MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
We have a new childminder starting in the morning for our 17 month old girls, we've been really happy with our previous childminder but she's had to give up, she was experienced and the girls loved her.
The new one has met them a couple of times and they haven't really warmed to her yet, normally they're not that shy. This will also be her first childminding job. We've got a clock with a hidden camera in it but we're in a bit of a turmoil whether to use it or not, we want to see how they get on with her. This isnt a trust issue, if we didn't trust her, we wouldn't have taken her on, we just want to see how they interact. However we don't want to tell her she will be filmed as we want to see her acting as she would naturally and this won't happen if she knows she's being filmed.
What does the singletrack hive mind think?
I think the problem is not with your childminder, or with her interaction with your children.
😯
If I worked for you an then find out you've filmed me, I'd be pretty flippin angry. Is it even legal to do that?
+1 crikey and emsz
Would you like someone to do the same to you?
No, of course you bloody wouldn't.
Either ask her permission or don't do it.
Nasty, horrible thing to do.
This isnt a trust issue, if we didn't trust her, we wouldn't have taken her on
Yeah, right.
go for it.. could be hilarious consequences
some people seem to have too much to hide..
+1 crikey and emsz
and Rusty + 1
I would say that if it reassures you do it for a short period to alleviate your fears but i do think it is wrong but I can see why you would.
I'm looking at you all, right now
What [b][i]is[/i][/b] that ? 😯
Haven't we all?UncleFred - Member
We've got a clock with a hidden camera in it
Out of interest, how much are you paying per hour for someone (you're not entirely sure about) to look after your children?
If you do and you get caught - Nanny will be very wealthy and you will be divorced and very poor.
I reckon you should go for it. It would make for a great thread on here.
Jesus.
Take her on, ask the kids if they like her (or see if they cry about being with her). If she's not popular, move on.
Being with someone they don't immediately love for a few weeks isn't going to damage their development ffs. I'm sure they'll let you know if they are unhappy.
What [b]exactly[/b][u] are you looking to gain from this
Am I allowed to suggest that this is a #firstworldproblem par excellence?
Probably best if anyone without kids steps away from this thread. How could you possibly understand?!
Oh don't talk rubbish. 🙂
It's nasty, cheap and unethical.
Being a parent doesn't justify unacceptable behaviour.
Besides, how do you think the father of the employee would feel to find out that his daughter had been secretly filmed by some middle aged bloke she'd only just met?
If you are so concerned why dont you try looking after your kids yourself !
Anyone, with kids or not, might understand. We were all kids once, and most of us probably wanted to be looked after by our mum and dad. I don't know the OP's circumstances, but if they need a nanny because they both have "careers", then my sympathy is in short supply.
Jesus no. What an awful thing to even consider. Plain WRONG. Natural progression. See how things pan out without hacking in. Shame on you.
WTF are you doing with a hidden camera clock in the first place?
It sounds spectacularly odd behaviour to me.
Oh! c[b]L[/b]ock. 😳
Do you live on either of these..
[img] 
[/img]
You need to turn that camera on yourself, take a good hard look at what You see.
"Tuts "
DailyMail reader I guess.
won't someone please think of the CHILDREN!
Nothing sinister apart from wanting to make sure my kids are happy when i'm not there.
Anyway, thanks everyone for your straight to the point answers. I was uneasy about it, which is why i sought some external opinions, our thought processes can get skewed when we are concerned about our kids happiness.
The clock was bought specifically for this purpose and remains in its box, where it will stay.
As for looking after my kids myself, i would love too, however we have a mortgage to pay and if i want them to have a roof over thier head and a decent environment to grow up in then i don't have much choice.
You have every choice in how they are looked after - send them to a nursery so they aren't alone with someone if you can't bring yourself to trust them.
And if the camera is 'only' to check that your kids are happy when they are with someone else may I suggest you don't know your kids very well.
choice- of course you have choice. You could enrol it/them in a nursery which will have trained experienced staff and an ofstead record (not report)
EDIT M_F beats me to it...
Good choice OP, but then you really did know the right way to act.
With honour and with trust.
[img] 
[/img]
if you are so concerned why dont you try looking after your kids yourself !
