Cameras?

[Anonymous]

Should we tell our nanny that we have cameras in the house? Any opinion will help! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Yes. It's the right think to do and be completely transparent since I hope you are not hiding anything. You don't necessarily have to tell him/her where they are, but that they are at least present in the home. I refuse to work for parents who have cameras and don't disclose them upfront to me.

[Anonymous]

MB here. Yes, tell her. Be upfront and honest, the way you hope she will be with you about anything/everything.

[Anonymous]

I told my nanny we have a camera in the basement and for the rest of the year, she never ever went in there and brought all the toys and every single thing upstairs. We pay a lot of money for extra space that we never use.

I would advise against it. I personally think a camera is to gain trust in your nanny that she would treat your charges when no one is around, since you can not have a camera watching every move 100% of the time. If you disclose, the behavior changes and you don't know what she is doing to the kid when there is no camera.

A lot of nannies will tell you that you must disclose but I think this is their way of "winning" in a power struggle. Many will threaten to quit but the same people also complain about living paycheck to paycheck and needing guaranteed hours and such and I highly doubt that they would quit with no notice on the spot if they found a camera. I think if they were so difficult that they could not work under a camera, they'd have a hard time finding a job too, and they'd take months to find a new job while you'd have a replacement in 2 weeks.

I've worked for a handful of different companies, some very large. All of them had cameras. No one ever disclosed them to me, on HR orientation day or after.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I told my nanny we have a camera in the basement and for the rest of the year, she never ever went in there and brought all the toys and every single thing upstairs. We pay a lot of money for extra space that we never use.

I would advise against it. I personally think a camera is to gain trust in your nanny that she would treat your charges when no one is around, since you can not have a camera watching every move 100% of the time. If you disclose, the behavior changes and you don't know what she is doing to the kid when there is no camera.

A lot of nannies will tell you that you must disclose but I think this is their way of "winning" in a power struggle. Many will threaten to quit but the same people also complain about living paycheck to paycheck and needing guaranteed hours and such and I highly doubt that they would quit with no notice on the spot if they found a camera. I think if they were so difficult that they could not work under a camera, they'd have a hard time finding a job too, and they'd take months to find a new job while you'd have a replacement in 2 weeks.

I've worked for a handful of different companies, some very large. All of them had cameras. No one ever disclosed them to me, on HR orientation day or after.

You are a handful. If a parents choose not to disclose that they have a camera monitoring me, then I'm left with no other choice but to believe they don't trust me. If a parents does not trust me then a nanny can't work under those conditions and parents can't possibly be okay with this person spending time with their child. A huge corporation or department store having camera is totally different than in a private home because of the accountability. Tell your nanny!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I told my nanny we have a camera in the basement and for the rest of the year, she never ever went in there and brought all the toys and every single thing upstairs. We pay a lot of money for extra space that we never use.

I would advise against it. I personally think a camera is to gain trust in your nanny that she would treat your charges when no one is around, since you can not have a camera watching every move 100% of the time. If you disclose, the behavior changes and you don't know what she is doing to the kid when there is no camera.

A lot of nannies will tell you that you must disclose but I think this is their way of "winning" in a power struggle. Many will threaten to quit but the same people also complain about living paycheck to paycheck and needing guaranteed hours and such and I highly doubt that they would quit with no notice on the spot if they found a camera. I think if they were so difficult that they could not work under a camera, they'd have a hard time finding a job too, and they'd take months to find a new job while you'd have a replacement in 2 weeks.

I've worked for a handful of different companies, some very large. All of them had cameras. No one ever disclosed them to me, on HR orientation day or after.

