Worried your nanny might be slouching in a hammock in your back garden, sipping on a long cool drink, while your little’uns use the nail gun as a toy and the wallpaper as a colouring-book?
Okay, we’re being facetious, but in a society such as ours where busy mums often need help in caring for their children, nanny cams are becoming a common tool in making sure their little angels’ carers aren’t getting up to no good. Etisalat recently offered a way to help out, launching its Etisalat 3G MobileCAM secret camera service. The devices are small enough to be hidden in secret spots around the home, and suspicious parents can access the cameras for free any time they want with a 3G mobile phone handset, or view the footage on a PC.
In other parts of the world, especially in the USA, the equipment has had successes in catching out abusive nannies. A recent case that gained worldwide coverage was that of Andrea Aguilar, a nanny from Chicago who was caught on camera assaulting her employer’s 15-month-old daughter. The parents suspected something was amiss when bruises started appearing on their child’s body and she had started becoming withdrawn. They hid a camera in a teddy bear, which picked up footage of the abuse, and Miss Aguilar now faces a lengthy jail term after pleading guilty to the charges.
But is it morally right to spy on someone in your home? We spoke to an Emirati mother who used to use the service, but has recently had it uninstalled. She said, ‘I was never in favour of cameras, but I suspected my nanny might not be fully trustworthy, so I thought the camera would be a good thing to have to safeguard my family.
‘But then I was also spying on my relatives, and I was worried about this because I hadn’t told them. I was also very concerned that it would cause conflicts because I was invading my family members’ privacy.
‘It’s a useful tool, but in the end I would say it is preferable to leave your child with a relative. I leave my son with my mother for some of the day, often until around 3.45pm. However, I am aware that this is not possible for everyone, especially for expat families, so maybe working mums should consider day care centres instead – then they will know their child is being properly cared for.’
Those who agree with the cameras say that when you employ a nanny, the home becomes a workplace, and most employees now expect to be watched by CCTV while they are working. And as long as the cameras are not intruding on the nannies’ privacy and are in public areas in the house, then they could be a vital child protection tool.
But it’s also worth remembering that cases of nannies abusing children are incredibly rare, and if you vet the recruitment process properly then you should be able to trust your child’s carer. Maybe secret cameras should only be used as a last resort if you suspect something is afoot.
For further information about Etisalat 3G MobileCam, call 101. The cameras cost about Dhs630 and it costs Dhs200 to have them installed.
