It is generally legal to install a video camera in your home to monitor a babysitter or nanny, and does not require the consent of the babysitter or nanny. But it is generally illegal to place such a camera in private places such as bathrooms or a live-in nanny’s bedroom. And in some states that require both parties to consent to the recording of a conversation, it is illegal to place a camera or other device in your home that records audio without the consent (preferably in writing) of your babysitter or nanny. These states that require two-way consent to record conversations (your consent and the babysitter or nanny’s consent) include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

In Virginia, it is legal to install a video camera in your home for the purposes of monitoring a babysitter or nanny without their consent, as long as it is in common areas where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. However, it is illegal to place cameras in private areas such as bathrooms or a live-in nanny’s bedroom. Virginia is a 'one-party consent' state when it comes to recording conversations, which means that only one party involved in the conversation needs to consent to the recording. Therefore, audio recording by a camera would be legal without the babysitter or nanny's consent as long as the person installing the camera is a party to the conversation being recorded. However, it is illegal to record audio if the person installing the camera is not a party to the conversation and does not have consent from at least one of the participants in the conversation.