When hiring a nanny for the first time, you probably know you need to agree on rates, coordinate schedule availability and make sure personalities gel. But there’s other important nanny criteria to consider.
For instance, if you want a nanny long-term, selecting an individual who is in university or higher education might not be the right choice, because that individual will be less likely to commit to your family indefinitely. If your goal is for the nanny to be able to keep after-school activities and supplies well organised, you will want to make it a priority to find a caregiver that has experience juggling a lot of activities.
It’s also important to figure all of this out before you write your nanny or babysitter job description. When you come to write the job description, list your three must-haves, then list your would-like-to-haves. The nanny who meets all three must-haves plus the most would-like-to-haves is the best candidate.
While every family’s requirements will be different, here’s some nanny criteria to consider before hiring.
1. Interest in working with children
This may sound obvious, but a nanny should delight in being around children, above all else. Think about it – a genuine desire to invest in the life of children should be the first requirement you have for a nanny. Trust your intuition on whether a candidate has this quality. If something feels awkward, dishonest, wrong or unsafe during your search or interviews, follow that feeling and walk away from that candidate. Delaying a hire is always better than making the wrong hire.
2. Safety certifications and childcare training
First and foremost, any nanny or babysitter should have CPR certification.
Other training and certifications to look for may include:
- Water-safety instruction.
- Baby care, child nutrition and child development classes.
- A driver’s licence with a clean driving record.
- First-aid certification.
Degrees don’t necessarily have to be must-haves. What’s most important is having good references and experience.
3. Special needs training
If your child has special needs, whether those needs are due to a disability, allergies or otherwise, it’s important that the nanny you hire is capable of handling that particular situation – though it’s not necessarily a requirement to have past experience with the same need or even special certifications. What is important is to look for a quick learner and someone who is eager to learn about the need. If you have an initial interview with an individual and by the second conversation, that person has already done some research into the special need, that show of initiative should be highly valued.
It’s also wise to ask the child’s doctor how a caretaker would obtain some extra instruction for the needs at hand, since every child’s situation is different. You can also offer to pay for any extra courses or certifications that would help them take care of your child.
4. Caregiving philosophies
A lot of parenting philosophies are floating around these days: free-range parenting, attachment parenting, authoritative parenting, slow parenting. If any of these are important to you, be sure your nanny is aware. Ask specific questions about your preferences, such as favourite type of carrier if you value baby-wearing, and you’ll get a good sense of their prior knowledge and current interest.
Also consider a candidate’s philosophy on screen time and even whether they’re willing to set their own phones down while caring for the children. Unless specific monitored screen-time requirements are in place, it could be a good idea to keep the household screen-free while the nanny is taking care of your children.
If there are any philosophy clashes, it’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. Think about it this way – the relationship between you and the nanny is really a partnership and just like all partnerships, each person has strengths and weaknesses. What is important is that you’re all on the same page about the overall goals and rules of the house.
5. Ability to take on additional household responsibilities
While care of your children should be your nanny’s first priority, you may want your nanny to take on some household chores, too. Reasonable chores to ask a caretaker to do include:
- Doing the children’s laundry and linens.
- Cleaning dishes the children and nanny use.
- Basic cleaning and organising of the children’s toys and rooms.
But some families may want additional household duties performed, and they can negotiate for that with some nannies. As the employer, you can work together with the nanny to draw up an agreement of what their responsibilities will be. A detailed explanation of them, including extra compensation, should be included in a work agreement.
6. Personality similarities and differences
A personality match between nanny and employer is similar to dating and can make or break a working relationship. So how do you know from an interview whether opposites will attract or repel? You need to ask the hard questions, such as, ‘What will you do if my child cries?’
Other good questions to ask a prospective nanny:
- Do you tend to keep a more structured or a more spontaneous schedule when you take care of a child?
- What kind of discipline technique do you prefer?
- What do you like least and most about caregiving and why?
- What kind of play do you enjoy with children?
And then ask your own children to talk with candidates. Even if the kids are shy, you’ll get an idea of how the nanny will interact with them. Remember, children are instinctual and will likely have a good or bad feeling about a candidate.
Recognise, too, that a nanny’s personality can complement your own and benefit the children in a special way; it doesn’t necessarily have to be the same.
Keep in mind: practice makes better
Rest assured, even those who have hired multiple nannies have a hard time prioritising their wish list. But, over time, it does gets easier. With experience, you’ll get more and more confident in your priorities and sticking to them. If this is your first search, it will undoubtedly cause be a little nerve-wracking. But like all things, we get better at it the more we do it.