What To Do When Hiring A Nanny For Your Child?

For working parents, parents of twins or triplets, single parent, hiring a nanny can make things easier when it comes to taking care of your child, however, the process of hiring and choosing the right nanny is a painstaking task, that parents can find stressful. To help you make this a little easier, below is a guide to follow whilst hiring a nanny!

1. What Are Your Expectations?- When looking for an ideal candidate, knowing what you want is key. Are you looking for an educated nanny, who has a qualification in child development? Are you looking for a young or an old and experienced nanny? What do you expect your nanny chores should include? Do you want her to help a hand with anything else? Knowing this could help make your search process a lot easier. Whilst knowing your expectations always factor in your budget, obviously a nanny with qualifications and experience is going to be a lot more expensive to hire than a newcomer.

2. The Interview Process- Once you know what you are looking for, be sure to interview more than 1 candidate. Make a list of questions to ask the potential candidates, and be sure to discuss your preferences and parenting methods. Ask about their qualifications, experience, references, what their expectation of this job is, what makes them stand out for this job. Let them know your expectations. Apart from the Q&A’s even better do a practical test or arrange for a trial day post interview, see how they act around your child. Give attention to all the little details, how is the nanny dressed, whilst interviewing pay attention to the body language.

3. Do The Background Check- This is an important aspect of the whole process. Your nanny is going to be around your most prized possession, and will be a part of your daily lives. To be certain, it’s important to know if you can trust this person to be a caregiver of your little one. A good conduct certificate, driver’s licence, ID card etc are some of the important documents that you must check before hiring. Call their references to find out about their past work, ask for their health records to make sure they don’t have any illness that they could pass on to your baby. Due diligence is key. If you are using a company to hire, find out all the information you need from the company, but also do your own due diligence to be sure.

4. Sealing The Deal- Before you have finalized, make sure you discuss the pay, payment terms, duties to be performed, the work hours, pay for extra hours, time-off protocols, vacation etc. Be clear and have room for zero ambiguity, as you and your nanny must be on the same page. If possible, draw a contract, to safeguard both you and the nanny.