A family hid a surveillance camera in their carbon-monoxide detector, so that if anything happened to their precious children while they were at work, they'd know about it. The mother was able to watch the video from her work. Like any panicked mother, she rushed home when she saw footage of her 5-month-old repeatedly being slapped in the face.
The nanny was arrested, and I'm sure she won't be stepping foot in the New York family's home again.
Stories of babysitters and nannies abusing the children they are supposed to be caring for are not uncommon and intermittently pop up in the news. The advice given to parents seems obvious: do a background check, get references, hire a nanny from a reputable company, set up hidden cameras, etc.
Cases such as this one end up in the news because they are extreme. What about other cases that are not quite so extreme? What about the daycare provider who gives you a report of what your child did for the day? If your child is one or two years old, how do you know the child really did those things? I ask this because I knew a case once where a daycare teacher would tell the parents the children had read a particular book or completed a particular activity, when in actuality, they had not.
During the period in a child's life when he or she cannot yet verbalize thoughts, parents need to be very vigilant. It is very easy for a lazy daycare provider to fabricate or embellish information.
Pretending a child completed an activity when he did not is nowhere near as severe as slapping a baby in the face, but the point is that babies can't tell anyone what happened, and there will always be adults who will take advantage of that fact.
I guess the best advice is to do your research before leaving your child in anyone's care, and whenever possible, have a hidden camera installed in the environment where your child will be. Also, don't be too quick to trust anyone, no matter how friendly they are to you.
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