There have been quite a few posts on local message boards in my neck of the woods lately, posts that we’ll call “I Saw Your Nanny” posts. Basically, these posts are written by strangers who anonymously report sightings of nannies treating the children in their care, well, not so great.
If you want to look at some of these postings, one such blog that posts them is “I Saw Your Nanny at blogspot.” I warn you though, be careful if you decide to go to this website because there is some slightly disturbing stuff on there.
The reports have a few components. First up, there is usually a physical description of the nanny. Including her race. And then a description of the children. Including their race. And then, they launch into the transgressions committed by the nanny.
Responses to such posts seem to fall into a few categories. Some commenters scold the nanny and hypothesize about what must be going on at home. Others thank the original poster for being so kind-hearted as to go post this information on an anonymous website. Some scold the original poster for not intervening at the scene of the alleged transgression. And then, of course, other posters say, “This is why I would never leave my child in the care of another,” chastising the parents.
Here are my questions about this practice. First of all, if I am a parent who employs a nanny, am I now supposed to keep up with the postings on message boards, including this “I saw your nanny” site to make sure my nanny isn’t treating my children badly?
And for the nannies, how does it feel to know that there is a whole community of watchers out there, waiting to post the details of your behavior on the internet? Perhaps some of the posts are valid, but as we parents know, sometimes things look a lot worse than they really are.
And are we holding nannies to a higher standard than we hold ourselves? What’s next? “I Saw Your Kid’s Mother” websites where we can tattle on other moms?
What do you think Mothertalkers? Is this virtual “nanny-reporting” a good thing?