Wow you just have it all figured out! I don't live paycheck to paycheck, I require guaranteed hours to work with me because I expect my time to be valued and it can't be reserved for free, and while I wouldn't quit on the spot after finding the camera, I would immediately begin job hunting and quit with no notice once a job was secured. Parents love to put an honesty clause in the contract as grounds for immediate termination, and it is simple enough to ask for that to be a mutual clause. I recommend that all nannies do it. If you catch a parent in a significant lie/act of deceit they deserve to have the contract terminated just as any nanny would be fired for lying. Finding a job without secret cameras isn't hard, because the reality is that most parents don't use them, and many who do disclose. The percentage of parents secretly filming their nannies is small and easily avoidable.

[Anonymous]

Tell her exactly how you intent to use the footage.

Put it in writing.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for your responses. Generally, seeing all those videos on the internet how some nannies are all the time on the phone, or not paying attention, etc. I've seen and heard lots of stories but I wanted another opinion. I don't know why is the problem to have a camera. If she loves her job and if she is good,she has nothing to be afraid of, right? You can never be sure what can happen and I want to avoid that. We can do background checks, we can call references, but we will never know until we see it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I told my nanny we have a camera in the basement and for the rest of the year, she never ever went in there and brought all the toys and every single thing upstairs. We pay a lot of money for extra space that we never use.

I would advise against it. I personally think a camera is to gain trust in your nanny that she would treat your charges when no one is around, since you can not have a camera watching every move 100% of the time. If you disclose, the behavior changes and you don't know what she is doing to the kid when there is no camera.

A lot of nannies will tell you that you must disclose but I think this is their way of "winning" in a power struggle. Many will threaten to quit but the same people also complain about living paycheck to paycheck and needing guaranteed hours and such and I highly doubt that they would quit with no notice on the spot if they found a camera. I think if they were so difficult that they could not work under a camera, they'd have a hard time finding a job too, and they'd take months to find a new job while you'd have a replacement in 2 weeks.

I've worked for a handful of different companies, some very large. All of them had cameras. No one ever disclosed them to me, on HR orientation day or after.

I was living paycheck to paycheck (paying for graduate school is not cheap) and quit on the spot, before my day was even over, when I found a hidden camera. I called the mom, told her she had to come home, and left. I had a new job within a week, I doubt they had a nanny as educated, professional, and qualified as I am within a month.
Being recorded in a situation where there is a reasonable assumption of privacy (not a huge office building or public space) is incredibly violating and not something I will ever put up with. This has nothing to do with me asserting "power" and everything to do with having respect for myself.
So sure, OP, keep your cameras a secret, just don't be surprised when it bites you in the ass.

[Anonymous]

My grad student nanny who I thought was more responsible than this invited her boyfriend over during the day while my baby was napping. I found some suspicious things (extra dishes in the sink, take out food containers) so I reviewed the footage and found her making out with her boyfriend while my baby was napping on the Rock and play. While she was not neglectful and provided excellent care, she was fired.

Nannies, you need to realize you are working, not taking MB's job. The family's house is your place of work. A lot of nannies think that you are substitute mom. There is a big difference between nanny and being a mom.

What my nanny did, a single MB may have done, which is to invite boyfriend over during the day and things just got a little out of hand. Never mistake for a second that the family home is not your home. In your home, you may parade around naked, that is your right. You have a right not to be filmed in your home. As a nanny, the family's home is your place of employment and you need to act accordingly.

If you are ok with a camera at a public place, this is your warning now. The family's house is your place of work, not your own home. Do not confuse that. Also you do not have a right to expectation of privacy, except in bathroom and sleeping areas. The law is not implicit, but explicit on this. If you did not know that before, you do now.

If you have a problem with any of this, then you should really change careers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My grad student nanny who I thought was more responsible than this invited her boyfriend over during the day while my baby was napping. I found some suspicious things (extra dishes in the sink, take out food containers) so I reviewed the footage and found her making out with her boyfriend while my baby was napping on the Rock and play. While she was not neglectful and provided excellent care, she was fired.

Nannies, you need to realize you are working, not taking MB's job. The family's house is your place of work. A lot of nannies think that you are substitute mom. There is a big difference between nanny and being a mom.

