By Morenike Taire

Weeks have passed since the tragicomedy of the OLX nanny, wherein a Lagos couple with four children obtained the services of a caregiver for their toddlers via an internet retail platform. The Orekoyas, as they are known, are the typical Lagos based couple who have to work all day to make ends meet in the tough Nigerian economy. “According to Mr. Leke Orekoya, father of the children (Demola; Adedamola and Aderomola), getting a nanny off a foreign owned online retail platform is not as big a deal as people are making it out to be.

Funmilayo Adeyemi alleged kidnaper of three Orekoya’s kids

The family had hired at least two nannies by this means prior to the incidence in which 3 of their children were abducted.“It was a horror story, one that millions of couples and single parents can imagine themselves featured in. The average family knows little or nothing about people with whom they leave their children and even babies.

The whole of Lagos and indeed the world mourned together with bated breaths as law enforcement struggled to retrieve the children, heaving a huge, united sigh when they were recovered and the culprits rounded up and hopefully brought to book.

“The rest would normally be history in an abduction case, except that mothers in all cosmopolitan cities countrywide have been sleeping with one eye open ever since the OLX incidence, wondering where the next OLX nanny would turn up.

A fortnight ago, a family discovered their housegirl was actually a houseboy before he did much actual damage than they know of.“As pressure mounts on women everywhere to get educated and contribute their quotas to the global economy, the eternal subject of getting child care is turning up in the most unexpected places, such as at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier in the year where uberwoman and yahoo CEO Sheryl Sandberg was undermined for her widely acclaimed Lean In philosophy.

Lean In, which encourages ‘made’ women to pull younger women up the corporate ladder with a view to having more women shattering the corporate glass ceiling. “The reality is, more women will smash the glass ceiling and even render it non-existent, just because there are more women on the corporate ladder than ever before, who have better education and better opportunity for training. Unfortunately, the majority will not, and the only thing holding them back seems to be their gender role of mothering.

Baby Boomer women are also having children at older ages, meaning  they are too old to look after their grandchildren as their own mothers did. “While we wait for governments and corporates to enforce more humane maternity policies, buying childcare will be the order of the day, and it is increasingly a risky venture.““Tips for Nannying best Practices:““1) Get a Reference“Okay, so a million and one people will tell you they got a domestic employee through a reference who still did them in.

This happens everywhere- even with plumbers, electricians, automechanics and even in the corporate setting. Still, not having a reference is totally out of the question. References must be checked out diligently and refused if need be. Remember, you are still the employer here.“2)Do health checks“Once in a long while, incidents of kidnapping occur by nannies, but a more dreadful threat is that of disease. Children have been known to catch deadly diseases from their caregivers- including HIV, sometimes passed on deliberately or carelessly.

Do a thorough medical test on your intended nanny before they even start work, at least the three major ones: TB, HIV and Hepatitis B. “ 3) Have a break-in period“If you wanted to buy a car you would test-drive it, right? So it makes sense to watch your nanny for a few days before leaving them alone with your kids, if only to break them in and tell them how you want your kids handled. If you can afford close circuit security, get it by all means and for goodness sake, use it. What you don’t see CAN hurt you!“

4) Train them“So the nanny says they had previous experience raising kids? Why take their word for it? Invest in untraining and retraining with a professional institute. You will reap the benefits.“

5) Be Nice“This one is a no-brainer, which makes you wonder why so many women default on this.  If you think your nanny is a lazy slob or a glutton, or that she stole that beautiful gold bangle you left lying around, by every means keep your opinion to yourself unless you are ready to fire her.   Otherwise, buy her gifts when you travel, show concern about her future and treat her like the best thing that happened to you since sliced bread. She probably is. `