How to Find the Perfect Nanny

Having a nanny can make your family life so much easier but finding and hiring the perfect nanny can be difficult. Depending on your children’s needs and work schedule, finding the right person for your family can make such a difference in your everyday life. Keep in mind that when you start the process to find the right person for your family, it can take a while to find a nanny that you love and works well with your children’s needs. Read on to find helpful tips and questions to ask when searching for a nanny.

(Tip! If you are looking for a Boston Nanny Agency, look no further. Sugarplum will help you find the perfect nanny for you and your child’s needs, making the process easy and enjoyable!)

Starting Out

Naturally, most parents start by asking friends and family for recommendations for someone that they have loved. While it can be helpful to get first-hand accounts from people that you trust, your needs aren’t always the same as your friends and families. For that reason, we recommend using a customized nanny placement service, like Sugarplum – a Boston Nanny Agency.

Using a Boston Nanny Agency that provides listing options of prescreened nannies is a great way to see important information about potential nannies, like experience, background information, salary requirements, and references. It cuts out a lot of the research that you will have to do. It will make your hiring process much quicker and give you peace of mind knowing that you are hiring someone who meets your needs.

If you are using a family or friend’s recommendation, be sure to get a background check on any potential nannies you want to hire. As a precaution, be sure to check their references to ensure that their facts and dates match up. Knowing this information will let you confidently hire the right person for the job.

Things to Think About

It’s essential to think long term when researching nannies. How long will you need a nanny? Is your potential nanny available for an extended period? It can be hard to fall in love with a nanny and find out they can only work with your children for a short period. It’s a challenging process and can be devastating for little ones to reintroduce a new nanny to them a few months down the road.

Think about your child, how old they are, and where they are in their growing stages. As they get older, they will learn to crawl, walk, and before you know it, they will be running around your home! It’s important to have a nanny that understands that and can help them learn and grow as they get older.

Interviewing

If you are going through the hiring process on your own, you’ll want to be very diligent on what questions to ask. If you are using a nanny placement service, like Sugarplum, we will host pre-interviews, screen all potential nannies and only introduce you to nannies who we feel would be a good fit. During the interview, it’s important to ask questions about their experience, discipline styles, and teaching practices. Don’t be afraid to step outside of the box and ask “what if” questions as well. Knowing their answers to potential emergencies will help you better understand how your nanny will react in challenging situations. Thinking clearly during an emergency is essential when taking care of children and will give you peace of mind knowing your children are in good hands.

When it comes to discipline, it’s essential to know what their strategy is. Ask questions like what they would if your child hit them or broke something important. You want to make sure your children are in good hands and that their discipline strategy matches yours. It can be difficult to discipline them differently from the nanny because it can cause confusion and frustration.

Kids love activities and getting creative. Does your potential nanny have a high energy level? Can they keep up with your little ones? Find out what kind of activities the nanny enjoys doing with kids and what they dislike. Knowing this will give you a better idea of if they will be a perfect match for your little one. You want someone who will actively play with your children and let their imagination run wild. It will help your children grow and develop!

How to Find the Perfect Nanny

Important Questions to Ask

Here are a few of the questions we ask during our initial interview:

How long have you been a nanny?
Why did you become a nanny?
How long are you available?
What hours are you not available?
Are you open to last-minute hours in case of an emergency? (or work emergency)
What has your job caring for children been like?
Why are you looking for a new nanny position?
What was your last position like, and why did you leave?
What is a typical day like when nannying? What would a typical day be like for you and my child?
What kinds of activities do you plan on doing to encourage learning and growth?
What is your favorite part of nannying?
What is your least favorite part of nannying?
What would you do if my child got hurt?
What would you do if my child was upset about something?
How would you discipline my child?
Do you have any child care or nanny training?
Are you CPR or first aid certified? If not, are you willing to be?

Be sure to have your children around the day you interview the potential nanny. Letting them meet will help each familiarize themself with each other, and it’s a great way to see the interaction between them. Watch how they talk to your children and vice versa. You want to trust your nanny when you leave for work entirely, so this is an easy way to see a bit of interaction beforehand.

Background Check & References

Be sure to run a background check on your candidate and talk to references. It’s a great way to see how other families worked with your potential nanny and what they liked and disliked about them. Doing this will give you peace of mind, knowing that what your nanny says is accurate and that their background is transparent. Sugarplum Nannies background checks ALL nanny applicants prior to introducing you to them.

Hiring

Once you’ve interviewed, completed a background check, and talked to references, you are ready to hire! Remember, this can be a long process to find the perfect nanny for your family’s specific needs and situation. Don’t get discouraged. Using a nanny agency can help speed up the process, and they do most of the work for you – making it much easier on you and will give you peace of mind knowing you are hiring the right person.

When you’ve hired your perfect nanny, it’s important to remember that every child is different. Their routine and needs will differ from the nanny’s last family. Don’t be afraid to take the first few days to show the nanny the ropes of your everyday life. Explain what your typical schedules are like and what she can expect for the first few weeks.

Ready to find the right nanny for your family? Let us help connect you with qualified nannies. Get in touch with us asap!