We have some good news, the kidnapped Orekoya boys are back home! There were a lot of prayers from everyone for the boys to be returned home to their parents unharmed and safe. We thank God this has indeed been the case.
In the aftermath of this, there are a lot of questions being raised. There are the people who have blamed the mother for hiring from OLX and blamed her for leaving kids with a new nanny. In reality how about you? How well do you know the nanny in your house? Did you get her from your friends nanny or your driver? The truth is that OLX is one source, but there are many different sources you could use to hire a nanny that could be just as dire.
The question here is how do we avoid these things happening? Most parents are dual income homes and therefore there will be the need to hire domestic staff to help manage the home and the children. The answer is not condemnation but rather how do we find solutions together.
Raising a child has always taken a village. We somehow have moved to a “my family, my children and I model”. How many people can say they know their neighbours? How many people know anyone on their street? The reality is that we all have to make a change. How we treat each other and how we hire strangers into our homes. Like a father said we tell our children not to talk to strangers and then we bring strangers into our homes.
We have been asking through our #LMOpinion: “What will you do differently as you hire?” [Tweet “LMOpinion: what will you do differently as you hire?”] This should be where we are focusing our attention. What should we do differently, what should we keep in mind, how do we avoid the same problems from happening.
How do we raise awareness of such situations. Am sure if Mrs Orekoya had been aware of the other kidnap story from OLX perhaps she would not have hired using the same source? Maybe she thought her case would be different? we really don’t know. OLX is an online classifieds system that lets people interact and trade, with the disclaimer that the buyers must carry out their own due diligence.
I do not believe there is one answer to avoid bad domestic staff stories. There are several good stories as well. I just met the founder of The Nanny Academy, and her nanny has been with her for 10 years! So there are somethings you can do right to keep staff for a long time.
There are two parts to this. The pre-hire side which is what you do prior to hiring the staff and then the post-hire, which deals with how you treat your staff and remain vigilant after you have hired.
Verify their identity – Stop hiring people into your homes that you cannot trace. Whether you are able to use an agency or not, you must be comfortable that you know where they came from. At the minimum be sure of where they live and be able to trace them if need be.- Interview process – Do not rush the interview process. Do not be desperate when you are looking for a nanny as this clouds your judgement. Spend time to understand why she wants the job. Do not hire someone who seems resentful that she has to be a nanny. Rather you want someone who sees being a nanny as a real job and a career choice and maybe she wants to save to go back to school or to start a business?
- Reference checks – We have many candidates who say that their old employers have relocated out of the Country. While definitely true in some cases, it is not true in all cases. According to agency, some ex-employers give unfair negative recommendations, so (some) nanny’s have learnt that its better to say their old bosses have travelled. Give fair reference checks when you are contacted. Employers note everyone has not travelled!
- Pay well – Are you a family that can afford to pay well and yet you hire and pay only 5,000 per month? Whereas your nanny sees that the amount you spend on your pet is more than this per month. Do not underpay your domestic staff who works hard all day, agree on a fair wage. Do not refuse to pay you staff their salary and on time.
- Security – You should drop by your house unannounced and recruit other people who can drop by unannounced to check up on the staff in your home. If you live in a compound with a security man at the gate, make sure you leave instructions with him. Nanny cams are another way to make sure you can see what is going on in the home when you are not there.
- Empower your children – Empower your children by putting landlines in the home and pre-program your number into the phone. Teach your children to be security conscious as well. Be sure to spend time communicating with your children as many times you can pick up what is happening from them.
- It comes full circle – There are some great employers but there are some other employers who treat their staff quite badly. Everyone you treat poorly has the tendency to go to another home angry and wanting to retaliate. That said there are some staff that no matter how well they are treated do not reciprocate with good. This where we have to stay prayerful and discerning to know when you have such a person.
- Use alternatives – If you are not sure about the nanny you have, then by all means use alternatives. Some alternatives could include, putting your children in an after school centre or day care. Ask family members to stay with the new nanny and your child initially.
Lastly there is a difference between a nanny and a house-keeper. If you want a nanny hire a nanny. Do not hire someone who is a good cleaner and washerwoman and have her also provide nanny services. Recruiters highlight a decline in the quality of young job seekers and an increase in workers not committed to their jobs, why should it be different with domestic staff?
Stay careful and vigilant.
Read more on the right way to hire domestic staff and Key Tips on How to Treat Your Nanny.
Nanny Kidnaps Children In Lagos
