Installing cameras to record/watch children while out of the house?

[NWMom]

Dear all, has any of you installed some cameras to record how your children are being taken care of?
We have never had any nannies and I am concerned at the idea of leaving very young kids w strangers not knowing how well exactly the nanny is looking after the children.
I am wondering whether it is a common practice or maybe the nannies would mind "watched" while they are working.
Thank you!

Not common practice, and legally you need to inform the nanny if you intend to film them. I would inform potential nannies at interview though as many probably won't be happy with it.

I have not done it personally although did consider it like you. If you do it probably best to put a clause in the contract about it as, if anything happened and you wanted to take action based on video evidence, you could only do this if the nanny had consented to be filmed. Otherwise video evidence is admissible in court/tribunal and you may also be in trouble.

Problem is that it doesn't seem to be widely done in this country at the moment so it could put nannies off the job.

You don't need to tell the nanny you have surveillance up in your own home, although you obviously couldn't put it up in places such as the toilet. Telling them it was there rather defeats the purpose really, as they would just move out the sight of the cameras. Personally I haven't done it, although I wouldn't leave someone I wasn't certain of with the children anyway.

That's interesting Brian. Do you know where you got this information from? Is it mentioned in case law or a statute or something?

my dd used to go to a nursery with cameras, and you could log in and see your child at any time. she was 7 months old

However, all the staff used to sit in the 'blind spot' and all the children were plonked in a nest of cushions. you very rarely saw staff.

it made me feel sad and we moved her out of that nursery and i became a cm.

as a cm i wouldn't have cameras in my home, because, well, its my home!

However i do have a friend who has a camera inside a teddy on the shelf in her dd bedroom. however she doesn't have any 'help' and just uses it instead of walking up the stairs to check on her dd

Check legislation and codes of conduct of operating cctv in your country. External signage may be required to notify all visitors to your home that cctv is in operation.

Some nannies may not take the job others will be fine with it. CCTV is widely used in public spaces, offices, factories, shops so if nanny has workked in other jobs they may be used to cctv.

Consider why you want it, would it really give peace of mind or would you be logging into it all the time whilst at work, thus distracting you fron your job?

Are there other ways you can get a feel for what happens during the initial trust building period. For example nanny could send/upload photos of what your children are doing. You could keep weekly track of mileage and expenses so you know where they have been.

I was under the impression that you had to tell a nanny about nannycams? I wouldn't work for somebody who had them tbh and would quit my contract with immediate effect if I discovered them. It smacks of not trusting your nanny, which makes me wonder why you would hire one in the first place if you didn't trust her?

If you log on while you're at work just at the time your child has a tantrum or falls over, how will you feel? Your nanny will probably be out most of the time at toddler groups and parks or in the garden anyway.

I only know of people who have done it when they had a suspicion something was going on.

You can easily just pop back earlier than expected a couple of times and check that everything is okay. You could also ask your nanny to attend a specific group and ask someone you know with a child to assess how your nanny is getting on. We used to do it with the music group that is on at Emmanuel Church hall. Details are on the railings outside the church.

Its natural to be a little worried.

Hmmm, sorry, I was convinced that you didn't have to tell them because its a private residence. I looked into getting a nanny cam a long time ago when we were getting a new babysitter. I didn't bother in the end, but I thought I read that you didn't have to disclose it. But I've just had a search and everything says you do have to disclose it, or at least say you use it sometimes, although you dont have to say where it is. There are issues about sound and privacy too. Sorry about the misinformation

I worked for a family who had them...it was awful...even though I was doing absolutely nothing wrong, I hated being watched and felt constantly on edge...I quit after 8 weeks...purely because of the cameras

Frankly you either trust someone with your dc or you don't...if you feel like you need cameras then either you need a different nanny or a new childcare setting

Legalities aside, I think if you are feeling so unsure about the nanny that you feel the need to film him/her then you need take a step back and decide whther or not you are really nanny employer material.

Really, you have to share control over your children's lives to some extend when you employ a nanny. If you need to know what they are doing at all times, then this is not the right childcare for you.

Have a think about whether you are actually prepared to share some level of control.

I have an au pair / nanny (somewhere between really) and I would never ever even think about filming her in secret. I have complete faith in the job she does when I am not around, and I wouldn't dream of ruining our fabulous employee/employer relationship with such a horrid insult. If you have a nanny in whom you don't have this faith, your are on a road that is going to a bad place and you should change course. That might mean a different nanny and it might mean an entirely different childcare solution.

I wouldn't be myself if I knew my employers had cameras.

In my last position my charge had a video baby monitor that my employers could access via the Internet. It was positioned over her cot and that is all the parents could see (I would check that it hadn't been knocked or moved every day) but I felt very self-conscious. I wouldn't sing to her or play silly games with her in her bedroom in case my employers (or granny!) were watching/listening.

I have lots of silly games/songs that I do at bedtime/nap time and unfortunately, she got a story and a kiss goodnight.

Ex-charges still say to me, play x,y or z game when I put them to bed so I know that children enjoy them.

If the rest of the house had cameras I wouldn't be able to do half the things that children enjoy but make me look stupid!

That said, I wouldn't turn down a job that had cameras but I would ask the employers if, after a settling in stage and once they were comfortable with me, we could have set times when they log in.

I think it's reasonable to be unsure about a nanny when you've not had one before. There are, however, as already suggested, ways to monitor the situation without cameras.

If you hire a nanny that comes with good references and appears to be the right sort of person for you I would not be worried about leaving her alone with the children after a few days 'induction'. That's because I believe you will detect in your child's behaviour if its going well or not.

I think, though, if you reach the point of feeling that something doesn't seem quite right but can't put your finger on what it is, that's when you might think a hidden camera or two would help you understand what's going on and either assure you or not.

Of course it is natural to be nervous- but I would be very on edge and uncomfortable knowing that someone was watching my every move. Nothing to do with working with children- you ask how many lawyers, librarians, bin men would want their every move at work monitored. Not many would be my guess.

Do you have relatives near by that could "pop in" and check on the children every so often for the first few days? I wouldn't begrudge a child seeing their grandparent personally. Assuming you mention to the nanny that they "might be passing at some point today and may come and say hello to X and Y"

Peverse - nothing more, nothing less. If you are inclined to install cameras to monitor the activity of the person you have entrusted the life of your child to, then you should not be leaving your child in that person's care. I have never heard anything so shocking. It is like getting a private detective to check up on your wife. If I ever remotely thought of checking up on my wife in that way then our relationship would be over - instantly, as should yours with your childcare provider.

A wife is someone you've known for a long time and come to trust unless it was an 'arranged marriage' and you've just met. Trust is earned over time. No comparison between a nanny you've just employed and your wife.