Before you hire the nanny make sure the kids are happy with her.

by Todd Martin

Not many things are more upsetting than discovering that your child has been abused, in any way, by your babysitter. People think that to be a babysitter means you must be a nice person. WRONG! Some of the nicest people turned out to be Serial Killers, so don’t ever give a Babysitter the benefit of the doubt. Unless you have a good friend and neighbor who happens to be an experienced nanny, the best place to go for prospective childcare providers are nanny agencies. These agencies usually perform preliminary background checks - education, experience, personal references, and even psychological testing - copies of which should be forwarded to you.

Start your search at least 2 to 3 months before you go back to work so you have enough time to make a thoughtful decision. Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations. Before hiring or accepting an offer to baby-sit from relatives or friends, be sure they are qualified to care for your child and that you would feel comfortable giving those instructions or disagreeing with them on child-care issues that are important to you. Avoid hiring someone who is looking for something to do until a better offer comes along. To find candidates, check with a local agency that provides training and placement for in-home providers. Ask your doctor for names.

You should be as thorough as possible about performing background checks. This does not mean that you have to enlist the Federal Bureau of Investigation, only that you must insist that all background checks are completed by the agency. Incomplete background checks can lead to abuse and neglect being captured on your nanny cams. Even if the nanny performed well in past employments, you might just be unlucky enough to be the victim of nanny duplicity. You should avoid hiring nannies on the first interview. You can conduct two personal interviews at the minimum, where you can ask questions like childcare philosophy and ideas, personal interests, discuss compensation package and work expectations, and opinions on nanny cams. The disclosure and discussion on nanny cams is a must.

Using your hidden nanny cam, you can make a decision regarding hiring your new nanny. Even if you missed something during the interview, the strategically-placed spy camera will show you exactly what your missed. You need to hire a person that you can trust with your children. Also before you hire the nanny make sure the children are comfortable around her. There is nothing worse than hiring a nanny who if perfect but the children do not like her. If the children do not like her then they are not going to listen to her very well. So make sure that the children like her that way you will get respect from both the nanny and your children.

Listen to your gut feeling, even if you are under the gun because you need help immediately. Ask whether or not they’re available the hours you need them, their salary needs, how long they can commit to the job, what interests them about child care, what kind of work they have done in the past, and when they can start. Invite the best candidates to your home for an interview. Some parents develop a job application form to make the hiring process more formal and professional. Once you have a candidate in mind, contact at least three former employers and three personal references. Ask former employers about the candidate’s responsibilities, his or her strengths and weaknesses and the ages of the children that they have worked with.

About the Author:

Leave a Reply