Scared about trusting a nanny/au pair with my son. Help!

[JumpingIn]

In September I will be returning to full time study. My son will be 15 months old.

I can't put him in the creche at the university as it is an hour or more from home and he goes crazy in the car, and daycare elsewhere is too expensive. An au pair or similar would be a good option financially as we have a spare room and he loves one-to-one attention....Only...I'm terrified.

I'm a child abuse victim so I suppose that doesn't help. Please someone tell me I'm not alone in feeling this way. I'm scared my baby will get mistreated. How can you ever trust anyone who isn't family to spend that much time with your baby?

I know it's over the top. I know I have to let go. I just can't imagine how I will...

The crazy thing is I work one to one with children myself! But I've met plenty of other therapists (I work with children with special needs), and I have to say some of them haven't been great in my opinion, so no help there!

 

[bbbbbbb811]

First of all, I'm sorry for what happened to you as a child I have the same fear, I have always said I would only send my children to a nursery with multiple people to oversee my LOs care as if something was wrong chances are it would be noticed! But I will say, it's a lot more checks now to work with children then there used to be, you can choose someone(if that's how it works) with plenty of references, experience and check them ALL. So if they started in a nursery and also gone on to work for two+ families who all give a positive reference then chances are they're not dodgy/going to mistreat your LO as chances are one of the people they worked with before would of picked up on it. Also, even though it does get splashed everywhere when it does happen, people who mistreat children are in the minority and most people who work with children do so because they want to work with children and enjoy it. I hope you find someone that you can feel comfortable with!

 

[Bella1185]

I'm so sorry for your experiences as a child - that is terrifying.

Have you thought about a nanny cam? They're inexpensive and easily assembled and it would give you peace of mind. You can even tell whoever is watching your child that there's a nanny camera present. I was a nanny all through college and was super close with the mom. When we first met she had asked how I'd feel about one and I said I thought it was a great idea! Keeps people accountable! They never ended up installing it, but as a nanny at the time I felt comfortable with it, and now as a mother I know that's exactly what I'll do!

 

[JumpingIn]

Thanks so much for the kind support ladies I just can't get over it and have decided to put him in nursery. I'm still anxious though!

 

[MumToEva]

Before having kids, I thought a childminder would be better than a nursery, but when my daughter was born I was surprised to find I felt differently. The thought of that one person being responsible for my child scared me, so I opted for a nursery instead. I definitely think it was the right decision for our family, and my opinion of nursery has totally changed!

Sorry to hear about your past experiences! I would definitely go for a nursery in your situation.