alkemical
12-05-2006, 11:21 AM
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/start.html?pg=7
Peekaboo, I'm Spying on You
Is getting a nannycam normal, or is it kind of creepy?
First off, recognize that if you install the camera without your nanny's knowledge, you've entered a gray area. Legal scholars are divided as to whether your nanny has a right to privacy in your home. Of course, plenty of parents have used them secretly, and according to Rhyder McClure of The New York NannyCam Company, surveillance yields results: "For 20 percent of all the cameras we install," he says, "the nannies are fired the next day." Yikes.
Before you proceed, though, ask yourself: Why do you want a nannycam? Perhaps you harbor serious suspicions that your nanny is running a meth lab in the kitchen while your 1-year-old watches reruns of The A-Team. If you're truly that uncomfortable with your child's caregiver, forget the camera – just fire the nanny.
Odds are things aren't so bad. You probably mostly trust your nanny and simply suffer from working-parent guilt, wondering what she's doing with your precious darling all day. If it's something you're obsessing about, by all means install a camera. But tell the nanny it's there. If you're lucky, she'll be so confident in her abilities that she won't mind; indeed, the cam will help her demonstrate why she deserves a hefty raise. If her performance is lax, the cam will keep her on her best behavior. Be aware that it could also screw things up. You might scare away a nanny who's perfectly good but understandably freaked out by the panopticon. "I think you'd be a better nanny without a camera, because you can be more spontaneous and silly with the children," argues "Jane Doe," proprietor of "I Saw Your Nanny," a blog that collects real-life stories of nannies behaving badly. Worse, if you're so jittery in the first place, you might misinterpret what you see and sack an otherwise terrific caregiver. Before you shine a light on your nanny, shine one on yourself.
Peekaboo, I'm Spying on You
Is getting a nannycam normal, or is it kind of creepy?
First off, recognize that if you install the camera without your nanny's knowledge, you've entered a gray area. Legal scholars are divided as to whether your nanny has a right to privacy in your home. Of course, plenty of parents have used them secretly, and according to Rhyder McClure of The New York NannyCam Company, surveillance yields results: "For 20 percent of all the cameras we install," he says, "the nannies are fired the next day." Yikes.
Before you proceed, though, ask yourself: Why do you want a nannycam? Perhaps you harbor serious suspicions that your nanny is running a meth lab in the kitchen while your 1-year-old watches reruns of The A-Team. If you're truly that uncomfortable with your child's caregiver, forget the camera – just fire the nanny.
Odds are things aren't so bad. You probably mostly trust your nanny and simply suffer from working-parent guilt, wondering what she's doing with your precious darling all day. If it's something you're obsessing about, by all means install a camera. But tell the nanny it's there. If you're lucky, she'll be so confident in her abilities that she won't mind; indeed, the cam will help her demonstrate why she deserves a hefty raise. If her performance is lax, the cam will keep her on her best behavior. Be aware that it could also screw things up. You might scare away a nanny who's perfectly good but understandably freaked out by the panopticon. "I think you'd be a better nanny without a camera, because you can be more spontaneous and silly with the children," argues "Jane Doe," proprietor of "I Saw Your Nanny," a blog that collects real-life stories of nannies behaving badly. Worse, if you're so jittery in the first place, you might misinterpret what you see and sack an otherwise terrific caregiver. Before you shine a light on your nanny, shine one on yourself.