To Spy or Not to Spy

The Use of Nanny Cams

By Carma Haley

Disturbing videos of caregivers abusing children have been displayed on various programs such as "60 Minutes," "Dateline" and evening news programs across the country. As a result, the use of "nanny cams" has become as standard as electric garage door openers, according to Kent Securities in North Miami Beach, Fla. Parents want to feel they are protecting their children, their homes and their lives at all times, and the use of electronic monitoring devices such as nanny cams offers that extra peace of mind.

The frenzy to spy on caregivers has heated up since coming into view of the public eye. Gil Neuman, CEO of Kent Security Systems, says people should be most concerned about the process they use to hire a caregiver -- or lack of process. "As people would see those stories on the nightly news, they became more and more worried," he says. "They began to realize that they think they know their help, but they're really not sure. Our company asks people to give us the first name, last name and address of the cleaning people, nannies or babysitters they employ. Regretfully, most do not know."

Resources such as credit agencies, police departments and court records are available for little or no charge when used for verifying employment. Carl Stell, a father and small business owner from Petersburg, Va., says, "I have used the same methods of verifying daycare providers and babysitters as I do when I hire someone to work with me in my repair business. It only takes a phone call and maybe a few bucks, but I would rather know before something happens than wish I would have checked afterward."

Even after verifying someone's background, many parents still want to know what the babysitter is doing when parents are away. Electronic recording devices can be as small as a tie clip or as large as a VCR. Regardless of the size of the device, no one will ever know they are there. "With current technology, we can put cameras into anything," Neuman says. "You'll never know it's a camera. We have put cameras inside grandfather clocks, mirrors, alarm clocks, stereo systems and VCRs. These objects still function normally so no suspicion that a camera is in the device is ever drawn. The mechanism of a camera today is smaller than your thumb. The size of the lens is about the size of a pin. You can look at it straight and never know what it is."

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