How to check our nanny?

[bengong79]

Hi,

We are going to have a nanny to our first child.
This step make us so worried. I do not know how to check and make sure that our nanny is handling nicly and giving the proper care to our child.
I thouth about puting a surveillance webcam. I do have the webcam but I donot know how can I see it from work. I tried to look for some kind of software and got into this site
***text deleted by moderator***

But i do not know how this should work and I could not find what I am looking for,

Any help will be great,
If you have anyother idea beside surveillance webcam this is also great.

Thanks
Ben

[Lastcenturymum]

I would have thought her references would be all you need. If you spend some time around her seeing how she intereacts with your child you would get SOME idea.

I'd hate to think if I was a qualifed nanny I was being spied on!

[studyingECS]

If you feel most comfortable with camera's then you should atleast tell the nanny that they will be on.:)

IMO you dont need them if you have your instincts

[westerner]

Have you already hired/picked the nanny..

Because in my opinion if your not comfortable in believing and trusting that they are going to take proper care for your child and you feel the need to spy on them then i would not be leaving the child in there care..

I would think about why i am leaving the child in there care and how much i trust them and how they do there job before installing cameras to watch them..

And if i felt the need for a split second to monitor them with cameras then they are either the wrong person for the job and i would look for someone else or i would stay home and care for the child myself..

[veve]

If I was the nanny .. I would want to know that I was being taped ..

if I was working .. and being taped and found out .. it would make me feel mistrust for my employer .. I have no issue being recorded .. but I think spying on someone .. even someone who looks after your child .. is just .. wrong ..

I understand taking that step if you start to get icky feelings .. or your childs tells you something odd .. or there are bruises or something else happening .. but to just assume that someone will occur .. just seems wrong to me ..

you could always phone/ drop by unexpectantly .. in the first few days .. to see what is happening ..

xx
Jen

[EsSjAy]

GOOSE - well said.....:yelclap:

If you are concerned about 'hired help' looking after your bub's then don't go back to work.. This is my opinion. I understand that sometimes to manage financially going back to work early is essential BUT having kids is staying home and raising them....
YES SHOOT ME NOW!!!... i'm waiting for it!!!!

[Kazamataz]

I'm going to go against the grain here..
I think even if they've got excellent references and you've spent time with them.

They can still be dodgy, there a plenty of stories where children were left in the care of reputable carers and then the children have ended up seriously hurt or dead.

If it gives you just that little bit extra peace of mind then install the cameras.

And I don't think that the nanny needs to be told about it, if you don't want them to know.

If they've got nothing to hide then there should be no need for them to worry or feel mistrusted!
For goodness sakes your trusting them with your child it's not like your asking them to water your garden, this is your child, this is important.

I personally have nannied for friends and I wouldn't have had a problem with them recording me because I knew that I always looked after their children as if they were my own.

Is there a reason you don't want to put them in childcare or family daycare?

Do you have family or close friends who care for your baby?

Is their a reason you "need" to go back to work?

I don't have any advice on the webcam thing but I do know in the US they sell lots of nanny cams, so i'm sure they have a similar thing here.

Good luck with all.

[SmileyBJ]

Although laws do not state that a nanny should be told prior to being taped it does need to be keep strictly toward her care to your child...& most good nannies won't mind being taped if they are told before hand...

Some on the otherhand even if they are a great nanny will feel there privacy and trust violated if they find out down the track and you may lose a very good nanny simply from hiding cameras around your house...

I would check her qualifications extremely carefully, look into how much experience she has had. Ask her to supply two written refrences on top of 2 phone referees :thumbsup:

Get your nanny to write a diary/communication book down each day about nappy changes, sleep times, feeding, incidents, activities done throughout the day & development updates so you know exactly whats going on while your away. Even dont hesitate to call her while your on a break or lunch.

If it comes to putting cameras into your home then I don't think its the right decision for you, or your gut instinct isn't 110% having faith in the nanny choses for your position??

Just my opinion coming from a nanny's point of view :hugs:. Good luck & I hope it all turns out well!!

[Blueberry Crumble]

I am a nanny and to tell you the truth I would be really peeved if I was being filmed! Like I was being spied on! That would suck,people would see me if I scratch my bum orpickmy nose lol

[delirium]

If you are concerned about 'hired help' looking after your bub's then don't go back to work.. This is my opinion. I understand that sometimes to manage financially going back to work early is essential BUT having kids is staying home and raising them....


I have to say I agree :yes:. is there some way you can stay home instead of getting a nanny?

