Nanny Watching on the Internet: How Child Welfare Has Become an Online Venture

The concept of "big brother" watching out for us was always kind of a joke until the internet came along. Then it wasn't so funny. On any given day, just popping your name into a search engine can yield interesting results and some sites even offer background checks to anyone who wants them.

We should have realized that it was only a matter of time before an attempt would be made to monitor child care. Forget about video cameras. Forget about good old fashioned trust. New web-sites are utilizing something huge to help you monitor those you put in charge of childcare: the general public.

In the May 2007 issue of Child magazine, a blurb about this trend talks about two sites that parents can check out to monitor their nannies (Heyworth, Kelly. "Nervous About Your Nanny?." Child Mar. 2007: 65). One offers a forum where random people can post what they see in the way of nanny-child interaction. The other offers not only a site, but a personalized nameplate for web reporting on nanny behavior.

At www.Isawyournanny.blogspot.com, anyone can log on and post what they saw any nanny or babysitter doing that day. The post is detailed with the area of the sighting, a description of the nanny, and an account of the behavior. Postings can be done anonymously on the site or through an instant message via Meebo. The page also contains links to the sex offender registry and to a site to report child abuse.

While Isawyournanny is free, another site offers their services at a cost, though it's more streamlined than random posts on a page. For a $50 a year membership, those that register at www.howsmynanny.com will receive a small identification plate for their child's stroller. The plate gives the website as well as a personal ID number. When someone spots the member's nanny behaving badly, they can log into the website and report it directly, referencing the ID number. The member can then access their account and make sure that everything is on the up and up.

This new trend in nanny watching has much to be desired. Child magazines cites Arthur L. Caplan, Ph.D as one critic for this sort of practice. As an ethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Caplan doubts the accuracy of such postings and feels that child abuse should be reported directly to social services. He makes a good point: "If you're that distrustful of your nanny, then you need a new nanny."

One can appreciate the thought behind these types of sites. After all, when it comes to monitoring those in charge of your children, aren't many sets of eyes better than none? In theory, yes. When society is on the lookout for babysitters behaving badly, child care providers are more likely to treat those in their care better. But what happens behind closed doors where the general population can't see? If a nanny or babysitter is going to be abusive, they're likely to do it behind closed doors.

That's not the only loophole in this way of monitoring nannies. Parents become paranoid easily, and a website where someone might have posted something about their child care provider can take up a lot of their time. For those with a hypochondriac nature, any general post might set them to worrying and wondering if it was aimed at them. Let's also not forget that though it's rare, not everyone in the world has internet. If society starts relying on sites like these too heavily, someone without a computer may just shrug it off and move on, forgetting that there are agencies where abuse can be reported.

Arthur Caplan said it best. If you can't trust the person watching your children, you'd better find someone else. The internet can do a lot, but it can't replace good old fashioned parental instincts.