December 29, 2007
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Abusive Nanny
Hi all, as you know Dan is in Texas, so this is papercup_alibi taking over for him while he is away.
Here we go:
In Cherokee County, GA, Constance Smith, a 23 year old nanny has been arrested after being caught on tape abusing the child under her care. “On the video, you see the babysitter slap this 13-month-old boy in the
face. She also pinches the boy and pushes the child to the ground.” Here is the link: linkThe parents of the 13 month old child set up a video camera in the household before hiring the nanny from a nanny employment site. Constance Smith has worked for the company for four years.
Would you trust a company to find a nanny for you, or would you set out to find your own?
Comments (61)
find my own. i’ve worked as a nanny and a daycare worker. personally, i see so many abuses going on both verbally and (unintentionally) physically from untrained people.
I’d find my own, definitely
i’d honestly never use a babysitter or a nanny.
Plus any “nanny” of my future children would have to be someone I know closely, like my parents or another relative or a best friend or something.
when the ex and i were together, and serious enough to be talking about our future children, i’d told him (on no uncertain terms) that we’d be figuring out a work schedule for the two of us that didn’t interfere with someone staying home with the kids until they’re old enough to be in school all day.
The true “wicked” person isn’t going to come clean before being hired to you that they’re going to be hurting your kid anymore then they would the company. . .
I’d probably go with a person whom my friends recommended, although when possible, I’d go with myself, my wife, or family/friends.
i’d honestly never use a babysitter or a nanny.
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12/29/2007 1:58 PM
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Kestryl
Same.
My own.
Find my own! definantly!
I would LOVE to stay home and watch my daughter myself but i need to keep a roof over our heads. Its people like that chick that freak me out about hiring one. You bet I’m gunna look for one myself rather than entrust a nanny company to find one for me. Luckily, my daughter stays with her gramma and papa when I’m at work (and I still worry)!
I agree with Kes, I’d want to take care of my own kids as much as possible. Although even the most attentive parents need a babysitter or a backup… I’m hoping I’ll be able to find someone trustworthy on my own when I do.
Well, I babysit sometimes and I am a really good one. We don’t usually watch TV, we play games and read books, have a good time. If the child doesn’t listen to me they sit on the stairs until they decide that standing on chairs or smacking a sibling isn’t such a good idea. I’ve never stolen from anyone. Basically, I’m a very good person to have watch your children every once in a while. People like this… well, this is really bad. It gives babysitters a bad name.
I’d go with friend recommendations, anyway.
It gives you a sort of security.
I have a hard time trusting people with my kids, in general. That’s probably why I have never had a nanny. I also only had people with whom I had known for quite some time (previous daycare teachers, friends, family) babysit my children. Call me paranoid; I am okay with being known as paranoid about my children.
that is so scary. :[
My daughter is in a daycare at my job. But if not, I would find my own, and even then you never really know.
I also forgot to mention that I worked in the childcare industry for over 10 years. It’s amazing how some centers are run, how unprofessional some “teachers” are, and how easy it is to “fix” licensing problems – in poorly run places. In this case, you get what you pay for. But my kids only went parttime, since I was able to stay home most of the time.
I only use family members as babysitters and I have a hard time with that. I could never trust someone I did not know personally to care for my children.
probably find my own. my grandparents have this unwritten responsibility of caring for their grandkids. i guess when i have mine, my mom would babysit my kids to continue this tradition. and who is a better person than my mom to raise my kids?
If I needed one I would find my own. But, I would have a hard time with getting a nanny in the first place, I don’t trust people enough.
well, i would hope that a company who provides nannies would check them out enough to know that they weren’t abusive.
In college, I worked for a babysitting agency. They had pretty tight checks on us, but I still always wondered how parents could just let me into their house without ever meeting me before. They were trusting an agency to be sure I was ok. I always thought that was odd. I think I would rather hire firends to babysit my children.
Word of mouth!! I always ask people for suggestions if I needed something.
my parents found nannies on their own, not through a service. i think about half were really awful and half were really wonderful… it’s luck of the draw. i feel like a service offers more credibility, though.
I found my own. People are so crazy. Who could do that to a baby?
Find my own, but in reality I’d just send my kid to daycare.
find my own. but the nanny would most certainly be my parents, siblings or other relatives that i trust. my mom or sister most likely. i’d never hire a nanny or send my child to daycare. daycare can be just as worse. i’ve heard some bad stories about that as well.
Is he 13 months or years?
In any case, I’d rather leave my child with either people I know and trust, or make sure that the place where I work has a daycare.
I’d look for my own and would for sure tape her
Wow that just makes me want to hide my kids away rom the world and not let anyone near them…
What is a nanny anyway? Is it more than a babysitter? I think of a nanny as a “live-in” type of situation. Is that what this is or just a daycare type of person? My wife and I used daycare for our kids, but always a relative or someone we knew. I would never consider a live-in. Kids should be raised by their parents unless absolutely necessary to have someone else help.
Never get a babysitter? Are you serious?
