A west Auckland nanny who left a baby when she was being paid to care for alone in a house while she took her own daughter to the doctor has been fined $200.
Rachel Simons, 31, admitted a charge of leaving a child unsupervised when she appeared in Waitakere District Court this week.
The four month-old infant was alone when her father Andrew Gous returned home to drop off nappies. He waited until the nanny returned, more than two hours later.
Mr Gous said the fine was disappointing and little more than a speeding ticket, the New Zealand Herald reported today.
Simons, a mother of two was a professional caregiver employed by Porse.
She refused to comment on the fine but Mr Gous said it did not carry any weight and the punishment was not a deterrent to others.
He said the event had shaken the family and he had set up a website, www.childcareadvisor.co.nz, where people could rate or review childcare, daycare, nannies, au pairs, pre-school centres, and afterschool care.
Simons said last week she had a lot on her mind at the time but was sorry for what had happened.
NZPA