Should You Use a Nanny Cam? How to Trust your Gut Feel
If you have children and a nanny, then you have every right to be worried. You may have heard news reports of nannies kidnapping their wards, children being left alone by irresponsible nannies, or nannies being the key that opens your door to all the world’s strangers. Although this can be paranoid, you will still need to exercise a lot of caution when determining who to hire. At one point, if you are busy and need help with taking care of your children, and you have a nanny that you are trying to trust, then perhaps you have thought of using your nanny cam.
The advantage of having a nanny cam is that you can watch your nanny and keep a close eye on your children and how they are treated. This can also be offset by the disadvantage of concentrating too much on your nanny cam that you can leave your work behind. You might as well stay home and watch your children if all your time at the office is spent monitoring your nanny cam!
Should you use a nanny cam? You can start thinking of this when you interview your nanny. Gut feel will easily tell you if your nanny is an amateur or has never worked with children. Your instincts should also tell you if something is amiss, such as if your nanny has a boyfriend with whom she has little contact, or if your nanny is over-indulgent and thus appears suspicious. There should be many warning signs that can tell you different things: can your nanny bring in her boyfriend and leave your children behind? Might your nanny just be showing her good side because she is being interviewed?
Continue weighing your options when you finally hire your nanny. You may want to interview your children when you arrive home and ask them how their day has been. Did they enjoy being with the nanny? Was the nanny doing anything inappropriate, talking too much on the phone, hurting the children? If you have more than one child, assign your elder child as your lookout. When your elder child starts voicing concerns, then you can use a nanny cam to confirm or refute your child’s claims.
There isn’t anything wrong with being paranoid, as long as you’re reasonable about your views. Always ask your nanny for referrals, and if you can, ask for certificates of good conduct or check on your nanny’s police record. A good way to test your nanny is to ask for the police records. A good nanny will have nothing to hide.
If you do need to use a nanny cam, make it discreet and start by not telling your nanny that he or she is being watched. This might make your nanny flustered; accidents can happen with careless or nannies who are conscious that they are being monitored. A disadvantage to this is that it can be a devious move that your nanny can sue you for. A good workaround is for you to tell your nanny that you have a nanny cam, and that you will be monitoring him or her at varying times. This way, your nanny cannot predict when he or she is being watched or from where. This can be a good test of nanny mettle, so make sure that you know how to use your gut feel.
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Tags: Child Safety, nanny cam tips, nanny cams, protect your child