Leading Article

This month's move towards a law against anyone smacking children, coming from Scotland (see page 4), is of course good news for children. But it's the same old thing for nannies, who are again seen as the exception among paid childcarers. They would be covered by the same rules for parents in their own homes. As usual, wherever laws or regulations are concerned, policymakers see nannies not like childminders or nursery staff, but as surrogate parents. The government has always refused to register nannies on the grounds that their employment is just a private matter between them and the parents. True, nannies do have to follow the parents' line on many matters, such as children's mealtimes, bedtimes, privileges and general discipline. But the minute anything goes wrong or a child comes to harm, the nanny will have to bear a greater blame than the parent. We know that a nanny will always be judged more harshly than a parent, even with let-out clauses for what happens in the home. What we need is laws that put nannies on equal terms with other professional childcarers, not their employers.