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As
the mother of two beautiful girls, ages nine months
and three years old, and an Assistant District
Attorney of child abuse and sex crimes in New York
City for the past ten years, my number one priority
has been to look out for the safety and welfare of
children.
Last March, while attending a prosecutor's training
program at the Police Academy, I was eating lunch on
a park bench and noticed two young girls playing
alone on the jungle gym. The girls, who appeared
four and six years old, ran over to a woman who was
engrossed in a book. I realized that this woman was
their nanny and the children were essentially
unsupervised. I observed the girls play for nearly
an hour as the nanny continued to read. These girls
could have easily run off into the busy Manhattan
streets or been lured away by a stranger. I wanted
to communicate to the girls’ parents about the
substandard care their daughters were receiving, but
I had no way to contact them.
As
a working mother, I knew I would want to be notified
if my caregiver was being negligent. So I created a
communication tool where parents can be informed of
any praiseworthy or problematic behavior occurring
between the child and the caregiver.
HowsMyNanny.com is that tool that enables the
general public to report behavior they observe in a
secure and confidential manner.
In
order to sign up for membership, parents log onto
www.HowsMyNanny.com and provide an email address
where they can be contacted. Within a week, parents
receive a 4x7 inch license plate with our website
and a unique identifying number that attaches to the
child's stroller. Should a concerned citizen want
to report an “event” to the child’s parents, it’s
simple. Just go to www.HowsMyNanny.com, put in that
child’s unique license plate number, describe what
you saw and the parent is instantaneously notified
via email. The good Samaritan could even choose to
remain anonymous to the member.
While HowsMyNanny.com was initially conceived with
the intention of making parents aware of negligent
nannies, it has grown and expanded to provide
positive feedback as well. There are many
insecurities that are associated with leaving your
child alone with someone other than family. Even
parents with the most wonderful nannies breathe a
sigh of relief when they are told that their nanny
lovingly treated a boo boo or sang softly while they
pushed an infant on the swing. It was with this in
mind that HowsMyNanny.com incorporated praise
reports. Such feedback will open up the lines of
communication between you and your nanny and help to
continue your positive relationship in the future.
Most workers who provide important services are
monitored in today’s world - police officers wear
badges, health care providers are drug tested,
teachers are given year-end reviews. Why shouldn’t
a nanny taking care of our children have some
oversight? In essence, the license plates are
another precaution to ensure the safety of our
children, much like installing childproof locks on
your cabinets, protective covers on your outlets, or
gates at the top of your stairs. An added benefit
of the HowsMyNanny.com license plate is the
deterrent effect. Research indicates that when the
trucking industry employed a similar technique, the
rate of truck related accidents plummeted between
20-53%. Simply put, accountability encourages
drivers to be safer. This is the goal of
HowsMyNanny.com - encouraging nannies to be diligent
caretakers.
As
we celebrate our one-year anniversary, we are happy
to share the good news – the service is working.
Parents are receiving the reports and children are
receiving the benefits. Through media coverage from
Good Morning America, Fox News National, and Donny
Deutsch, we have been able to spread the word about
HowsMyNanny.com faster than we had anticipated. We
look forward to another year of keeping children
safe and opening up the lines of communication
between parents and caregivers across the country.
Whether by registering as a member or becoming a
reporter of praiseworthy or negligent nanny
behavior, we hope you join in our effort. |