That is a little harsh. Most working parents feel guilty about using childcare, often not much choice though.
To the OP, you will get a pretty good idea very quickly if things are working out or not. I assume the childminder is registered and does have excellent references...........
If I was in the OP's position I would, but for a different reason, even if I thought I could trust her I'd run the nanny cam then I would know if I could trust her.
Edit - I regret my previous comment - hope it works out!
No vacancies at the local nurseries for twins of that age so we had to go with a childminder, she is registered and qualified but this is her first job.
MF - thanks for adding to the guilt we have about having to have someone look after them. I find it incredibly hard to walk away from them every morning and wish that i had the financial freedom to be able to stay at home everyday, but we don't.
As for looking after my kids myself, i would love too, however we have a mortgage to pay and if i want them to have a roof over thier head and a decent environment to grow up in then i don't have much choice.
I bet you`ll pack em off to boarding school first chance you get !
our thought processes can get skewed when we are concerned about our kids happiness.
No shit!...in your case.
Why not just gauge how happy your kids are?
choice- of course you have choice. You could enrol it/them in a nursery which will have trained experienced staff and an ofstead record (not report)
To be fair to childminders, the relationship you and your kids have with a childminder is completely different to that you have with a nursery - I think it'd be incredibly hard for childminders to get away with being abusive or just not very good, as it'd be really obvious, whereas it clearly is perfectly possible to get away with not being very good at all, or even quite horrible neglect or abuse in the larger nursery setting where parents don't have direct contact with all staff.
As for looking after my kids myself, i would love too, however we have a mortgage to pay and if i want them to have a roof over thier head and a decent environment to grow up in then i don't have much choice
I'm guessing a baptist chapel conversion in Guernsey doesn't come cheap 😉
I think probably by law you MUST inform people if you are using CCTV (unless you got the clock from work and you have 12 passports and a watch with lasers in it)
If it was me and I found it I think I'd be reading the Human Rights act and employment law and looking at new cars.
True I don't have children but FFS get over it
I don't know the OP's circumstances, but if they need a nanny because they both have "careers", then my sympathy is in short supply.
Nice. 😕
You realise that around [url= http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-trends--discontinued-/volume-113--no--7/families-and-work.pdf ]68 percent of couples with children have both parents working[/url] these days? That's a pretty large majority that you disapprove of.
It must be nice to have the choice though.
Fair enough people needing to work, but if you don't have the confidence to leave your children with the person you selected to look after them then spying isn't the solution. Perhaps he should ask her to keep a diary of activities and development (both areas of good and poor development) in the same way a nursery would to ensure she is doing her best for his children.
But, back to reality, I suggest the OP doesn't invade this person's privacy and lets her get on and do her job. He will soon know if the kids don't like her (and he shouldn't expect them to take to her straight away, they are only young and something like this is a big change).
If it is illegal (I have no idea whether it is or not) how come none of the hidden camera journo's or the recently exposed nursing home hidden camera exposers have been prosecuted/sued?
m_f: I think the OP agreed to that on his second post:
The clock was bought specifically for this purpose and remains in its box, [u]where it will stay[/u].
Diary is a good idea, it is something our nursery do for all the kids under two: what they did that day, what they ate, when they slept, how many dirty nappies.
Regarding development: our nursery has a folder for each child charting key stage developments along with photos, coursework and testimonials. They even have parents evenings!
I'd expect a registered childminder to do [i]something[/i] like that, though obviously not quite to the same degree.
If it is illegal (I have no idea whether it is or not) how come none of the hidden camera journo's or the recently exposed nursing home hidden camera exposers have been prosecuted/sued?
"Public interest", innit guv?
So if a nanny was found to be abusing the kids and you had filmed it by hidden camera you could claim it is in the public interest to expose a nanny who could go on to carry out further abuse
Do you not have a spare bedroom you could put the clock in? You could get the childminder to stay over then.
My kids wear hidden Go Pros to school. I like to keep an eye on where my taxpayer money is going.
Update:
For those of you that might have missed it.
Everybodies comments confirmed that we were right to be uneasy about setting up the nanny cam, and that we were being paranoid.