What my nanny did, a single MB may have done, which is to invite boyfriend over during the day and things just got a little out of hand. Never mistake for a second that the family home is not your home. In your home, you may parade around naked, that is your right. You have a right not to be filmed in your home. As a nanny, the family's home is your place of employment and you need to act accordingly.

If you are ok with a camera at a public place, this is your warning now. The family's house is your place of work, not your own home. Do not confuse that. Also you do not have a right to expectation of privacy, except in bathroom and sleeping areas. The law is not implicit, but explicit on this. If you did not know that before, you do now.

If you have a problem with any of this, then you should really change careers.

Don't trip on your way down from your sanctimonious soapbox!

Yes, my employer's home is not my home and according to the law they can record me. However, if I wanted to work in an environment where I was constantly monitored I wouldn't have picked nannying. I have an expectation of privacy while in their home because my work is sensitive and personal and the idea of someone watching me sing and dance and roll around on the ground without my knowledge or consent makes me uncomfortable and it is my right to avoid such situations. When I choose a family to work with, we are both trusting each other. I'm trusting that you will pay me according to our agreement, that you will protect my personal information, and that you will not violate me by recording me secretly. If I find that said trust has been misplaced I will terminate our agreement as quickly as is good for me.

MBs, can you seriously not understand how finding out you've been secretly filmed can feel like a huge violation? We may not have the legal right to an expectation of privacy, but most people don't expect to be filmed in a private home. A large office building? Yes. A supermarket? Yes. But not at Larla's house down the street. If I found out anyone was secretly filming me, against the law or not, I would feel violated and abused and want to get the hell away from you.

[Anonymous]

In God we trust, others we verify.

[Anonymous]

You are in my private space, not your private space, paid to be in charge of a helpless human being. Please only whine about privacy violations where it is your own space. You heard it now that you can be filmed so you should know better than to play so hard you end up flashing your underwear. If you do it after reading this then you are being stupid.

[Anonymous]

Of course all nannies want to know if there are cameras. They all claim that they change their shirts in our living rooms or something. But as others have said, they forget it's not THEIR house, it's not THEIR private space. If they want privacy to pick a wedgie or change their shirt after being spit up on, that's what the bathroom is for.

They all claim they're self-conscious knowing they're on camera - that they can't be as silly with the kids as they would be without cameras. So they're never silly with kids outside the house? Come on. I've sung to my babies walking through Costco, I taught my DD gymnastics at the playground, etc.

They claim they don't know what we're doing with the video. Um, we're watching it to make sure you're not beating our kids and not neglecting them for your phone or tv shows. We're watching it to make sure you're not letting the kids watch tv when we've told you they're not to, that you're reading to them after we've asked that you do. Our husbands aren't jacking off to the sight of you, and we're not sitting with our friends drinking beers, watching and laughing while you hula hoop with our toddler.

References are well and good, but they're not everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I told my nanny we have a camera in the basement and for the rest of the year, she never ever went in there and brought all the toys and every single thing upstairs. We pay a lot of money for extra space that we never use.

I would advise against it. I personally think a camera is to gain trust in your nanny that she would treat your charges when no one is around, since you can not have a camera watching every move 100% of the time. If you disclose, the behavior changes and you don't know what she is doing to the kid when there is no camera.

A lot of nannies will tell you that you must disclose but I think this is their way of "winning" in a power struggle. Many will threaten to quit but the same people also complain about living paycheck to paycheck and needing guaranteed hours and such and I highly doubt that they would quit with no notice on the spot if they found a camera. I think if they were so difficult that they could not work under a camera, they'd have a hard time finding a job too, and they'd take months to find a new job while you'd have a replacement in 2 weeks.

I've worked for a handful of different companies, some very large. All of them had cameras. No one ever disclosed them to me, on HR orientation day or after.

Why would you only have one camera, in your basement?