The Role of Nanny Cams in the Home

As a working parent, it is often daunting to leave your child in the care of someone else. One way in which a parent can address their uncertainty is with the use of nanny cams in the home.

In all 50 states, the use of nanny cams in the home is legal, although it is recommended that employees in the home are fully informed that there are hidden camera’s recording or live-streaming their activities. The general consensus among nannies, au pairs, and other in-home employees is that they don’t mind the surveillance, as long as they are made aware of it in advance. We recommend that homeowners consider the legalities and ethics of surveillance before determining how and where they enact surveillance.

 

Child and Pet Safety

Your most critical objective as a parent or pet-owner is safety. Nanny cams installed around the home can assist you in monitoring not only the nanny-child interaction, but can also help you monitor what your children and pets are up to in your absence. Parents of teenagers sometimes use nanny cams to keep track of their child’s activities when they’re home alone or when their child has a friend visiting.

Nanny cams have also been used to address pet behavior issues. For example, in monitoring their pet’s state and activity during the day, pet owners have been able to determine what their pets do out of boredom and develop systems to address this concern.

To monitor general activities between caregivers and family members, nanny cams can be installed in the kitchen, the hallways, living rooms, and dining rooms. Some bedrooms can be monitored, but special consideration needs to be given to privacy when it comes to bathrooms and rooms where nannies or children may be changing clothes.

 

Employee Safety

One thing that few people consider about nanny cams is the added value of employee safety. With this in mind, live-streaming from a hidden camera may save a life in the event of a home invasion or a medical emergency, and many nannies, au pairs, and in-home employees feel safer knowing that there are an extra set of eyes monitoring their situation.

Some surveillance systems allow for the connection of a panic alarm, which the nanny or employee can use to alert the home-owner that they need to check in on their home urgently.

 

Monitoring Behavior

As uncomfortable as it may be to admit that we want to monitor behavior, it’s not unreasonable to want to keep an eye on your home and your children, and how your employee interacts with them when you’re not around. Besides monitoring for theft and child neglect or abuse, installing nanny cams in your home allows you to see when an employee’s conduct is completely unfit, or recognize if some gentle correction and guidance is in order.

 

Taking Action on Home Security

If you’ve made the decision to install nanny cams in your home, take some time to consider exactly what your requirements would be and how to address them.

Ask yourself:

  • How many cameras would you need, and what areas need to be monitored most?

  • Would you need night-time surveillance? Special infrared systems would be useful in this scenario.

  • Does your area suffer electricity outages often? You may want to consider systems with battery back-up.

  • Would you want to live-stream from your home, or would recording be sufficient? For child care, you may want to watch live footage, while you may be happy with recorded footage when it comes to simply monitoring domestic employee behavior.

  • Will you want access to footage, anytime and anywhere, from your smartphone?

  • Do you want your nanny cam units to be wireless and mobile? This would allow you to easily change the areas being monitored.

There are hundreds of options with new technology constantly becoming available. If you have questions about the various security options that we offer or need help choosing the best tool for your needs, we’re always happy to help.

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