How’s Your Nanny? (And how about when you’re not looking?)
The world is your nannycam with Howsmynanny.com. Do you ever wonder how your care provider interacts with your children or reacts to situations while caring for your child? An online service offered by a mom from New York City can help you find the answers to those questions. Jill Starishevsky, a New York City prosecutor of child abuse and sex crimes, created the innovative website that enables anyone to communicate with parents to report problems they witness with your children’s caregiver. The service also allows people to report great things that your nanny is doing with your children by sending a praise report.
When you sign up with HowsMyNanny.com you are provided with a small license plate bearing the website information and a number unique to you. You simply attach the plate to your stroller with the cable ties provided and wait for the comments to come in. If people notice something good or concerning related to your childcare provider, they can log onto the howsmynanny site, enter your plate number and send a praise report or incident report. Howsmynanny will email you to notify you of a new comment. You then sign on to HowsMyNanny.com using your password to view the report. HowsMyNanny.com allows the person leaving the comment can do so anonymously or they can choose to leave contact information so that you can contact them to find out more details.
The service has an annual fee of $50 but you can receive an additional year of free membership if you refer three additional people to HowsMyNanny.com. I have already received feedback on my children’s nanny after only a month and a half with the plates on my stroller & despite living in a small city in Western Canada . I am very relieved to know that the nanny I chose has received nothing but praise from people who have witnessed her interacting with my toddlers and I will definitely be referring more of my friends to this great service. -by Cara - dedicated TOP reader and guest reviewer
Win it! Jill is giving FIVE randomly selected winners a license plate and a one year membership to HowsMyNanny.com valued at $50 each. To enter, just leave a comment on this post before noon MST on July 28, 2008.
Additional entries available - up to four per person. See contest entry information and rules.
CONTEST CLOSED - WINNERS EMAILED
July 21st, 2008 at 3:13 am
Great idea! After awhile, everyone will know what to do when they see the plates. I’ve called in about the driving behavior of truckers—I would be on the web constantly telling parents about their nanny.
Now, we just need something to monitor in-home daycares….
Holly Tried It’s last blog post..20% Discount and Coupon Code for Stars and Clouds Quick Zip Sheets
July 21st, 2008 at 10:27 am
Wow. This is wrong on so many levels.
When you call one of those truckers’ hotlines, there’s an arbitration process on the other end - they collect comments, assess the driver’s performance, and start dismissal proceedings if necessary. There’s protection for the driver, just in case some random stranger decides to make up a grievance and call it in. No such protection exists for the nanny in this case. Anybody, any passing stranger, could call in a comment, and of course the parent’s first reaction will be to fire the nanny.
If you don’t trust a nanny, don’t hire her. If you think you’ll never fully trust any nanny, do your childcare yourself. Certainly you’ll never establish a trusting, helpful relationship with a childcare provider if you’re pulling a 1984-style surveillance move on her. Think about it. Would you want a phone number plastered on your office door so that passing strangers could call in comments about you to your boss? No? Then treat your home employees with equal respect.
July 21st, 2008 at 4:58 pm
neat idea- really for compliments and comments- for good and bad
July 21st, 2008 at 8:02 pm
This is excellent! Thanks for the giveaway!
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:09 am
wow
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:14 am
THANK YOU GOD BLESS
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
This is great! If only we had someone to ask questions to on the spur of the moment that actually has experienve.
Shay’s last blog post..Princess Galore
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I have trusted home-based workers. But sometimes, something happens. They get sick, depressed, and things change….
And, I’ve known parents who completely trusted their homecare provider for several years, and then found out (when their children were talking well) that their sitter was taking them out in the car to her boyfriend’s house. She never ever asked permission to drive with the children and she never mentioned that they went anywhere.
You can completely trust…and be wrong.
And at an office, oftentimes complete strangers are walking by your door. Sure, there’s no number on the door to call, but it’s easy enough to find the supervisor to report to.
So, a little acountability with the most precious things in your life is just an indication of how precious your children are, not how much you trust or don’t.
Holly Tried It’s last blog post..Grinding My Own Rice Flour
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:33 pm
enter me
July 24th, 2008 at 7:43 am
would love to win this and thanks for offering the contest!!!
July 28th, 2008 at 9:30 am
That’s a wonderful idea. I would love the membership.
herry123_us@live.com