Should you inform your caretaker you have a nanny cam?

When you hire a nanny, or caretaker for your child or family, you probably want a nanny cam to keep them safe. Cameras are the best way to keep an eye on the people you trust with your loved ones. It can be a confusing choice whether or not to tell your nanny that you’ve installed one.

Some of us choose to be upfront and let our nanny’s and nurses know they are always supervised and some choose to keep it secret. We’re going to share some thoughts on both sides that we have collected from various people.

NOT TELLING THE NANNY

Some of us decide not to tell. The main advantage of withholding this information is the ability to catch a bad nanny in the act. Unfortunately, this tactic can backfire. Instead of preventing bad behavior, you're catching it after it’s already happened. In the cases of abuse or neglect that could be too late.

However, any abuse you do capture on film could be used to prosecute a caregiver, preventing them from inflicting further abuse to other people in the future.

The biggest reason to not tell your nanny is that if they see the camera, and they have negative intentions they may easily commit on offense of camera.

However it’s important to know that if you don’t tell and they discover the camera it can cause a lack of trust between you and the person you hire, and they may quit.

TELLING THE NANNY

Many times we feel comfortable telling the caregiver that there is a hidden camera in the home. Sometimes we feel that the people we hire are more inclined to behave properly when they know they have an eye on them. Even someone who would never even think of harming a child may be inclined to neglect their duties by not paying attention, focusing on their phone too much or having unwanted guests.

Letting them know also prevents a situation where they may have expect privacy to be compromised. For instance a nanny may think they have the room to themselves and want to change an article of clothing. The same goes for children who may have the same expectation of the room under surveillance.

Should you decide to let a nanny know, it’s important to communicate with them about any questions that might arise. Let them know you have no suspicions about them being around your family, and assure them you simply want to feel confident about your family’s safety. Most honest and experience caregivers won’t mind at all and will probably expect a camera to be there anyway.

Any nanny, nurse or babysitter who objects may have something to hide and you wouldn’t want to hire them in the first place.

LEGAL CONCERNS

If you plan to tell your nanny because you fear legal backlash, it’s important to know that you can record video without sound in every state. Hiding a camera doesn’t change how legal it is. The only thing that you cannot do is hide a camera where the nanny would have a reasonable expectance of privacy. Meaning you cannot put a camera in a bathroom, changing room, or the nanny’s bedroom if they live with you. In the states of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania or Washington it is illegal to record audio without a person’s consent. This includes audio that accompanies video and this could put you in a situation where evidence you collect with a nanny cam wouldn’t be admissible in court.

Making the choice is ultimately up to you.

Fortunately Zetronix offers a wide selection of nanny cams that allow you to turn sound recording on or off at your discretion.

Click Here to see the Zetronix line of Nanny Cams