For parents who work long hours or are consistently on the go, a nanny can be an essential part of ensuring that your children are being taken care of. However, with a nanny spending so much time with your children, it's important that you find a person who you can trust, which can make the search overwhelming. Luckily, with a few tips, you can find the perfect fit for your family's needs.
Step 1
Talk to friends and family members with their own children for recommendations. Hiring someone to take care of your children can be scary. Friends and family offer an experienced source who can vouch for the character of nannies they know or have worked with, instead of you blindly searching for someone to watch your children.
Step 2
Advertise. Call your local newspaper and ask for the classified section, or post an advertisement with an online job hunting site. There may also be local papers or magazines geared toward parents that feature a classified section. Be advised, though, that this will get you a wide variety of applicants to choose from, but not necessarily qualified ones, advises Nannies4Hire.com.
Step 3
Use a nanny agency or referral service. A nanny agency will do all the screening work for you but can be expensive, notes Nannies4Hire.com. Online referral services, such as Nannie4Hire.com, keep listings of potential nannies in your area and offer a variety of options. Some sites may just have listings of nannies posted by their users, while others may go as far as interviewing and running background checks on nannies and then placing them into homes.
Step 4
Get a thorough background check of any prospective nannies, including at least three references of past employers. Create a form asking for the nanny prospect's social security number and date of birth, as well as a short statement saying that it is okay to run a background check on her, and have the nanny sign it. Take this information, and place it through a reputable online background check company's website, such as GoNannies.com. Keep the original permission forms and the background check in a safe place in case it is needed at a later date. Also, call every reference listed by the prospective nanny.
Step 5
Invite your nanny prospect to spend a day with your children while you are there to supervise. This will allow you to observe how well your nanny works with your children, as well as whether or not your children will get along with the new nanny.
Step 6
Write up a childcare contract with your new nanny. This contract should include how many hours you expect the nanny to work, the duties of the job, any benefits you are willing to offer for her services and the wage you agree to pay her. You may also want to add in a clause stating under what circumstances you will end the contract with the nanny.
