"IT'S SLEAZY. My gut feeling reacts against it. But yes, I would use it. The side of me that worries about my children and their priorities wouldn't hesitate."

"It" is a secret video system for monitoring children and childminders, and the view is that of Ann Butler, a Dublin mother of two toddlers. The system, called Babywatch, is widely used in the United States, where it has been a source of some controversy.

When its introduction here was suggested to parents, Ann Butler's reaction was typical. Her initial revulsion at the idea of invading another person's privacy was quickly followed by an overriding concern for her children's well being - and an immediate death to scruples.

Or, as another parent of small children, Yvonne Treacy, put it "the bottom line is: if it protects your child then do it."

To get one view on how the system works, and how successfully, we spoke to Lorie Shecter in Manhattan. She's been running the Murray Hill Babywatch Provider in that well off neighbourhood for nearly a year now. "I am very adamantly in favour of it, because of the huge numbers of people who find their children either neglected or abused at the hands of babysitters."

Statistics back her up. NBC television's airing of the subject produced something of an outcry - and it also produced figures showing that 70 per cent of childminders monitored by secret camera are abusive or neglectful. Shecter says that between 60 and 70 per cent of her customers fire their childminders after hiring the service.

"Most children can't say `help'," she says. "They can be bullied into staying quiet. Naturally, people are divided about the right to privacy issue. But we're talking too about the rights and safety of a child who cannot tell you what's going on."

The Babywatch monitoring system is sold by its manufacturers to people who wish to set themselves up as "Babywatch Providers", renting and installing the system for parents. Shecter became a Babywatch Provider after she had problems with care for her own children.

For "security reasons", Shecter is loath to give details of how the system works; it is installed, she says, wherever the television set and most toys are to be found. It records a tape that is five hours long; the usual rental period is for two days and the charge for that length of time is $225.

Lorie Shecter rents to several hundred people each year and believes Babywatch is absolutely necessary in a society such as that in the US. "The majority of people who babysit or who are caregivers here don't want to do the job. They're too often doing it because they're illegal, or whatever, and can't get other work," she says.

She also has no problem in principle, she says, with monitoring workers. "Every job in the world is supervised, or monitored. But parents aren't measured and nor are caregivers. They should be. We're talking here about the rights and safety of a child who cannot tell you what's going on.

"The hope is that this could either prevent the wrong people going into the profession or make them watch their bums and behave in a better manner when they are a part of it."

CLOSER TO HOME, Yvonne Treacy had some further thoughts on the idea of "spying" on childminders. "I'm desperately serious about who I allow look after my children - I've gone to all sorts of lengths to ensure I know how they perform.

"I've frequently advertised and always interview and ask for references, which I sometimes check out twice. They're not always for real - what you discover can be hair raising. I once shortlisted three people and found all three were disasters."

Treacy has set up her own monitoring, or checking, system by having her sister and neighbours call to the house frequently, and an odd times, when she is at work.

"I often keep the childminder with me on my days off," she adds, "because I find it a good way to see how she relates to the children."

She feels the Babywatch system could be very useful in certain situations. "I'm lucky," she points out. "I live in a close community and have my sister and friends to monitor for me. But that's not possible for everyone, and if you've no other way of checking then what can you do?

"Children are far too precious to leave their care to chance."

Ann Butler agrees. "I literally won't move house because of the network of neighbours and friends I've got around me to watch out for the children. I wouldn't trust someone I didn't know with them because, basically, you just can't tell about someone until they're in your house and it's too late then.

"It's hard to get rid of a childminder unless you can prove something. If a person in a childcare situation is nasty, then the chances are they've intimidated the child into not telling you. It's like it is with sexual abuse, when children are terrified into silence."

She worries that Babywatch would be "very wrong if a person was very straight and honest. But the other side of me worries about my children.

"If I had to go to an agency for a childminder, and if a monitoring system was available then, yes, I would use it."