A lot of us scoff at the idea of enlisting the help of a nanny cam. I personally (and maybe naïvely) would like to believe that I can trust the person I have hired as a nanny to take proper care of my children. That is why we all go through such rigorous processes to find nannies, au pairs and babysitters. Interviews, background checks, references, a second round of interviews, maybe even a meet and greet with the kids: we want to make sure we can trust a person with the safety of our children.
A mother of twins in Fontana, California thought that she had done just that. She used the service Care.com to find a nanny for her 12-month-old twins and her 8-year-old son. The nanny, Dana Cash, appeared to have a clean record in background checks, and yet video footage proves without a doubt that Cash was physically abusive to both of the 12-month-old twins.
The mother (who has chosen to not be identified) first found the video after her 8-year-old son told her about Cash shaking his sibling. “He knew. He knew it was wrong,” the mother said. “I praise my son for that. Had he not said anything, I wouldn’t have known.”
When confronted with the video, Cash claimed that she made “a mistake”. “’That’s not a mistake. That’s not a mistake you’re allowed to make.’ She was fired,” the mother told ABC news.
Cash was arrested but has since been released on bail. After Cash’s arrest, the police asked the mother to review the footage to see if there were any other incidents. Sadly, there were: there was video footage of Cash putting her hand over the mouth of her 1-year-old son, and over the mouth of this twin sister.
Care.com spokesperson Nancy Bushkin made a statement on Monday night:
“We are deeply troubled by this incident and our thoughts are with the family. The safety of the Care.com community is of paramount importance to us and we have implemented a number of safety features to help families find quality care providers and create a safe environment for all of our members. We will be reaching out to local authorities to assist them in any way we can.”
You can view the video here, but it is quite graphic.
So will you rush out to get a new nanny cam today?
i’m glad she listened to her older son, but i’m wondering why she didn’t notice the footage earlier? isn’t the point of a nanny cam to watch for incidences?