- Title: USA: NY lawyer invents latest way to keep tabs on nannies
- Date: 27th October 2006
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) JILL STARISHEVSKY, FOUNDER OF HOWSMYNANNY.COM, SAYING: "It's so hard in, you know, a family with mom and dad working, having to work and having to leave their child in the care of another. Just the reassurance that if they're out and about and something bad happens they can be informed."
- Embargoed: 11th November 2006 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Legal System
- Reuters ID: LVAE6I47IWO1YLSQ1E371TMVG02K
- Story Text: Just as trucking companies put signs on their vehicles asking the public to report unsafe drivers, parents can now put license plates on their baby strollers to get feedback on the behaviour of their nannies.
Jill Starishevsky, a mother of two and a New York prosecutor, launched HowsMyNanny.com, which sells stroller license plates that have a unique number and include the Web site address so the public can anonymously report good or bad nanny behaviour.
The parents, who pay 50 U.S. dollars for a plate, receive an e-mail alerting them to the report, which they access on the Web site using a password.
Starishevsky says the license plate is a tool to empower the parents, not a tool to work against nannies.
"It's so hard in, you know, a family with mom and dad working, having to work and having to leave their child in the care of another. Just the reassurance that if they're out and about and something bad happens they can be informed," she said.
Starishevsky said she came up with the idea after she saw a nanny in a New York city park who for at least an hour ignored the two young girls she was looking after.
"I was so frustrated," said Starishevsky. She wondered how she could tell the mother that these kids could have been in danger.
But not all parents agree that the license plate is such a great idea.
New Yorker Sheryl Donnigan is a mother of two and says she thinks the program goes too far.
"It's hideous. It's frightening," she said. "I feel like everybody who would hire a nanny would have a good relationship with the nanny and they would just even get a feeling for what kind of woman, you know mostly women, this person is."
Donnigan, who has had a nanny since she had her seven-year-old son, says she would never leave her children with someone she didn't trust. She says these kinds of tools contribute to 'a fear based society,' and hopes that if a person sees a caretaker endangering or disrespecting a child, she hopes that person would say something and not sit idly by.
But nanny Magda Wasienko disagrees. She says she wouldn't mind if her employers decided to use the license plates.
"I think it's very good because parents know what's happening with the child and they are secure and know that the baby is in good hands."
Starishevsky says she has heard mixed reviews from her friends, some who even called the idea 'evil.' But on the flipside, she has already received dozens of emails thanking her for developing the idea and making it available to parents.
While she initially envisioned the idea for use in large urban areas, interest has been so great Starishevsky says she is considering putting state names on the license plate, so the numbers can be kept to three digits and remain easily identifiable. The license plates have even garnered some international fans in London and Chile.
As for the question of trust, the lawyer says the license plates are not about spying or mistrust.
"Hidden cameras, nanny cams are secret. And to me that's much more invasive. The nanny's sitting on the couch drinking a soda and watching Oprah and she could be being videotaped. This isn't that. It's just a license plate. It isn't going to hurt anyone. As long as you have effective communication with your nanny and you convey that this doesn't mean 'I don't trust you' it really can only lead to beneficial things," she explained.
Starishevsky, who gave birth to girl two weeks ago, says she will soon be looking for a nanny herself and of course, she plans to use the license plates. She does note that she hopes they won't hurt her in finding a good caretaker for her daughters.
The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor shows that in 2004 there were about 1.3 million childcare workers across the United States, of which about 21 percent worked in private households. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None