Babysitting 
When you consider options on how to find a nanny, it really depends on many factors. It can be a little stressful especially when you don’t know where to begin. But if you split the process step-by-step, you will have a fair chance to find the best candidate.
Here we try to learn how to navigate your search in the process of hiring a nanny. We will consider popular ways of finding a person who deals with children (social networks, asking around, professional agencies, babysitting websites, etc.), existing types of nannies (babysitter, live-in nanny, live-out nanny, part-time nanny, nanny housekeeper), important selection criteria (references, qualifications of the candidate, certificates, etc.).
To Find A Nanny: Where To Start The Search
There are a few ways to find a nanny. Social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram can be one of the ways of searching. Social media sites help us to stay connected with our friends, family, colleagues and meanwhile share useful experiences. Such networking tools are helpful not only for personal life but also for work. To find professionals who work with babies, you need to join correspondent groups and look through constantly posting vacancies and choose the right person you want to deal with.
Some people think that looking for a nanny in such a way is unsafe for their child. They prefer to ask around. They rely on the friend’s recommendations who can introduce them to a nanny who they worked with. For some parents, it’s much more powerful than going to agencies for example. Reviews help parents to feel confident that the sitters will do a good job.
Professional agencies are believed to show the highest standards of care and professional excellence within the nanny industry. This way to find a nanny makes finding the right person for you easy. At first, you should register, review nanny profiles and make a contact, or you can make a post by yourself, write requirements and find the ideal candidate.
Babysitting websites are also popular on the market to help parents with reliable sitters looking for work. You don’t need to worry about hiring someone you don’t know. Many websites include reviews from other parents, you know from your neighborhood, school, church, or Facebook.
If you don’t want to go out but you have in mind a question “Is there a suitable nanny near me? – services like SOSboking.com can help you. SOSboking.com it’s a digital marketplace allowing its users to benefit from reliable access to any service provider starting with a nanny and ending with a plumber, as an example. Here you can find a reputable nanny you can rely on.
Types Of Nannies: How To Find An Ideal One To Be On The Same Page
The most important thing is that any person who takes care of your child should meet the requirements you want. Every explanation of a job connected with child care varies slightly and we can list the following 5 types of nannies.
A babysitter is a person who is caring for children of every age who require support and attention for a brief period of time, for several hours, as an example. Parents at this period, be they also at home or not, are available on the phone. Babysitters come during the weekend or in case of special occasions. It is mostly a part-time job. Salary is paid by hours.
In comparison with a babysitter, a nanny plays a more important part in a family’s life. She is more involved in the everyday life.
A live-in nanny lives in your house and takes care of your children. The duty of this person is to provide care for an agreed-upon set of hours. From your side – you should give a place for living and salary. The last one is less than you should pay to live-out nanny because a live-in nanny doesn’t pay for the accommodation. It is very convenient when your nanny is around you all the time. What is recommended – is to set a contract between you and the nanny including schedule, duties, if you need more than watching your child, vacation period, things forbidden to do. A live-in nanny can do light household duties.
A live-out nanny is a person who specializes in providing childcare for your family but she does not live with you, just comes to perform her tasks. It’s a very popular career choice. Duties can include bathing, dressing the children, changing the linens, making beds, making a schedule of dishes to cook, shopping relating to the children, helping them with their homework, driving them to school, art classes, or workshops.
A part-time nanny is suitable for you if you have a family that is looking for an experienced caregiver, but you need the help just a few days a week or a few hours per day. The responsibilities of a part-time nanny depend on the family’s needs. It can be an after-school part-time nanny with duties connected with school pick-ups, driving to activities after the lessons, or helping with homework. It can be a weekend nanny who can take children out or take them for overnight care. For this work, it’s not very important for a nanny to have some special qualifications. Proven experience is the most essential thing in this case.
When a family requires not just watching for children but also a fulfillment of duties about the house, parents should call for a nanny housekeeper. This position can be full-time or part-time. Duties can include babysitting, cooking, driving, laundry, and additional ones: pet feeding, walking a dog, watching for the house if the owners are absent, and others, specified with the family. Understanding the difference between these commonly accepted types of nannies will help you to figure out whom you should hire.
Hiring A Nanny: Important Criteria
The essential criterion for a real nanny is to be interested in children. Parents entrust children to nannies and hope they get the highest quality of care. Nanny plays a role not just as a provider of the services but also as a teacher in certain cases. It’s very important to encourage children, not to concentrate on bad habits, but to focus on children’s strengths.
When hiring a nanny you should ask about all possible qualifications of the candidate:
- Child care certifications. This is some kind of basic skills assessment, which could be also a ground for parents to trust an unknown person.
- Training, like water-safety instruction/certification. Having this certificate is an indispensable condition to start work for a family who has a swimming pool or prefers to spend their vacation time on the beach.
- Baby care certification. The person to hire should know general information about children of all ages along with specialized knowledge about newborns.
- Child nutrition certification. Knowledge of the basics of healthy nutrition is a big advantage for a nanny.
- Certificate of knowledge of foreign languages. It is the most sought-after criterion because nowadays parents want to raise bilingual children.
- A driver’s license with a clean driving record. In case the nanny has a valid driver’s license, she can request a higher salary.
- First-aid certification, or any other relevant certification. It is a very important document, the validation period of which is usually two years. Many parents reject applications for a job if there is no such certificate.
Before hiring a nanny it is necessary to screen scrupulously the potential candidate and call for references. If you are looking for a candidate through professional agencies or babysitting websites you can trust them to check the references. They are able to distinguish fake references from real ones. But considering the price, parents try to deal with the selection process themselves. Making an initial call on the reference you shouldn’t be afraid of asking questions. Your candidate for a nanny needs to be reliable and dependable and good as a person in general. You can even ask about additional duties or the way the nanny followed directions at a previous job.
While signing the contract with a nanny you should touch on moot points. It includes a willingness to take on extra responsibilities, agreement of doing the children’s laundry and linens, cleaning dishes the children and nanny use, organizing the children’s toys and rooms, or maybe some other household duties. It needs to be discussed at the very beginning to avoid future misunderstandings.
The last criterion is your match with a nanny. It is very important to have a similar vision of parenting and problem-solving. You should compile a set of background questions for an interview with a potential candidate to find out what person is requesting the job. What are the most important aspects of being a nanny? What things are the most challenging while working in this position? What was the most difficult situation the nanny dealt with and what did she do to solve the problem? What about planning? Does she prefer more or less structure in her day? What does she think about discipline? How would she handle a medical/behavioral/educational/other situation with the children? — These are the basic questions to ask your nanny.
After the interview, you can invite the candidate to your place and see how she interacts with your children. It will be the final step of this challenging process entitled “How To Find A Nanny”. SOSbooking.com can help you out to find a certified nanny – tap here to view.