The girls were both happy this morning and have been having a whale of a time so far today. We've had a couple of photos already.
They have a diary of activities planned for their day and we're going to be planning future activities with her.
Well done Uncle Fred - you've done the right thing.
UncleFred - Member
we're going to be planning future activities with her.
Good to see you are going to take aracers advice...
aracer - Member
Do you not have a spare bedroom you could put the clock in? You could get the childminder to stay over then.
Get ceiling cat on the case.
When we had a childminder it was only years later that we discovered she had a sleep everyday for an hour when she was meant to be minding the kids. She used to give them a bag of sweets and generally let them do anything they wanted to do so she was left in peace. Could we tell from our kids that this was going on? No we couldnt as the kids were obviously happy with their bribe. Also found out at a later date she 'bribed' them with sweets whilst she went in to the sunbed shop and left them in the car outside. If I saw her again (this all happened about 15years ago) I think I would swing for her!
Would have loved to CCTV her so I could have got rid of her straight away, didnt feel I had a need though as kids were always happy due to her bribes.
You sir, are a fool.
You ask about secretly filming someone on the most politically correct forum in the western world?? What answer did you really expect?
Just do it and don't tell anyone. (Bit late now I guess).
How much do you want for the clock-cam?
There's some right bollocks being talked on this thread.
You don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy when you're in someone else's house, looking after someone else's kids.
If it was me and I found it I think I'd be reading the Human Rights act and employment law and looking at new cars.
Brian Butterworth? Is that you?
Username 'UncleFred' and a post about spying ona nanny with a hidden camera. You couldn't make it up.
Anyway, seeing as you're not using clockcam.....
They have a diary of activities planned for their day and we're going to be planning future activities with her.
great stuff, get her to knock up a 4 weekly MS project plan c/w with a power point brief, look forward to the updates.
I'd have no problem with someone filming me if I were minding their child. These days i'd expect it in fact. In any other form of work your employer can see your working and comment if it's not satisfactory, they can use CCTV to watch you do that without your express permission, I don't see why child minding should be exempt from the same scrutiny.
From [url= http://www.kidshield.co.uk/nannies_and_babysitters.htm ]http://www.kidshield.co.uk/nannies_and_babysitters.htm[/url]
Is It Legal To Use A Nanny Cam?Using a recording device in your own home in the UK is perfectly legal as long as you do not use them in areas where people would expect to have "reasonable privacy" for example bathrooms.
In order to remain within the limitations of UK law, Kidshield would recommend that you inform your nanny that you may occasionally use a "nanny cam" to check in on your children - just don't tell them where it is. In other EU countries we suggest that you consult legal advice before installing a nannycam.
I'd have no problem with someone filming me if I were minding their child. These days i'd expect it in fact. In any other form of work your employer can see your working and comment if it's not satisfactory, they can use CCTV to watch you do that without your express permission, I don't see why child minding should be exempt from the same scrutiny.
I am not sure an employer could just film their staff without telling them. Perhaps having cams trained on tills to monitor transactions would be acceptable, but a nanny wouldn't be *only* looking after the kids whilst being filmed (and of course she could be in the bathroom dunking them in the toilet bowl for misbehaving without being filmed).
Unless he also has a CrapperCam of course.
But I have just realised this is Fred (you know, FRED) winding us up.
You realise that around 68 percent of couples with children have both parents working these days? That's a pretty large majority that you disapprove of.
It must be nice to have the choice though.
/quote]Having to work and wanting to work are two different things. There are too many kids being born today who seem to be accessories to people's lives and come second place to their parents' career ambitions. You know the ones, palmed off on grandparents every day. I reckon most kids would prefer a hug from mum or dad when they need it to a five bedroom house with two ensuites. That's not to belittle the strife of people who genuinely have to work, but that isn't the case in a big chunk of that 68 percent.
"That's not to belittle the strife of people who genuinely have to work, but that isn't the case in a big chunk of that 68 percent."
Please do qualify
I myself have a child, as do quite a few of my friends, and NONE OF THEM/ME have been gifted a large sum of money so we GENUINELY have to go out to work.... unless you are suggesting that the 68% of people should become doll dossers?
