Nannycams. Keep them secret or not?

[Anonymous]

For you parents that have nanny cams do you keep them a secret from your nanny, like spying, or let them know you have them and where they are and present it as protection of everyones interests? My nanny cams are in the only rooms the nanny should actually be with DC but she knows they are there. I always wondered it I should have just kept them a secret.

[Anonymous]

We've always had the nanny cams out in the open - I think it's wrong to do it otherwise. Plus we live in California and it would be illegal to record sound without the person's consent.

[Anonymous]

Ours are out in the open and of course the nanny knows about them. We only got them to check in on the baby from time to time during our days away from him. We have a great and very trustworthy nanny. I would never secretly record anyone.

[Anonymous]

Why would you want to keep your nanny cams secret?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you want to keep your nanny cams secret?

So incase the nanny is doing something she knows we wouldn't like that she can't simply go out of view of the cameras.

[Anonymous]

I know all nannies say they should be out in the open but I don't understand or agree with that. We have nanny cams and our nanny does not know. We feel fine about that (and yes, I would feel fine if my company were filming me at work).

[Anonymous]

We have cameras out in the open and we told people when they interviewed about them. I've posted before about this issue and spoken to a lot of people in real life and the point of them really is not to detect abuse. You need to put the work in to check the nanny's background and references to know she isn't going to intentionally physically harm your children. Besides, wouldn't you rather prevent abuse than catch it? If the nanny knows you have cameras wouldn't she be less likely to do something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have cameras out in the open and we told people when they interviewed about them. I've posted before about this issue and spoken to a lot of people in real life and the point of them really is not to detect abuse. You need to put the work in to check the nanny's background and references to know she isn't going to intentionally physically harm your children. Besides, wouldn't you rather prevent abuse than catch it? If the nanny knows you have cameras wouldn't she be less likely to do something?

So what is the point of your cameras?

I don't think a camera in the living room that the nanny knows about would prevent her from doing anything she might have otherwise done if there was no camera. She just won't do it in the living room.

I think the cameras server a purpose because no matter how much you ask, how many references you check, etc you never know. Plus anyone can have a bad day and haul off and smack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have cameras out in the open and we told people when they interviewed about them. I've posted before about this issue and spoken to a lot of people in real life and the point of them really is not to detect abuse. You need to put the work in to check the nanny's background and references to know she isn't going to intentionally physically harm your children. Besides, wouldn't you rather prevent abuse than catch it? If the nanny knows you have cameras wouldn't she be less likely to do something?

So what is the point of your cameras?

I don't think a camera in the living room that the nanny knows about would prevent her from doing anything she might have otherwise done if there was no camera. She just won't do it in the living room.

I think the cameras server a purpose because no matter how much you ask, how many references you check, etc you never know. Plus anyone can have a bad day and haul off and smack.

I can't speak for everyone because everyone has their own reasons for having cameras but I have them because it helps me see how the nanny interacts with DCs when I'm not around. I'll give you an example: A few years ago we were looking for a nanny. "Mary" had 2 children of her own the same ages as mine and lots of great references. The first time she came to our home for an interview she was great with my DCs. We did a couple of trial days and all was good. She started working for us and on her first day I was working a half day. I told her I'd be home sometime around 2. DC#1 usually napped around 1:30. Well, I got done early with work and decided to run some errands but needed to stop at home first. As I was arriving home I checked the cameras to see where in the house they were to see if I could sneak in and out. It was noon and I saw that DC#1 was in his bed, 1 1/2 hrs before his usual nap time, but not asleep. I thought maybe he seemed extra tired so she put him down early. While I was still in the garage the nanny opened the door and was surprised to see me but went back in the house. By the time I got into the house DC#1 was downstairs, not in his bed. I told her I knew he'd been in bed and she said she hadn't realized how early it was and had put him down by mistake and when she realized she went up and got him. I gave her the benefit of the doubt but kept watching the cameras. I noticed that she was different with DC#1 when I wasn't around. DC#2 was a baby at the time and she was really sweet and great with him but just had no patience with my 2 year old DC#1. She didn't do anything even close to abusive, she didn't yell at him but she just didn't click with him. She clearly preferred playing with the baby than the older one. She was totally different when I was around. Eventually we let her go and found someone who was a better fit and that DC#1 was much happier with. The thing is though I would never have known any of this without the cameras. It's not like she was being abusive at all it just seemed like she didn't like DC#1 but would always just tell me that he was sweet and good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have cameras out in the open and we told people when they interviewed about them. I've posted before about this issue and spoken to a lot of people in real life and the point of them really is not to detect abuse. You need to put the work in to check the nanny's background and references to know she isn't going to intentionally physically harm your children. Besides, wouldn't you rather prevent abuse than catch it? If the nanny knows you have cameras wouldn't she be less likely to do something?

I feel like if the nanny knows you have cameras and wants to abuse the baby she'll just do it in a camera-less area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you want to keep your nanny cams secret?

So incase the nanny is doing something she knows we wouldn't like that she can't simply go out of view of the cameras.

If you don't trust your nanny you should let her go.

[Anonymous]

We have live-stream nanny cams in our baby's nursery and in her playroom and yes, our nanny is aware that its there. I had a lot of anxiety going back to work so being able to peek in on my daughter throughout the day has helped with that. My husband and I were upfront with the candidates we interviewed that there were nanny cams in the nursery and playroom as a way for us to peek in on our daughter throughout the day and see what they were up to, not as a way to check-in on the nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know all nannies say they should be out in the open but I don't understand or agree with that. We have nanny cams and our nanny does not know. We feel fine about that (and yes, I would feel fine if my company were filming me at work).

Wow...So as employers, you have already started your relationship off based on deceit. Wonderful way to start off a Nanny/Parent relationship OP. Trust is the foundation for ALL types of relationships and it looks like yours has nothing at all to stand on. Considering there is a precious child involved here, it saddens me that you would put your own interest above his.

Trust me on this....If a nanny wanted to abuse or neglect a child, no camera on the planet could or would stop it. She would find a way to do it.

There are places like the bathrooms where there are no cameras, right? Or what about when they leave the house?

Don't be fooled into thinking a camera is a guarantee that your child is in safe hands. It isn't.

[Anonymous]

Every time nanny cams come up here, this same person writes how nannies want to hide abuse from the cameras.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every time nanny cams come up here, this same person writes how nannies want to hide abuse from the cameras.

Admittedly most nannies are kind of crappy. Parents need cheap childcare, the nannies need money. neither party is really invested in making the situation great, so Im sure a lot of nannies do end up doing things that would get them fired if more people had nanny cams. I'm not talking about graphic child abuse, but more like hitting, yelling, slapping, spanking against parents wishes, etc