[forbetoel]

I think if you are going to hire someone else to do some of your parenting then you have no other choice than to trust them. I for one am not very trusting when it comes to strangers looking after my children, therefore, I do the parenting myself.

You need to decide if you can trust, and then let it go...obviously still keep a close eye on things, and look for negative signs, but I really think that if you go down that road, some of it will just have to be blind trust.:)

[BindiAmberRose]

i would tell the nanny you are recording ..there have been cases where a child has been hurt and caught on film and chances are the nannys are much less likely to do anything if they know they are being filmed . .but thats just my opinion :) good luck anyways :) xoxox

[peanutbutter&jelly]

I agree with the majority... a) if you don't feel good about hiring her - don't!!, and b) if you do choose to use a camera, then you should be telling her. Its a total breech of privacy (ironic in your home, I know... but still) if she is unaware she's being filmed.
Thats just me though :) Hope you find the right solution for you!

[xygirl351]

I disagree with most on here.
Just because she comes across nice and has good ref dont mean that one day she wont snap.
I would be tapping for sure and i would not tell her your tapping for the first few weeks.

[Herchy]

No way would I be taping, especially without knowledge....
Turn the tables on yourself. How would you like someone spying on you?
How would you like say a government body, spying on how you raise your own child????????
Nah, I don't agree with it. If you can't trust someone to look after your kids, then I think just do it yourself. I have problems trusting my MIL to do what I want in regards to DS, but I'm not going to install cameras to make sure she's following what I want her to do.
SOmetimes, you just have to have a bit of faith in people:)
When that happens, good things can come in return:)

[Jakois]

You need to go with your own instincts. Its realy hard to trust anyone with your baby (myself being completely paranoid with my first:)). As tempting as it may be to video cam your nanny, if you feel there is something not trustworthy, look for another nanny.. I am returning to work in a week and found a super fantastic Day Care. It took me months to find the right one. I suggest that if you have to work than do alot of research and interviews.. Good Luck.

[tootiredtosleep]

Years ago they installed a camera at work in the staff room to watch money been counted.. they did not tell us about it.
I used to get changed in that staff room! I would never steal from work, but I objected to been "watched" without my knowledge..

Will you put a camera in every room of your house?? Or just in the nursery and expect the nanny and baby to be in there every minute of the day? What about when she takes the baby on a walk??

I can understand a little of where you are coming from, but a camera will not prevent the wrong nanny hurting your child. They may just do it out of range.

Although I like and trust all the carers at DD's daycare, I do feel more comfortable that there are 5 carers there all day, rather than one. Perhaps if you don't trust one person alone you could see about that (if you can find a vacancy!)

[HarvestMoon]

Isn't there a law in relation to recording people.. something along the lines that it must be made known to them before doing so. That's why in shopping centre's, train stations, etc.. they will have signs up stating that you are being recorded.

You might want to look into that law a bit more before recording her if you intend to do it without her permission.

[DivinelySophistimicated]

Hrmm girls do you realise that people get paid to visit forums like this just to expose a website so that it gets interest...

Its the OPs first post and they havent been back since, they just wrote a story and added a link so that we would click on it.

[Merla]

Im going to go against the popular oppinion here and say yes, most definatly set up cameras in your house.

Even if the nanny is the most lovely person with an exelent reputation, I wouldnt trust any strangers with my (hopefully soon to be) children.

However if I were in your situation I would tell the nanny. During the interview process simply say something along the lines of "oh, just for reference sake, we have a full survalence security system installed in our house, so I hope you dont mind being caught on camera occasionally". Leave it there, they know there are cameras in the house, they know there not there to spy on them (so they think), and your being honst.

There have been lots of cases with missunderstanding and/or abuse. If your toddler falls over whilst running around, will you automatically blame the nanny? In that case the cameras can actually protect the nanny, because it wasnt there fault and there was nothing they could do.

I also think that if you know your being filmed constantly there less likely to stuff up, or do thinks they arnt ment to (like leave your child unattended whilst they have a smoke, or even a glass of water).

There are several different types of security systems set up, I would advise getting one with sound recording aswell. You can buy several small cameras from places like Jaycar and they will give you advice on how to set it up. Then you can choose whether you just have it recorded onto a computer at home (so you can look through it later), or streamed over the internet (however you may need to upgrade your internet connection to do this) so you can check on them whilst your at work.

[Teley]

Hrmm girls do you realise that people get paid to visit forums like this just to expose a website so that it gets interest...

Its the OPs first post and they havent been back since, they just wrote a story and added a link so that we would click on it.
Lol.

[stellaj]

Well just in case I edited it out :)