to be filmed? If I were to be a nanny in this day and age I would WANT a camera on me. So that if a child is being abused by parents or other family member and they instantly accuse the "sitter" I would have proof that I did NOT do anything wrong. Kim
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As a nanny for many years myself, I agree with others that secretly taping a nanny can back-fire and you could loose a really good nanny because of it. I was also able to get to know many other nannies myself (some were great, and some where NOT), and I can tell you some of the scariest things about them were things that wouldn't have been caught on camera. I met two different nannies who told me they would leave the children with their boyfriends whenever they had a doctors appointment, and the parents never knew, and the children weren't old enough to tell them. I would definetly suggest making suprise visits, require that you know exactly where they will be if they leave the house, and if they do go somewhere, call her cell phone to "check in", and ask to say hi to your child.
xxsurroundedbyxy
From a nanny's perspective, would the nanny NOT want to be filmed? If I were to be a nanny in this day and age I would WANT a camera on me. So that if a child is being abused by parents or other family member and they instantly accuse the "sitter" I would have proof that I did NOT do anything wrong. Kim
I was a nanny for every summer that I was in college. The family I was with had a different nanny during the year, and then she would have the summers off and I would work. I loved those kids. Man, did I love them! I would have been disturbed to find out that I was being filmed, mostly because I felt like a member of the family. I had keys and a garage door opener! I would never film my mom when she is watching my kids, so if I was a pseudo family member, I would feel so sad if I had been taped. I think a nanny cam can instill a false sense of security for parents. If you don't see anything wrong there, you are going to be more apt to dismiss your gut feelings that something is wrong.
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I don't trust anyone anymore. If that sounds harsh, then so be it. Too many children are abused, sexualized places where you don't think it would ever happen, etc. I'm not a perfect mom, I yell at times when I should find other ways to handle the stress. But, for now, I stay at home with my kids. I don't have to worry whether my kids are in their seatbelts in the sitters car, I don't have to worry whether they're getting sweet treats to keep them quiet, etc. I handle it myself. I certainly realize there are those parents that must work -- I was one myself for too long. I have mixed feelings about nanny cams. I would likely use one if I really had to get a "nanny". But I also understand the nanny feeling about not being trusted and what that could do to a relationship with parents. So my answer is that if you really can't trust anyone with your children, there may be a way you can reconfigure your budget and one parent stay at home with them. We only use my 24 year old daughter to sit for our kids and one or two friends that we trust implicitly. Otherwise, we stay home with them. We don't do "respite", we don't vacation without our kids -- we are parents.
As a former nanny/full time sitter/care giver I can honeslty tell you that I WOULD NOT have an issue with being nanny cammed. I'd hate to think that someone other than a toddler would be subjected to my best attempts at singing (ha), but that's ok! I was a special person in their lives, but in reality I was not a family member. Nanny's are paid employees hired to care for the most precious thing in their lives. Paid to care for and protect their child. Banks with precious dollars have cams how can I get upset with someone wanting to ensure that their child is safe while in an essential strangers care? Parents should be aware of every bad nanny red flag before using a cam. But if they want to see for themselves what's going on in their home day in and day out, why should I care if I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing with that child's best interest always leading me? Hours of feedings, changings, singing, blocks, coloring books, play dough, and nap times won't win me an Oscar, but again that's fine by me ;)
If I had concerns, I would have no problem using a cam. I worked in Admin. in the Security Dept. for a Casino several years ago, and we were all filmed. I am an honest person, so I had nothing to worry about. If anything, those cameras protected me because they accounted for my whereabouts at all times. Children are definitely our most precious gift...it is our job as parents to do all that we can to protect them. It's a very different world today from what I grew up in.
first and foremost...don't do it without telling them. Second, as a well qualified and respected nanny, I wouldn't want to work for someone with a Nanny cam. For me is shows a level of paranoia and distrust. No thanks. If I found out I was being taped and hadn't been told, I hope you have back up care for the next day, because I wouldn't be there. Your Nanny is all over your house while they care for your child. If you think you are so much smarter than her and can hide the camera, congrats...you've hired a stupid Nanny. I'm sure there are some Nanny's that have no issue. I'm used to being trusted while I work, so I would. Just because a nanny doesn't want to be taped, doesn't mean she's a child abuser. If a Nanny wants to abuse your child, and you are taping her, she will find a way to do it. All taping provides is a false sense of security. Taping will theoretically help you AFTER your child has been abused anyway. What good is it then? You haven't protected your child from anything? Do your work up front and hire a well qualified nanny with references. Meet with other families she has worked for. Do you back ground checks etc. Good Luck!
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"Taping will theoretically help you AFTER your child has been abused anyway. What good is it then? You haven't protected your child from anything?"I see both sides of this issue and thankfully I work from home and care for my two boys so it is not a decision I have to make.However...this argument I've seen posted several times about nanny cams only helping after the fact...if I were the mom kelceesmom talked about, who hired the former daycare teacher (and we have to assume this person would have been through the appropriate background checks)...and this person had been in my home 8 months already when I found out about the abuse, I would be kicking myself for not reviewing those tapes earlier. So yes, it will not help you protect your child from ANY abuse, but it could help you protect a child from REPEATED abuse, and I think we can all agree that it would be far worse to know that an abusive caregiver had been in our home for 8 months. How heartbreaking.
Do it, and tell the nanny they are being filmed. As a respite provider I strongly prefer that families have cameras in their home. It protects the nanny, as well as the child. But I agree that it is invasive of privacy not to tell the nanny they are being filmed. Plus, if the point of the nanny cam is to reduce the risk of abuse (not just catch it on tape) it doesn't do much good if they don't know it's there, now does it??? Of course, hopefully they won't need that deterrent.