Hello, I'm a mom in the UES and I have witnessed unscrupulous behavior of some nannies. I know (now) that I can report what I've seen here, but the message may never reach the parents. I have felt frustrated about what to do if I witness something that looks suspicious, but not exactly criminal. What if parents and nannies could "register" with your site or a similiar one and be assigned a number that is prominently displayed on a stroller or some other item (for older children) so when someone wants to report an incident, the nanny can be identified. Perhaps the number can be displayed near the wheels of the stroller so it can't be covered up. People can also witness "good" behavior and report that as well so nannies won't feel offended by registering. It could give nannies a sort of certification and will help weed out the bad nannies and highlight the good ones. I'd be happy to try and set something like this up in my area and may even be able to recruit other moms to help as well. Let me know what you think. - T.
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Believe it or not, that idea has been brought up on this Blog before... however, it did not go over very well. Most Nannies stated they would refuse to walk around with a number on their stroller. Also, ISYN does not wish to Register it's users because we believe it will hurt Blog traffic. We have had quite a few Parents respond identifying a Nanny in one of our Posts... understandably, for privacy reasons, most would rather not update the Sighting, claiming it was their Nanny. I should encourage Readers to Post the Bad Nanny Sightings to local Mommy Groups/Blogs/Forums when a Sighting does occur though. I appreciate your thoughts... and if out of curiosity you would like me to Publish your letter so you can see the opinions for yourself, I'd be more than happy to do that for you. Thank you! ~ MPP
Superb nanny here who would never agree to be deer-tagged. Why?
ReplyDeleteBecause there are so many assholes out there. All those truck drivers who are forced to drive around with those bumper stickers saying "How's my driving? Call 1-800-xxx-xxxx to report." will tell you that some people delight in calling in with bogus reports just for the hell of harrassing someone anonymous.
No way, not for me.
I already work in a nosy neighborhood with people who tell the family I work for that I was walking the baby in the rain which I wasn't. We went for a walk, got back and inside then 30 minutes later it started to rain.. while he was napping. Another time one said that I smacked him when I was reaching in the stroller to adjusted and fix his floppy sunhat and put his passy back.
ReplyDeleteIt's rare to see good nanny sittings on here anyway. I would not walk with a number on the wheel...You can forget that right now.
That lady can stuck a number on her butt so all the nannies can kick it
A few years ago there was an attempt to start something similar. A license plate type thing to attach to strollers for id purposes. It wasn't successful.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me? That is a completely insulting thing to suggest. You are insane if you thing nannies would ever put up with this. I understand wanting to report bad nannies, but most of the time, it is none of your damn business who is a nanny and who isn't.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should tag all moms and dads everywhere so you can be an even bigger busybody and decide whether they are raising their kids right.
Great way for a child molster to start keeping tabs on his next target.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't we start registering all the parents who think it's okay to treat nannies like untrustworthy prisoners instead of professional, trained adults who have earned autonomy in their jobs. We can stick big ID numbers on their briefcases and power suits, and that way, us nannies can avoid working for people like the OP who would like to dog tag the people who care for their children. Our society is regulated and segregated enough - this suggestion is obscene.
ReplyDeleteNo. Just no.
ReplyDeleteI think it is incredibly dehumanizing to a nanny. I recall the past suggestion and felt the same then too. I get the idea behind it as a performance review, but this should be done by the employer themselves. Of course, we work as a community for egregious incidents but this is excessive. I can't even imagine having the gumption to suggest this to a prospective nanny. The situations where this is done, including truck drivers and physicians (via registration/licensing/reporting), are situations where the person directly affects the general public -- driving risk, health care providers, legal representation, etc. A nanny directly affects her charges, but not the public. Nor is she placing other families or children at risk barring extreme odd cases. It is our own responsibility to police our family and employees. ISYN is a rare and appreciated blog, but not a public entity nor a way to ensure safety.
yeah this is a horrid idea but perhaps the people who want this should have their own number where I can call their boss and tell what they do
ReplyDeleteLicense plates are invasive enough. Numbers on strollers? What a holy show. No way!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.howsmynanny.com
ReplyDeleteThat is the site that put license plates on strollers, but I don't think it is still in use.
I can see why parents would think this was a good idea but I think it would probably do more harm as people may prank call, send bad reports about really good nannies. So there is no way to tell whether it is truthful or not. So it would probably cause more harm than good. I think parents just need to do a good job of dropping by announced in the beginning and things like that to make sure their nanny is caring for their child as they want them to.
RE-post for Anonymous...
ReplyDeleteI agree with nycmom. If you or your charges are in danger because of another nanny, you can call 911, not go tattletaling on the nanny. Also like a pp said, some of these people who you think are "nanny" is actually mom.. Or aunt or godmother
alex said...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.howsmynanny.com
That is the site that put license plates on strollers, but I don't think it is still in use.
Alex, you're right. The most recent dated entry is 2008. I guess we can all see how well this lady's idea went over.
Maci, I don't know if you realize it or not but comparing the numbers on strollers to the Star of David the Jews had to wear during the Holocaust, was an extremely insensitive statement to make.
ReplyDeleteIt was more than extremely insensitive and thankfully MPP got rid of it very quickly. It stood up here for an hour, which was still an hour longer than it needed to be. How could someone dare make such a comparison? They had to of known better.
ReplyDeleteI actually am Jewish and my grandparents were in Hungary during the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteSorry if I offended anyone.
I apologize and stand corrected.
I stupidly put my foot in my own mouth.
Maci, thank you for coming back and saying that. I hope I didn't upset you, I was just totally blind to what I saw. Sometimes we let our emotions think for us and don't often pay attention to what we say or write.
ReplyDeleteI loved the idea of tagging parents who treat their nannies like servants. We would need A LOT of tags. I doubt parents would go for that so why do something so low to a nanny?
ReplyDeleteCould you imagine all the false information these people at the park or on the street would be reporting? We already have SO MANY parents unable to give their trust to us even after being hired and them constantly calling, texting, visiting, or worse if they are a stay-at-home parent rushing downstairs to see what the bad guy nanny is doing to their precious baby to make him/her cry. Ugh. Have some respect for us. We are not all horrible people. Majority of us are trained, educated, experienced, responsible, and love the child/children we care for deeply. You don't know 100% if they are the nanny or not, and I agree with people that you should mind your business and stop judging how nannies and parents take care of their kids. It is also a complete invasion of privacy and puts the child and family at risk. Absolutely not. I would never agree to that, and I would be offended and leave a job if I was ever asked to do something so disrespectful.