The popularity of male nannies as opposed to traditional female nannies is on the rise in the UK. There are few restrictions legally if your child is being cared for in your own home. Naturally responsible parents will carry out background checks or ensure that agencies presenting mannies or nannies do. But should mannies take lie detector tests as part of the pre-employment screening process?
More male than female paedophiles
Statistically, taking into account figures produced by the government, only 2.2 percent of women in the UK are convicted paedophiles with the remainder being men. There are various child and victim protection organisations that would put female paedophiliac activity between 5 and 20 percent. The statistics are somewhat confused now because of the amount of men identifying as women. Hence if a paedophile identifies as a woman when charged, the crime will be recorded as committed by a woman. However it is clear that men are more prolific paedophiles.
In 2016, Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom caused controversy when she stated that not employing male nannies was “cautious and sensible”. She said it was known that paedophiles were attracted to working with children. But she didn’t infer that all male nannies were paedophiles having had a mannie look after her own children for a period of 5 years.
Reasons people choose mannies for childcare
Single mothers particularly favour mannies when they are seeking impeccable male role models for their children. This also applies to mothers who have husbands working away.
Bubble Mobile babysitting app founder, Ari Last, says that boys often request a male to supervise them whilst Mum and Dad are out.
The free Bubble app has over 1,300 registered babysitters in London and around 2,000 parents utilising it.
Why should mannies take lie detector tests?
Naturally the safety of children is paramount to parents. Whether for babysitting or longer term childcare you need to know as much as you can about the person you employ.
A polygraph test is a great way to find out facts about the prospective candidate. This doesn’t have to be confined to mannies, but nannies can take them too. You’ll not only find out if the candidate has been truthful about their qualifications but also something of their character and intentions.
Lie detector tests are not expensive. It’s a small price to pay to ensure your kids are in excellent, safe hands of a trustworthy mannie or nanny.
If you would like more information about our lie detector tests for childcare contact us for a confidential chat about your requirements.
Should mannies take lie detector tests and should nannies take them too? Let us know what you think.
