Cameras

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not ok with cameras.

Would you want a camera on you all day while you were at work, not knowing when the boss is going to be looking at it? Feeling like you cant sit down because you will be seen as lazy...No Thank you.

Just an FYI - most offices are now open concept. Cubicles have low or no walls. Offices have glass walls and doors. This cuts down significantly on both electricity costs, heating costs and inefficient workers because everyone can see everyone. So yeah, my boss and my direct reports can watch what I do all day long. Including monitoring all my browser history, calls text and data usage. That's what employers do.

Now let's see you get spied on (by God knows who), as you strive to build a trusting, often intimate (of sorts!) relationship with another human being. It's actually sometimes similar to a mother child relationship. Some people might like that sort of reality tv experience, others not so much. A snapshot is one thing, but 50+ hours a week, quite another.

FYI, I work 60 hours a week with an infant, so yes, I need to walk in the shoes of the parents.

No parent has time to watch 40+ hours of footage... they have a nanny because they have a full-time job. Parents just want to be able to check in on their little one periodically, especially at the beginning. Typically parents like to get silly and roll around with their kids/dance etc. too... seeing you do this would be reassuring. Not anything to be embarrassed about.

You may speak for yourself. That's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's the difference between the surveillance in an office and in a nanny setting:

1) In an office, your supervisor is not the person examining that footage. In many cases, no one examines it at all unles there is an issue, but when someone does it is security and they are looking to identify a specific issue. That is very different from parents (with whom nanny is teying to build a rapport), checking in regularly to see how nanny's behavior makes them feel.

2) Parents watch this footage far more frequently and bring it up far more frequently than would be the case in an office setting. Yes, even though they are at work. If you have the streaming service it is easy to keep it open in a background window and check in every time you think of your kid. That is incredibly tempting to new parents who want to feel connected to their baby. The result is often micromanaging. "I noticed baby went down for nap at 11:45 instead of 11:30. We really need to keep her on schedule." This undermines both the parents' trust in nanny as they begin to feel that she needs constant supervision and instruction and it undermines the nanny's trust in the parents to treat her as a professional and a member of the parenting team rather than a mindless drone.

3) An office is filled with people who choose to work in an office. A nanny has chosen a career where she doesn't have any adult interaction all day. It takes a certain personality type to thrive in that environment and yes, many nannies are shy. So telling them that the parents won't mind seeing them be silly is not the point. The nanny minds. If she was comfortable with constant supervision, she would be with a WAH parent.

4) Constant supervision is always a low-level stress for some people, but that matters more in a nanny setting because nannying is emotional labor. In an office, you don't have to be constantly patient and upbeat and positive. You can sit around with a grouchy look on your face while you handle many things like emails, research, etc. Sure there will be meetings and phone calls and conferences where your social skills come into play, but even then your clients aren't sobbing incoherantly or throwing food or barfing on you, and the level of social skills required is "polite and deferential" not "loving you like your mother would were she here." It is a huge difference.

That said, as a nanny, I am fine with cameras provided parents are up front. But, as is so often the case, comparing what I do to what office workers do is apples and oranges.

Well said. If viewing the nanny is your priority, make sure you find someone who says it's ok.

[Anonymous]

We have cameras, and it has nothing to do with the nanny and everything to do with living in an urban area and having been victim to crimes. we have them outside the perimeter of the house and two on the main level. our cameras also have audio, which has come in handy when the kids are behaving like monsters. Our nanny has texted me and asked that I listen to the spectacle when our biggest trouble maker is causing problems. It is nice to see first hand what the problem is. Helps to approach our child.

If a nanny is not OK with our very visible and not hidden camera, then she doesn't need to work for us. Luckily our nanny has nothing to hide and has no issues with the cameras.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. I did a search on these boards and people seem to be against parents using cameras to keep an eye on the kids while they're away. Everyone I know who has a nanny has at least one camera (usually several around the house). They are cheap these days and easy to install and manage. This is 2016. The majority of daycare centers have cameras too. If the cameras are not hidden and your nanny agrees to it, what's the issue? I hired you based on your interview and recommendations, but trust is earned, not given. I won't be watching the cameras every minute, but you better believe I will be checking in periodically. If a nanny I hired was not okay with cameras I wouldn't want her to watch my children anyway. What exactly are you hiding?

cameras are a non-issue.

for those who think the parents are sitting in their offices watching a nanny go around, wow - that's really flattering.

[Anonymous]

I worked for Colonial Downs at one of their OTB sites. We had cameras everywhere, with security officers who monitored them at all times. This did not bother us, because we were dealing with large amounts of money and the cameras were a necessity. If you are dealing with a human life, why would you have a problem with someone watching you? A human life is worth more than money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. I did a search on these boards and people seem to be against parents using cameras to keep an eye on the kids while they're away. Everyone I know who has a nanny has at least one camera (usually several around the house). They are cheap these days and easy to install and manage. This is 2016. The majority of daycare centers have cameras too. If the cameras are not hidden and your nanny agrees to it, what's the issue? I hired you based on your interview and recommendations, but trust is earned, not given. I won't be watching the cameras every minute, but you better believe I will be checking in periodically. If a nanny I hired was not okay with cameras I wouldn't want her to watch my children anyway. What exactly are you hiding?

Why do you sound like a psycho? She got a better job?

[Anonymous]

I dont like the cameras because it makes me feel put on the spot. It's the same reason I don't sign or dance or do the goofy things I do with the kids during the day when the parents are home in the morning or evening. It's hard enough to get MBs/DBs to respect us, how am I supposed to come at you like a professional when you watched me roll around on the ground barking like a dog to make your kid laugh. I'll be a clown for their entertainment, but not for yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dont like the cameras because it makes me feel put on the spot. It's the same reason I don't sign or dance or do the goofy things I do with the kids during the day when the parents are home in the morning or evening. It's hard enough to get MBs/DBs to respect us, how am I supposed to come at you like a professional when you watched me roll around on the ground barking like a dog to make your kid laugh. I'll be a clown for their entertainment, but not for yours.

I'm watching my kid. Not you. I'm looking at my kid to see she's happy, to see she's not scared of you, to see the dog is not aggressive with you. I'm not watching you that much and CERTAINLY not thinking poorly (or less respectfully) of you for doing silly dances.

[Anonymous]

There are cameras in every room (except bathrooms) at my job. I never give them a second thought. HOWEVER, my employers system also allows them to talk to us thru the camera and I said a very emphatic "no!" to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I dont like the cameras because it makes me feel put on the spot. It's the same reason I don't sign or dance or do the goofy things I do with the kids during the day when the parents are home in the morning or evening. It's hard enough to get MBs/DBs to respect us, how am I supposed to come at you like a professional when you watched me roll around on the ground barking like a dog to make your kid laugh. I'll be a clown for their entertainment, but not for yours.

I'm watching my kid. Not you. I'm looking at my kid to see she's happy, to see she's not scared of you, to see the dog is not aggressive with you. I'm not watching you that much and CERTAINLY not thinking poorly (or less respectfully) of you for doing silly dances.

You can say that all you like. And you may really believe it. But it doesn't change how immediately uncomfortable and stressed I feel trying to do my job knowing there are cameras on me. I don't want a job like that. I'd rather work with a stay at home parent, so at least I know when they're in the freaking room. You have every right to have cameras. I'd probably want them if I were to ever hire a nanny. But I don't like them and specifically seek out jobs where they aren't present.