Another CNN nanny cam story.
And this time, I’m in agreement with just about everything they said. This woman should be charged with abuse. I still think this doesn’t happen often and it’s a shame the media loves to breed fear in working parents (and everyone else for that matter) by exploiting the worst case scenarios. Still, it can happen and it’s a good reminder to be diligent in trying to keep it from happening to your kids.
I posted the other day about a nannycam story CNN had picked up. I thought it was an overly sensitive mom’s gross overreaction and couldn’t believe it made the news. According to the mom’s on a local forum I frequent, I was wrong.
I’ll admit that on a second viewing, the nanny’s actions look a bit careless. However, I think any caregiver (yes, even a mom) would be hard-put to react perfectly over a full day or week. I’d bet that if we secretly videotaped moms - even those perfect moms - we could cherry-pick moments that make them look bad. So, if the footage they showed on CNN was as bad as it got, I stand by my initial analysis that there was no abuse or endangerment.
The fact that CNN picked this up is unsettling to me. And that Nancy Grace sided, without question, with the mom seemed…shallow. Does the media really need to give working moms any more reasons to feel guilty when they leave their little loved ones in the care of others?
And, as for my local mommy forum, it’s not mine anymore. They’re not fans of mine either. The posts responding to mine went along the lines of, “Anyone who doesn’t think that was abuse is a bad mother.” Don’t hold it in. Tell us how you feel. So this bad mother is going to be getting more work done now that I have more free time on my hands. After all, I don’t really want to waste any more time reading posts from new moms who are so quick to judge and so slow to think for themselves.
There was a video on CNN.com today on “Nanny cam shows rough handling“. I actually clicked on “Death threat Elmo?” and watched it first (after a battery change, Elmo Knows Your Name started saying “Kill James” to James and his family. Spooky.), but then I figured, what the heck? perhaps I can learn tips on not getting caught rough handling kids.
Can I just say, it must’ve been a slow news day. OMG. This mom had set up a hidden camera so she could check on her nanny and infant twins (7 months old, but born premature, so maybe developmentally 4 months or so). Every single complaint she had is something I have done to both of my kids:
Upon seeing one of these ‘infractions’ she rushed home and told the nanny to leave. (When will someone rush in here and tell me I can leave?) She even had the police review the tapes with her. I wonder if she didn’t get satisfaction with their response, so she took it to the local news. I don’t know, but it was absolutely ridiculous. It never looked like the babies were crying or in danger. Except when, while being carried like a football, “he nearly hit his head on the bannister.” Like you could see how close his head was to it from across the room on a lowres nannycam.
Are people really that uptight about how their babies are handled? Or am I really that bad? Or would it be different if I saw someone else handle my oh-so-precious ones like that?
Finally got around to looking at my magazines I bought yesterday. Someone had slipped a card into my Bust magazine; a card for lesbian night at a local club. Are they trying to tell me something about myself that I didn’t know?
