5 Things You Must Know When Hiring A Nanny

For the working mama, finding the right childcare arrangement can be the most stressful part of becoming a mother. Especially in regards to hiring a nanny, where do you start?

But first, let’s set the stage. You’re pregnant AF, weeks (or days) away from producing your very first human, the hormones are raging, and hey—by the way, start figuring out who you’re going to give your unborn baby to in just a few short weeks.

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After I had Lils and left my full-time job in digital marketing, I thought I would be diving head-first into that SAHM life. Childcare wasn’t even a consideration. But at 6 weeks postpartum, my former agency presented me with an opportunity to work part-time! And while excited for the opportunity, I realized I only had a couple of weeks to figure out my next move for childcare.

When deciding on childcare, you have a couple options: 1.) traditional full-time daycare (part-time is a rare find for infants,) 2.) in-home care, 3.) family or friends, or 4.) a nanny or au pair.

And with each of those options you also have to reflect on your priorities.

First and foremost, what makes the most sense, financially? Does your budget limit or expand your options? Do you need full-time or part-time? What flexibility do you require? How do you prioritize socialization? How about a schedule and structure? Do you have multiple children?

But mostly… WHAT IS LIFE I AM NOT EVEN WORKING YET AND ALREADY MISS MY BABY!?!?

(See why this process might be intimidating?)

For our family, we knew having my newborn at home, under the care of an experienced nanny, (part-time,) was going to be the best fit.

So, if like me, you’re leaning towards finding your own personal Mary Poppins to meet your childcare needs, here are the 5 things you must know when hiring a nanny:

1.) Where to look –

A.) Start inside your inner circle – Whether it be through family, friends, church, or even your social network, you’d be surprised by the amount of people who “know somebody who knows somebody” looking for a nanny position. And wouldn’t you inherently trust someone more if they were vouched for by someone you also know and trust?

B.) If that fails, try Care.com – I’ll be the first to say I thought Care.com was the Craigslist of childcare. And not to be totally morbid, but the first day my nanny, Beth, was on the job, I thought I was going to come home to find my baby chopped up and hidden in the walls of our home.

DISCLAIMER: 1.) Lils is in one piece. 2.) Beth is aware of this story. 3.) She also has a funny story about me. (SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAILS at the end of this post and you can read all about it!!) 4.) Beth is nothing short of an angel sent from nanny heaven.

But I digress. Care.com made it incredibly easy to search for qualified childcare professionals and proved that it was nothing short of the LinkedIn for childcare; not Craigslist.

 

2.) How to look –

If you’re a working mom, you’ve obviously been interviewed before. But unless you’re in recruiting or management, how often have you been the interviewer?

Care.com was actually a great resource in supplying the right questions to ask but your job doesn’t stop there. Remember to request background checks, ask for references, and don’t feel bad scrutinizing those resumes.

True story: I automatically disqualified potential candidates if there were typos in their resume. If you can’t run spellcheck, you can’t watch my kid. Truth hurts, life is hard. (Isn’t that right, #keepinitrealmom, Shelley?)

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3.) Financials –

A.) Pay – You need to understand the market value and going rate of a nanny—and that you get what you pay for. Full-time and part-time will make a difference in hourly rate. Again, this has to make sense within your budget but something to consider is that if you have multiples, a nanny might actually make more sense financially, then say, daycare.

B.) Extra Hours – What happens if either of you is running late? Or what if you request care, say in the evenings, for a date night? Is nighttime baby-sitting even a consideration for your potential nanny? You need to think about all of the possible times/ways you might want help from your nanny, to avoid confusion in the long-run.

C.) Guaranteed Time – Consider what happens when you go on vacation, and you do not require your nanny’s care that week. Unless you’ve discussed this advance, the assumption will be that she is getting paid for the time you’re away. The same story applies to daycare, so you need to be prepared to budget for this expense.

D.) Sick Days/PTO – Yes, this is standard practice; even for part-time. Think about it, if your nanny is not incentivized to stay home when she is not feeling well, guess whose kids will probably end up sick as well? Even a couple of PTO days that must be used throughout the year will serve as a gesture of goodwill.

E.) Other Expenses – Paid holidays? Gas? Compensation for outings with your children? Extra car seats? Yep. These are all things you’ll want to iron out in advance. (PS – the KeyFit30 infant car seat is perfect for transitioning between multiple vehicles. Buy an extra base and you’re good to go!)

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4.) “Good fit” hiring considerations –

More than just general qualifications, (although you’ll want to check the boxes on those, too,) you and your nanny need to be on the same page about child-rearing.

Simply said, if you’re not on the same page about how you want your baby cared for while you’re gone—inclusive of sleep, food, play, education, activity, etc.—you’re going to have a bad time. Get ahead of it by writing down every detail of what you do for your little one, and be sure to convey that message to your prospective nanny during interview time. We’re big proponents of art with Miss Beth at our house:

PRO TIP: Have a “trial day” before you actually head back to work. This will give you a chance to see how things will be done while you’re away, give you a chance to (constructively) critique, and set your nanny up for success.

5.) Communication is CRUCIAL –

Like any relationship – professional or personal – you have to be transparent about your feelings and expectations. It is a part of your DNA to be high maintenance about your kids; a good nanny knows that. But as long as you can be professional and respectful in relaying those feelings, and that standard is reciprocated, you’ll end up with an invaluable addition to your family and your children’s lives.

I’ve said it 100 times, but we struck GOLD with our nanny. She’s been key to our daughters’ development and I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through many days, without her.

Interested in hearing how a nanny goes about finding the right family? (And a hilarious revelation she had in her first few weeks at work?) CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW to hear directly from Beth, P2M’s Kaitlin’s super-nanny! (Subscribers, check your inbox!  It’s already there.)

What are your tips for finding the perfect nanny for your family?