Whether due to a bad experience in the past, or just plain first time jitters, many families today are setting up nanny cams while leaving their children in the hands of a home childcare provider. The big question, however, is whether doing so will truly improve the situation, or if it will make the employment situation worse for everyone involved from the parents to the children, and of course the child care nanny? Each family must consider for itself the pros and cons of using a nanny cam before setting one up somewhere in the home.
The first pitfall of a nanny cam is that it is, technically, illegal to record the nanny without her knowledge. This means that wise parents will be upfront about the situation from the beginning, and will have to ask the nanny questions about her feelings on the matter as early as the initial screening or interview. This harbors an environment of mistrust before you have even shook hands with the new nanny, and can understandably cause her to feel limited and paranoid while at work. Nobody wants a camera pointed at them while working at the office all day every day, so don't expect any nanny, no matter how trustworthy and professional she may be, to jump at the idea.
As an alternative to using a nanny cam, it can often be enough to simply ask an adequate amount of questions of the nanny and references to get an idea of any troubles in the past. Not to mention, such seasoned nannies have seen nanny cams before, and will likely be aware of the camera whether or not you come clean about recording them. Another measure to take is asking both the child and nanny questions each day about what they did, how things went, and what went wrong. This will give the parent an idea if the child and nanny are on the same page, or if things don't quite match up, which can raise a red flag.
Unlike other household employees, a nanny is someone whom which parents should have an extremely good relationship and an extremely high degree of trust. If you as a parent are already feeling suspicious of a nanny before she even steps through the door, expect to go through a long string of short term nannies before finding the right one. If you question a nanny's judgment, it might be just as likely the nanny will question yours. Such mistrust definitely does not speak to longevity, as the relationship between parent, nanny and child has no solid platform to build from. When and if problems arise, such as the parent worrying about discipline, an unstable or inattentive nanny, or even petty theft, chances are (unless the entire house is wired) these things will be happening off-screen anyway. In such an instance, it is time to sit down with the nanny and a representative from the nanny agency and discuss the issue by asking the nanny questions which are well thought out, and relevant. In short, instead of watching hours and hours of uneventful footage, the average parent would be better served by keeping communication open with a new nanny that with even the most sophisticated nanny cam.
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About the Author
Steve Lampert is the president of eNannySource, an online nanny agency that brings together families and nannies. Lampert has been helping nannies find nanny jobs and families find nannies. Steve has been in the nanny agency business since 1994. Prior to founding eNannySource in 2001 he ran a successful, award-winning nanny agency in a major city for over 10 years, during which time he worked with thousands of families and nanny candidates. Through this experience, he became familiar with the important steps in a nanny search, which he continues to apply to his business today. To find an excellent nanny or to find nanny jobs please go to: enannysource.com enannysource.com.
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