On March 3,
2016 the NY Daily News ran
with the headline, "Monster California nanny, 20, caught trying to
suffocate crying baby on hidden camera."
The
article stated, "A demonic California nanny was busted after she was
caught trying to suffocate a crying baby on a hidden camera, according to cops.
Moriah Gonzales, 20, was collared for felony child abuse after a nannycam
caught her bad baby-sitting behavior at a Bay Area home in February...A couple
identified only as Amanda and Nicole hired Gonzales through the popular
nanny-finding website Care.com."
We find it very frustrating and misleading when
alleged crimes like this occur and the local, national and international media inaccurately
(both traditional and online) labels the sitter, au pair, Craigslist or Care.
com job seeker or even a family member (like the aunt or cousin) as “the
nanny”.
For clarity, a professional nanny is someone who
is or has been working 40 to 60 plus hours per week, year in and out, caring
for someone else’s children in a private home. Most nannies are certified in
CPR and qualified in First Aid, and have broad training in childhood
development or a related degree. The fact that an individual raised his or her
own children, babysat for friends or family occasionally or did after school
babysitting does not make them a nanny.
A
responsible and objective media has a moral obligation to stop using the
general “nanny” label to sensationalize a story every time someone in charge of
a child commits a crime against that child. It is entirely
unjust to the countless professional nannies out there that work long hours,
provide exceptional childcare for many years, love their charges and has earned
the right to call herself a Nanny.