I hope you plan on going crazy with your children. What if you want some adult time? Would you bring the kids to an R rated movie and then out to a dance club with your hubbie?
I just cant imagine spending EVERY moment with my children. Everyone, even the best parents, need a break.
Having a company assist me in finding a nanny does not necessitate trusting them completely. It should always remain as the parents’ highest responsibility to ensure that their child is in qualified hands. I would give up the best job in the world and stay home and do the most important job in the world (raising my kids) than settle for a nanny that wasn’t completely trustworthy.
^same goes for teachers, also.
Well, we used daycare for the “safety in numbers” idea… I figured if there were more caregivers in the room, there would be a better system of checks-and-balances to ensure safety. It worked out fine for us (mine is 20 now…) but it was because I knew kids who had gone there, parents who raved about the place, etc. Plus, I had NO idea who to hire as an individual babysitter or nanny that I would leave alone in my house with my baby. I don’t know how I would have possibly done that.
I would most DEFINATELY set out to find my own nanny!
I’d prefer to not use a nanny – children should get their love and attention from their parents.
I’d hire someone I already knew (or thought I knew).
I only have a nephew who i love dearlly and would never trust him in the hands of a corporate chosen Nanny. My nephew is only left in the care of family members or a family friend who has taken care of ME when I was little…..
find one on my own. something about a corporate appointed nanny makes me uneasy.
I don’t know, but I guess I’d definitely avoid any company that employs pushing-and-pinching nannies.
they’re getting a nanny for their 13 YEAR old? talk about stupid parents.
or maybe you need to do better proofreading before you take dan’s post you dumb whore.
That is horrible. You can never be too safe. If I was in the position of hiring a nanny I would pay to have her fingerprinted and have her background checked so thoroughly that she would have to have enough clearance to be able to sit down next to the President and have dinner before she got within one inch of my child.
AH HA! so he does take a break from xanga!
anyways, about the topic…this is why I can’t go back to work. I can’t trust ANYONE…ANYONE to really lovingly take care of my child. If my mom lived near by, of course, there’d be no problem…but w/someone else…how could I possibly trust anyone else?
I’ll give you a mini for taking a break from xanga.
I wouldn’t have a nanny but if I did I would find one myself.
I’d send my kid to daycare but I would expect an agency to prevent this kind of person from working for them…
I wouldn’t trust a nanny. I couldn’t leave my kids with anyone that I didn’t know and I wouldn’t want to ditch my kids like that anyway. I would find family or friends that could watch them for pay or whatever they wanted or I would find a daycare.
after seeing what happened to baby Kaleb…and the response to it on myspace (he was shaken at 4 months) he was in a coma, went blind and lost all muscle control. he’s recovering slowly..but doctors said he would be like a vegetable. Not the case now, but you just can’t trust anyone.
I love my sister to death, but I know her limitations as a human being, and caring for my 6 month old daughter for more than an hour at a time would not be a good thing. She adores her, don’t get me wrong….but someone other than mom or dad just won’t have the patience.
I would never hire anyone outside my family..not even some friends….and I’ve had offers, but I would rather stay at home and sacrifice my social life than worry for m daughters safety.
people are despicable, and should be prosecuted more heavily so that they would have more respect for those with no voices.
My parents never trusted nannies. They sacrificed their time to take care of us when we were babies.
Since I’m the oldest of the bunch, I sacrifice my time to take care of my little brother and sister while my parents go out – which is rare.
No nannies needed.
I’d only allow someone close to me to watch my kids. Someone as in my best friend, or my Mom or Dad. Maybe my brother, he’s really good with younger kids.
I don’t trust anyone. I’d set up hidden cameras too regardless.
I’d hope that I would have a strong enough network of friends to have someone I know watch the kids.
I’ve proven over and over that I’m a terrible judge of people. I’d go with the agency.
Isn’t that entrapment, hooking up a video survellience to watch the nanny?
’nuff said…
Definitely find my own through friends I trust and their acquaintances.
I did daycare for 10 years when my kids were small,(there 21 n 23 now) and i took care of 6 kids…it was amazing how lax the parents were. I would get a call from parents asking me if i could take there kid starting the next day, they didn’t check my references, or anything, they didn’t know me!
Then they wouldn’t want to pay me anything…..i was taking care of there most prized possession and they didn’t seem to hold that in any value. People are scary!
No, i wouldn’t put them in daycare,thats why i did it…i could make money and have a guaranteed playmate for my kids in the safety of my own home.
I don’t trust ANYONE with my kids. I barely trust my own family members. My nanny is my mother and that’s it! Such a sad situation. I’d be livid and ready to kill the person that hurt my child!
I’d find my own. How would a company know who’s right for my kids? Not that I have any kids though.
Lol, I wouldn’t look for one over the internet. If I was in need of child care( I doubt that will happen any more though) I would try to get one recomended by people I know.
Hell, I’d find my own.
I would like to find my own. I imagine I’d have my own set of questions to ask and my own in-person evaluations to make.