Having decided to employ a nanny to care for your children there are several considerations that you should take time and research to ensure your you employ not only the most qualified, but the most suitable nanny for you and your children. The personality and lifestyle, and methods of child rearing of the nanny should be compatible with yours to achieve harmony for your family.
Your first steps will be to source suitably qualified nannies, this may be through an agency or your own advertisements, always obtain at least two references from previous employers and obtain police checks, CRB checks in U.K. After you have selected suitably qualified nannies, you should invite them for an interview, establish their suitability, as with parenting nannies will have different ways of relating to children, and have different expectations you should try to get someone with values and expectations that are as close to your own as possible. Also you should like the nanny, get along with them as they will be spending a lot of time with your family, especially if you are looking for live in nannies. There are many qualified American nannies, but some will have extra qualifications that will be suitable for your family, these may be a second language, a cooking qualification, special needs qualifications if your children require this or simply sharing lifestyle and interests.
Once the formal checks of qualifications and police checks are completed you should establish whether you share values, childcare methods and interests, for example if you want your children to pursue a particular hobby or interest, i.e. horse riding or learning foreign languages your nanny should be qualified to teach and support these interests. They are many wonderful nannies that look well qualified on paper but may not suit your lifestyle.
The duties you want your nanny to carry out should be established from the interview stage, is the nanny to live in with the family? Are they expected to carry out housekeeping duties as well as childcare? If it is nanny housekeepers you are looking for you should discuss how both roles are to be combined and which housekeeping tasks they will be responsible for.
Other expectations should be made clear. Do you require your nanny to be a nonsmoker? Is a driving licence essential? If they are live in nannies are they limited to the amount of visitors?
Finally, once you have a short list of two or three nannies invite them for a trail day, observe them with your children, do they take a genuine interest in the children? Are they able to keep them occupied as well as enforcing discipline? Do you like the way they interact with your children? You should feel completely at ease with the way they are with your children, any doubts and you will not feel comfortable leaving them with your children.
Once you have observed the nanny you feel at ease with, approve of the way in which they interact with your children, and have suitable interests, you are ready to give them a trail period as your new nanny, and hopefully you and your children will have many happy years will your new family friend.