There are too many kids being born today who seem to be accessories to people's lives
That might be true, but please don't imagine that all double-working parents fall into this category. It's ignorant and unfair, and quite probably upsetting to those who have to do it.
Any idea how much houses cost in the South East, out of interest? I do pretty well, and Mrs Grips doesn't work, but we still couldn't afford to move down there even if we wanted to.
That's not to belittle the strife of people who genuinely have to work, but that isn't the case in a big chunk of that 68 percent.
Sorry, but that's bollocks.
In case you haven't noticed the average UK mortgage has risen steeply compared to the average UK salary.
[img] http://anmblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c565553ef0120a8d3196e970b-pi [/img]
Many couples are working to afford a perfectly normal house, not a [i]"five bedroom house with two ensuites"[/i].
Add onto that the actual cost of having children, including saving for their future (e.g. putting 2 kids through uni at 9 grand a year each + living expenses and rent? Ouch!).
I reckon most kids would prefer a hug from mum or dad when they need it
And I reckon most mums and dads would rather be at home with their kids.
Sadly most of us have to work for a living.
You don't have to actually stump up nine grand a year to put them through uni btw. This is not the USA.
I do agree in part with some of these last comments.
I know someone very well - he works long hours, often abroad for weeks at a time. She works full time - and just moved to a job that means she also works during school holidays (she was working in a school so *did* at least have school holidays with her kids).
The kids are at school/nursery/grandparents every single day and get palmed off to after school clubs every day too - so they see their parents for an hour in the morning (rushing to get ready and thrown out of the door) and a similar time on a night before being packed off to bed.
But they have the big house and are talking about getting a new second car - an Audi Q7 'because I need a 7 seater in case any of the kids need their friends ferrying around anywhere'.
I might be old fashioned but I just don't think it is right. Personally my earnings are half what they were 4 years ago (self employed) and since our kids arrived my wife now only works term time for 2.5 days a week so she gets to have lots of time with our girls growing up. We really struggle at times but I think it is only fair on the children - after all we didn't have them just to give them to someone else for the majority of their waking hours.
we had a bad child minding experience with our son. So I'd say to the op, don't open the box just yet but if you develop any concerns get the camclock out. Wish we'd had one back in the day !
Thats it.
Not having kids.
You don't have to actually stump up nine grand a year to put them through uni btw
You do (as I understand it), you just have the option of paying for it with a huge loan.
I might be old fashioned but I just don't think it is right. Personally my earnings are half what they were 4 years ago (self employed) and since our kids arrived my wife now only works term time for 2.5 days a week so she gets to have lots of time with our girls growing up. We really struggle at times but I think it is only fair on the children - after all we didn't have them just to give them to someone else for the majority of their waking hours.
My wife took a year's maternity when our little one was born then moved to 50% hours. Huge drop in our earnings as she is the major breadwinner.
So our daughter is in nursery 3 days a week, 8:30 till 6, and with us the rest of the time.
It's the compromise we chose and that we live with. Everyone has to decide what works best for them and what is best for their kids.
FWIW I don't see any evidence of children being [i]"accessories to people's lives"[/i] amongst the working families we know.
Look on the positive side. She's newly qualified, keen to impress in her first job and will be trying hard. Harder than the established pro would be my guess. Son1 loved going to a very experienced childminder who looked after six children with an assistant. Son2 when to said childminder's nursery a few years later. Childminding was a much better option. Neither were damaged by the experience!
"They may cry when you leave, but by the time you are at the end of the road, they've forgotten who you are!"
How sad, just perhaps look after the kids yourself,and enjoy seing them growing up,not being looked after by a succession of cheap childminders.
Hope youve got public liabilty insurance incase she falls over,or has an accident, along with her being registered as a child minder,and having insurance,along with being registered for tax and national insurance.
Is Watchdog your favourite show on tv.
How sad, just perhaps look after the kids yourself,and enjoy seing them growing up,not being looked after by a succession of cheap childminders.
As above, not everyone is independently wealthy.
Phew, if you could overdose on high and mighty you'd be in a coma after reading this thread. 😕