Researching Potential Nannys
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Finding a nanny can be an arduous task. In addition to the actual locating of candidates, sifting through those candidates and trying to select one to make an offer to can be time-consuming and stressful. Fortunately, if you follow certain steps, you can make the process of researching potential nannies a relatively painless one.
After you have come to the initial decision is made to hire a nanny, you have to decide exactly what kind of nanny you are looking for. You should take some time to write out the personality traits, skills, and experience that you want your nanny to have. In terms of personality, you want to find a nanny that comes across as loving and patient with your children. You should try to find someone that is cheerful, and has a generally positive attitude and outlook. You want a nanny that is oriented toward children and families. Finally, you want to make sure that she seems to have good old fashioned common sense. In addition, There are certain skills you should make sure that your nanny possesses. If you have infants in the home, you should be certain that she has had some experience in caring for infants. If possible, you should choose a nanny who has had some paid work experience, whether in child care or in another area. This will help you determine the potential nanny’s work ethic, and whether she enjoys working or not. In addition, your nanny should have at least basic first aid knowledge, and you should help her to receive child and infant CPR training if she does not have it. You may wish to look for other requirements in a nanny. These can include things such as no smoking, no alcohol or drug use, and good health and grooming habits. You might look for a high school graduate, and/or some college or nanny type coursework. Once you’ve determined what type of nanny you want, you should write these qualifications into a job description.
After you have decided exactly what type of nanny it is that you are trying to find, it is time to identify sources that you can use to search for a nanny. During this process, it pays to be vocal about your need for child care. By talking to everyone you know about your need for a nanny, such as other parents, the pediatrician, neighbors, family members, friends, and even a nanny you meet on the street, you may find some excellent leads. Beyond word of mouth, you can look in your local telephone directory for any childcare-related agencies. Local colleges may have employment offices with which you can place an ad, or they may have a childcare referral service. Your employer may also offer such a service. On the Internet, you can find various organizations that can help you to find a nanny. There are also several nanny schools in the U.S. that you can contact. If all else fails, you can place an ad in your local newspaper.
Soon, you should begin to receive responses. You should select several potential candidates, and bring them in for interviews. After the interview process, you might want to perform a background check. A background check can be as simple or as detailed as you wish it to be. The most common way of checking a nannys background is to contact her references. If she has previously been employed as a nanny, you should ask for two or three references from families for whom she has worked. If she has not previously been employed as a nanny, ask for other work or personal references.
If your nanny is going to be driving your child, you may wish to do a check of her driving record. Procedures vary from location to location. In the US, there are national services that can provide driving records for most states. The cost of a driving record check starts at around $30 or so. These records can reveal poor driving habits or things like DUIs.
A more thorough process is the criminal record check. A criminal check typically requires a social security number, date of birth, and address. A variety of companies perform these checks; again, procedures vary from location to location. The cost of these types of checks can be $100 or more.
Ultimately, you cannot guarantee that your nanny will turn out to be exactly what you expect. Some people interview very well; Some people may have impeccable references, but just clash with your family. By doing your research, however, you should be able to keep these occurrences to a minimum.
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