Smart ways to check on your sitter

Does the thought of using a nannycam go against your grain? Plenty of experts believe parents can keep on top of their childcare situation without cameras. Some tips:

• BE VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT HOW YOU WANT YOUR CAREGIVER AND CHILD TO SPEND THEIR DAYS. Ask her to keep a written log of their activities, or make up a daily worksheet with places she can fill in for different segments of the day. Either way, a daily log is a sort of thing that’s hard for a slacker to take on an ongoing basis.

• SET ASIDE TIME FOR A WEEKLY CATCH UP. Talk about everything from whether there’s been enough milk in the house to how to keep Johnny from climbing on the table.

• OBSERVE THE SITTER IN ACTION AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. Perhaps by working at home one afternoon a month with an ear open. The way a caregiver disciplines a child, or reacts under stress, can be picked up without a video-tape.

• ENLIST THE HELP OF THE OTHER OBSERVERS. Candidly solicit the watchful eyes of trusted people in your neighborhood. Tell them you are trying your best to evaluate your sitter and would appreciate any input they can pass along.

Answer the following questions on the text.

1. What wrenching social problem concerning in-home childcare options in the USA is tackled in the article?

2. What is Babywatch? Is it a mere fad or an objectively needed effective service?

3. What are the reasons why the statistics on in-home caregivers in the USA are constantly in flux (2 reasons)?

4. Enumerate the reasons for the growing number of parents invoking the Babywatch service?

5. Define the essence of the quandary parents are confronted with. Is sheer physical abuse the root cause for their unease?

6. Expand on hidden dangers that a caregiver’s poor and misleading job performance poses to 1) the intellectual and language development of a child; 2) parents.

7. Why so some nanny placements agency owners call videotaping media hype? What can their successful placement records be attributed to? What are the major qualifications of a professional nanny, as suggested in the article?

8. Enumerate the reasons why some parents resort to unqualified child care. Consider the following points:

1) time pressure;

2) financial disadvantage;

3) disregard of class-related differences.

9. Do affluent parents signing up with a reputable nanny placement agency always get full guarantees? What is the common alternative to an inadequately performing child minder?

10. While certain experts tend to blame parents for lame in-home childcare situations, analyze some widespread parental misconceptions causing further disappointment at the caregiver. Make use of the prompts:

1. a sitter – an illusionary solution to problems;

2. fractional knowledge of a person;

3. an over-demanding set of expectations;

4. scarce and inaccurate instructions.

11. Outline the current picture of childcare arrangements in the USA. How would you characterize it?

12. Comment on the methods to check on a caregiver (see box). Share your own recommendations and babysitting experiences (if any) with your groupmates.

13. Are services similar to those described in the article available in out country? Is there an urging demand for them?

14. In the author’s opinion, what long-term changes in the whole society would high standards of child care require?

15. What is your attitude to the problem discussed in the article? What ways of solving it would you suggest?

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