Five Things To Consider Before Hiring A Nanny

After having a child, leaving them with someone else when it’s time for you to return back to work is a tough and stressful decision to make. You may have the option to drop your kids off at grandma’s house, or with a friend, but for many this just isn’t possible. This is where a nanny can step in to fill the role. Wherever your location, hiring a Melbourne nanny, an au pair from Paris, or your teenage next door neighbor may seem like you have a whole lot of options to choose from. However, hiring someone reliable and suitable for your kids may be a bit trickier. Here are some things to consider before hiring a nanny.

1. Conduct an interview. This may seem like a no-brainer, but asking the right questions will give you a much clearer idea of who you’ll be hiring to work with your kids. Make sure you maintain clear communication with the nanny during the interview and explain to them all aspects related to your family. Ask them questions about their previous jobs and experience working with kids. Give them good insight on your style of parenting and ask if they are ok with it. Remember, this is not only what you think of as a good fit – you want the nanny to be comfortable with your family as well.

2. Find out the nanny’s background. Consider hiring a nanny from a reputed agency for you and your child’s safety. The agency will do a background check on the nanny to see if they have a criminal record or have committed any minor or serious offenses. If the nanny’s background checks out to be clean, then go ahead and continue the interview process.

3. Ask for their references. You must make it a point to ask the prospective nanny to provide a reference from her previous employer. Do not just collect the numbers but make sure you call them ask questions about the nanny and her personality. Don’t hold back on anything as this will give you a clear picture of the type of person you’ll be bringing into your home to take care of your children.

4. Get your expectations right. To get the best out of your nanny, hand her a list of all the chores and tasks you’d like her to do and make sure she mentions the ones she is not comfortable doing. Also tell her if she needs to do any overtime as she will have to inform the agency the same. When both your expectations are on the same page, you’re much more likely to have an amicable and comfortable relationship. In addition, you cannot expect the nanny to be an expert from day one, so make sure to give them enough training and time to feel comfortable and adequate in their new position.

5. Make sure your children are comfortable. Even if you love someone who you’d like to hire as your children’s nanny, it may be meaningless if your children do not feel comfortable with them. Sometimes kids are just shy and warm up to a new person, but other times personalities and behaviors just don’t click. Have the prospective nanny hang out with your children not just one but two or three times to get a sense of what their dynamic is together. Afterwards, ask your children how they feel around the person to get the clearest sense of whether it will be a good match or not.

Once you take all these into consideration, you will not find it difficult to hire a Melbourne nanny. However, spend time to evaluate all the candidates before you go out and hire anyone