Posted on 09/17/2013 3:41:01 AM PDT by Kaslin
Last week, WCSC-TV reported that after Benjamin and Hope Jordan relocated to Charleston, S.C., they needed to find a baby sitter for their 7-month-old son, Finn, but what they found was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Benjamin and Hope wanted a loving, nurturing baby sitter, just like any other concerned parents who work during the day but have no family or friends to watch their child. They had done their homework and thought they had discovered her in 21-year-old Alexis Khan. She passed a background check and had credible work experience as a baby sitter, and both of Finn's parents thought she was "a good fit."
Five months into her baby-sitting, however, the Jordans noticed that their trusted and loyal dog, Killian, had become overly protective of Finn when the baby sitter came around. Killian, a black Lab and German shepherd mix, is normally docile and friendly.
Thank God for not only canine instincts but also maternal discernment. As an act of precaution, Hope wanted to record what occurred while Kahn was baby-sitting. So the Jordans planted their iPhone under the couch to record any interactions between the baby sitter and their infant son.
To their horror, it captured the sounds of an abusive baby sitter and a beloved baby shrieking in pain.
Benjamin explained the recording to WCSC: "It started with cussing. Then you hear slap noises, and his crying changes from a distress cry to a pain cry. And I just wanted to reach through the audiotape, go back in time and just grab him up."
He further lamented, "To know that (for) five months, I had handed my child to a monster not knowing what was going on in my house for that day."
After reviewing the audio recordings, police arrested Khan. She confessed to the crime, pleaded guilty to assault and battery, and was sentenced to one to three years in prison. She also has been placed on a child abuse registry under the South Carolina Department of Social Services, which will prevent her from working with children in the future.
"That is fantastic news for us to know that maybe Finn's ordeal has possibly saved another child's life," Benjamin responded.
It was with a great sigh of relief that the Jordans told WCSC that Finn is doing well and shows no signs of negative effects from the abuse he suffered at the hands of his baby sitter.
Benjamin concluded, "Had our dog not alerted us to the trouble, had my wife's instincts not said we need to make something happen, it could have been Finn that was killed by the baby sitter. You never know."
Benjamin is correct. Finn's story ends well, but not all victims' do. That is why I'm calling on parents everywhere to doubly ensure their children's safety. And there's no better time than now, especially with summer ending and so many returning to routines that require baby sitters.
According to the Administration for Children and Families, every day, a staggering five children suffer an abuse-related death -- an increase from roughly three a day in 1998.
Childhelp, a leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect, further explains on its website that in the U.S. alone, more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made annually, involving more than 6 million children.
The website also explains:
--Approximately 80 percent of children who die from abuse are younger than 4.
--Roughly 50-60 percent of child fatalities caused by maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
--Children who experience abuse and neglect are about nine times likelier to become involved in criminal activity.
--About 80 percent of 21-year-olds who were abused as children meet the criteria for at least one psychological disorder.
--About 30 percent of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children.
According to the Forum on Child and Family Statistics, in 2011, 13 percent of children ages 0 to 4 with employed mothers were "primarily cared for by a nonrelative in a home-based environment, such as care from a family day care provider, nanny, babysitter, or au pair."
The above statistics stress just how important it is that parents and guardians take precautions to protect their children no matter who watches them. Non-family and non-friend sitters carry their own particular risks, so proceed with extreme prudence.
Beneficial, but not foolproof, are the websites Care.com, Sittercity, Babysitters4hire.com, eNannySource and SeekingSitters -- where background checks, identification checks and profile reviews are generally included.
Foremost, don't check in your brain at the door of child care. And don't be afraid to ask all the hard questions, do extensive background investigations and make surprise pop-ins on those who care for your most precious and priceless offspring. They're your kids, and it's your house, so monitor their welfare when you're gone, even with electronic-eye devices. Once upon a time, they were cumbersome and costly, but now they're small and relatively inexpensive. Some even can fit on a dog's collar!
And if you don't have the money for high-tech surveillance, use your smartphone as the Jordans did. If you're suspicious -- or even if you're not -- record a day's audio or visual events in your house. A little domestic espionage might educate you and even save someone's life.
If you suspect a child abuse situation or just want more information, call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). Crisis counselors are also available 24/7 online at http://www.childhelp.org/hotline.
Here's the darling babysitter in all her "Guilty, nuke it from orbit just to be sure" glory...
That’s why God gave us extended families. It’s only been the last generation or so that thought it is a good thing to scatter across globe in pursuit of more stuff. Most of the important things aren’t things.
“That’s why God gave us extended families. It’s only been the last generation or so that thought it is a good thing to scatter across globe in pursuit of more stuff. Most of the important things aren’t things.”
Too true; without the in-laws it would have been very difficult to raise our children. The wife works part-time (so the kids can get to school and back), but that wouldn’t have been possible when they were younger. I’d rather be poor than have a stranger watch our children; I’m already poor enough with the wife work part-time (and I wouldn’t have it any other way).
Note to parents: Care for your child yourself instead of paying a stranger to do it. No matter what your job is you can be replaced at work. Nobody can replace you as your child’s mother.
It really amazes me. In the movies the evil babysitter is always slim and good looking. But in real life, as far as I can remember, the evil ones are always fat and ugly.
I can understand the ugly, as, like democrats, the evil within seeps to the surface and ruins their looks, but the fat I just don’t understand.
Maybe I’m just not remembering correctly? I don’t know.
Mothers who go to work soon after a baby is born don't know what they miss in a baby's first year. Witnessing how my children progressed after I brought them home from the hospital, like learning to lift the head up, the first smile etc is something I will treasure for ever
my in laws and my parents both were worthless when it came to being any sort of a support network, my fil left my husband unattended as a baby and he was found by my mil sitting in the middle of the street in front of their house, my own parents were too involved in their own pursuits to act the way normal grandparents do and besides doting on anyone other than themselves is not in their lexicon, so I rarely did anything. Also, when I did go somewhere, I could tell by my kids’ emotional state when I returned if the baby sitter was worth hiring back.
It is difficult getting decent child care.
Yes, I know what you mean. I also waited until my youngest was in kindergarten, and I took a job that had me away from home only while the kids were in school. It was very difficult financially, but it was well worth. Raising babies was just wonderful.
She also has been placed on a child abuse registry under the South Carolina Department of Social Services, which will prevent her from working with children in the future.
I wouldn't bet a nickel of someone else's money on that. At the very least, she can simply move to another state.
They don’t stop having first at kindergarten age. The only difference between a kindergarten teacher and babysitter is a couple dozen young witnesses. If my wife was not able to homeschool I would quit my job and do it myself.
If my wife was not able to homeschool I would quit my job and do it myself.
***
God bless you — and your wife.
Disordered eating is often a symptom of something deeper out of whack. Not always, of course, and not always associated with behavior that’s harmful to others.
--Approximately 99 percent of children who die from CHOICE are younger than 0.
You got it!
Next thread...
If I’d been left by the parents with some corpulent monster like this, I’d have been screaming like crazy, too (before she ever hit me).
“It is difficult getting decent child care.”
No doubt; I’d like to think some of the stories in the NYC area of abusive imported nannies convinced some parents to work something out (sometimes with different work shifts, or something similar).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.