I once worked as a part time nanny for a family whose kids I had taught for several years in preschool.  After working for them for a little while, I discovered — quite by accident — that they had a couple of nanny cams placed around the house.  I mentioned it to the mother and she lied straight to my face about it — claimed that the cameras were so that she could monitor the kids while she was in her bedroom.  I knew she was lying, though, because I’d seen the little red record light on her TiVo.

I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong, but her older daughter was quite the spoiled brat, and I was having to deal with daily tantrums from a very tall, very heavy 7-year-old.  Then one Friday the mother unexpectedly let me go, making up an obvious lie as to why.  I can only figure it was either because the 7-year-old started complaining that I wouldn’t let her have her way, or that the hidden camera showed I wasn’t.

In some ways, I think that nanny spy cameras such as these foster paranoia.  When parents start distrusting their nannies and babysitters and analyzing their every move, they may start seeing abuse in everything.  However, I also have to acknowledge that nanny cams have caught some instances of child abuse that could have otherwise gone on undetected for a long time, such as the questionable behavior exhibited by the nanny in the video below.

So should you use a nanny cam or not?  Well, if you have good reasons to suspect abuse is going on, or if your gut tells you to be cautious, I think a nanny cam is a great way to uncover the truth.  However, I also feel very strongly that you should keep in mind that when you are watching a video with the purpose of detecting abuse, you may start seeing abuse where none exists.

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