by Jillian E. Shepard

Created on: October 02, 2008   Last Updated: May 21, 2012

Choosing a nanny is probably one of the most important decisions that a parent will make. Besides being in most every personal facet of your life, the lives of your dependent loved ones are placed in their hands. The search for your wonderful nanny should be made months in advance of when the services will be needed. This will give you time to ask friends, neighbors and others for possible candidates. This time will also give you the chance to do a thorough reference and background check on potential nannies.

In order to find a nanny that fits your needs you'll first need to define what you need and want in the role of a nanny. Do you need one that will take care of the children part-time and complete the full-time housekeeping? Are your children in school full-time or part-time? Do you require a live-in nanny? How many hours do you need the nanny to work. What time commitment do you need from your nanny, one year, or one summer only? A parent hiring a nanny must also consider what responsibilities are going to be required of the nanny. Will you expect the nanny to supervise, tutor, chauffeur to activities and prepare meals? It is extremely important to be clear on what is expected, as well as what is not allowed.

You can prequalify your potential applicants over the telephone. Tell the potential nannies some general information up front. Give them the ages of your children, the hours you need, the pay rate, and restrictions that may encounter (e.g. you might have pets they are allergic to). A simple prequalification screening can save you tons of time in the long run and could disqualify people right away, because they may not be interested in doing housework or cleaning up after pets.

Once you have a variety of applications, the task of sorting through them may seem daunting. One of the biggest issues in choosing a nanny is language. You must be comfortable that your nanny is able to communicate with you and your children and you must feel confident that your instructions will be fully understood. If you are searching for a live-in nanny, another important consideration is whether or not the potential nanny has ever been away from home. You do not want to run the risk of hiring someone who may get homesick and not fulfill their time commitment.

Last, there are several personality traits to look for. An outgoing personality is better than shy for obvious reasons. You'll want a nanny that is active so that your children are not sitting in front of the television all day. A great way to screen for personality traits to is inquire of the applicants what their favorite activities are. If their answers are reading and watching movies, without any mention of bike riding, walking, swimming, hiking or the like, then you have your answer.

When your potential nanny arrives for the interview, watch the way they interact with your baby or children. How do your children respond to him or her? How does he or she interact with the kids? Ask your candidate how they would handle situations that come up. Have the nanny agree to be consistent about nap time, discipline issues, feeding, putting on sunscreen etc. You want to make sure that your nanny follows the same parenting rules you have worked so hard to establish.

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