May Non-Fiction Blog Post

This week I  read “Private eyes: Parents using hidden cameras to monitor nannies, baby sitters” by Ryan Haggerty, a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. It was mainly about how some parents install video cameras to see whether their babysitters are mistreating their children or not when they aren’t home. It also touched upon whether it was ethical or not, but remained very unbiased. The article quotes “Harold J. Krent, the dean of the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law” to say that hidden cameras may not be ethical, even though they’re legal. This shows the side of the article that is against the cameras.  This quote from the article, ‘“Frankly, people do things in front of cameras," Myers said. "Despite the fact that there are cameras, they either forget about them or they don't think you're watching them."’ shows how the article is unbiased, because it doesn’t say that it’s good to install cameras and to see what really bad things are happening, but it also doesn’t say it’s a bad thing either. Another quote from the article ‘"I think it's a sign of respect," Krent said. "You wouldn't want a nanny to work there if they felt uncomfortable that they were being videotaped."’ shows the side of the article that is pro-cameras. Since there are both pros and cons to the cameras in the article, and an unbiased opinion at the same time, it all evens out to make an unbiased article. The details help readers choose what “side” they’re on, if any, and show the reasons behind why some people install cameras, whether they’re hidden or in plain sight.

            The author wants readers to think that installing cameras to “spy” on babysitters is quite controversial, since there are two very valid opinions presented in the article. Since it’s very unbiased, they want readers to feel conflicted between whether to install and camera or not if they have children, and maybe even feel concerned that their babysitter is harming their child without their knowing it. The author achieves this by providing opinions from both sides of the issue, and including incidents where babysitters have been caught hurting children on camera. “On Thursday, a Chicago nanny was charged with aggravated battery after she allegedly was caught by a hidden camera choking and shaking a 15-month-old girl.

Also Thursday, a woman in Ohio was convicted, based on video captured by a hidden camera, of smothering the children she was baby-sitting to stop them from crying. Earlier this month, a Long Island nanny was charged after video allegedly showed her drugging an infant to keep the girl quiet.”

            After reading this article, I will take away both the pros and cons of installing a camera to “spy” on a babysitter, and even some loopholes to installing cameras, like putting them in plain sight, and telling a babysitter or nannie that they will be recorded as a sign of respect, as the article mentions, to show them they should feel comfortable with being recorded if they want to work for you. My thinking has definitely been changed, before reading this article I used to think it was unethical to record babysitters, but it was useful if you could catch them  harming your child. Now, I think installing secret cameras is unethical, but installing a camera in plain sight and telling the babysitter before they come to work is not. You can still see what they’re doing at work when you’re gone, but there’s more trust between the boss and the babysitter because they’ll know that the boss trusts the babysitter enough to tell them they’ll be recorded. So if I was to hire a babysitter, I would install a camera in plain sight, and let them know they will be recorded as a safety precaution. I’d still like to know whether there’s been an incident where a secret camera’s been installed and a babysitter harms a child, the parents find out and install a camera in plain sight, tell the babysitter, and then they stop harming the child. I’d also like to know why babysitters harm the children, and whether they harm every child they babysit.