Nanny rents baby out to beggers :(

Moms, this article I read in the Bangalore edition of TOI this morning has my hair standing up - Nanny sedates baby, 'rents' him out to beggars - Bangalore - City - The Times of India
Please suggest what we can do to put tabs on Nannies watching kids while we are away!
I do the surprise visits although my DD is in school all day and gets back just an hour before me. The surprise visits are more to check what she does at home. I also have my neighbor drop in and check on my LO. So far mine has been reliable but after reading this article I'm scared. Are Nanny cameras available in India?

Oh my God this is tooo bad. Reference checks, agency, whatever we do is not enough. This horrifies me even though I'm not a mother yet. You really can't rely on these people whatever checks you do. Maybe someone has been good for months or years who knows when their mind changes. So far I had heard many stories of babies being stolen from hospitals but this is first such incident.
You won't believe just 3 days back when I was travelling from Dadar station, I saw a young lady with a baby begging on the stairs of railway station. I watched her for a long time still couldn't convince myself that it was her baby. The way she was holding the baby, didn't care it to shade with a cloth as it was sunny and humid, sure wasn't mother's care at all.

Personally I feel we better have someone from our own reference like nanny who worked for some relative or friend or someone from area whom we know.
Take care
Vaidehi

Laks09,

I have heard about one offffffff some source. but did not give to much importance because of exaggerations.

but this definitely makes me think.

a lot of checks must. hard work and tension to working moms.

meVaidehi,

these days even known reference does not work so well. we need to be constant alert.

Originally Posted by Shanvy

Laks09,

meVaidehi,

these days even known reference does not work so well. we need to be constant alert.

Agree with you on this one Shanthi. but for working parents who do not have choice, this is better of the two - agency and known ref.

I too just read and feeling bad for all moms who leave the kids since they have no other way.

We should make sure that at least some person related to the kid does surprise visits once in a while.

Vaidehi - Yes, all the reference checks and agency checks apparently didn't help this baby. The agencies are paid by us to do a complete BG check and I personally talk to prior employers/home owner etc. I'm definitely thinking in terms of a Nanny Camera after reading this.

Shanti - Agreed, constant vigil is essential. I'm already re thinking my idea of having gone back to work. It is definitely a hard decision and we are always on pins and needles worrying about the LOs. I heard bad reviews of day care's around and thought this was a safer bet.

my god un imaginable..
so sad!!

My GOD. I cannot even begin to imagine what that poor mother must be going through. She should lodge a police complaint and not let the woman get away with it.

Nanny cams *must* be available in India because of the sister of a good friend went through a very horrible nanny experience - also in Bangalore. The husband & wife both work very long hours and hired a nanny to care for their infant daughter. The woman was hired from an employment agency and came with GLOWING references. The mother conducted an intensive interview with her and even called up and spoke in detail with all of her past professional references.

Two months into the job, the mother started seeing some red flags regarding the quality of the nanny's care. Some of these were that the baby would cling to the mother when she left for work, seemed to always be crying whenever the mother called home from work to inquire about the child, seemed to be extremely withdrawn, seemed to always be ravenously hungry etc. One day, the mother came home to discover dried-on poop in the baby's diaper! When she angrily questioned the nanny about it, the woman blustered and could not properly explain why. That very day the suspicious parents had cameras that streamed real-time images installed in every room of the house, including the bathrooms and the balcony.

The next day, the truth came out. The woman was not only neglectful but also downright abusive to the baby. The child's diaper was changed only once - and that was right before the mother was usually scheduled to come home from work. She was also fed only twice during the entire day - the camera actually taped the nanny liberally helping herself to the child's food! The woman also swatted at the baby when she cried and was seen lying in front of the TV almost the whole day long. When she did pick the baby up, it was by ONE hand. When the child screamed in pain, she dumped her roughly on the sofa.

The parents watched in a rage, then got home together, and confronted her about it. The woman literally ran from the house and was never heard from again. The couple also reported her to the employment agency and attempted to file a police complaint, but, unfortunately, child abuse isn't really a big deal in our cities as they are elsewhere.

This really makes the case for the stay-at-home Mom but I'm aware that this is not a viable option for every family. I would personally look to see if grandparents or other members of the extended family could help with childcare. If this is not an option, then I believe that day care centers staffed by multiple individuals are preferable as every employee would be watched by other employees and some sort of "checks-and-balances" is in place. This is infinitely preferable to a situation where a stranger - with or without references - is behind closed doors with one's child.

JMO.

Oh, this scares me. It is definitely not advisable to leave the child in one person's care. We need grand parents or someone who can supervise.
Read the article ......... unimaginable !!

OMG.........Unbeleivable....

God should protect from these situations..