How To Find A Nanny You Can Trust

Trusting someone to take care of your children may seem impossible, but fortunately, it’s not. There are several things you can do to ensure that not only are your children safe when not in your care, but having fun too!

From trusting local resources and friends, to hiring professional agencies, there are a plethora of resources for parents available.

Read on for some tips on how to find a nanny you can trust, and how to vet them in the process.

Trust Local Resources

You probably have friends or family members that have children and they most likely have some trusted sitters to share. Your family and friends are awesome resources for who is trustworthy and who is not.

Another resource could be a church you attend or a mom’s group. Oftentimes, there’s a bulletin board system where people from the community can post their services and phone number for you to get in touch. If you prefer someone a bit older to watch your children, a local college could be a good place to search.

Professional Agency

There are professional agencies out there like https://www.care.com and https://www.sittercity.com/ where nannies can post their credentials, services, and pricing. They also can post references. The added plus is that there are messaging services that can put you directly in contact with the nannies in your area to open communication.

The downside is that there is usually a fee for joining and finding these nannies. And, if it doesn’t work out, you’ve wasted your money.

Vetting Your New Nanny

So now that you know some trusted places to find a nanny, what do you do once it’s time to meet them? You can’t just trust them at their word can you? Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make sure that your potential new nanny is the best fit for your family.

Qualifications

Find out if your new nanny has the qualifications you’re looking for. Here are some bullet points to look for.

• Do they have reliable transportation?
• Are they CPR certified (for children/infants)?
• How much experience do they have?
• Have they watched multiple children at the same time?

Background Check

Is your new nanny willing to submit to a background check? If they say no, that would be a red flag. Of course this background check should be at your expense and you will get to choose what you will let slide or not.

Be sure not to use the ‘instant’ background check places because they may not be as thorough as others. Here’s a good list of good ones to use.

 

Have A Trial Run

The best way to observe a nanny is to be home for a trial run. It should be treated as a normal day with normal pay, but you’re staying home doing other things. Include in this trail run any basic day-to-day things like swim lessons, camps, or extracurricular activities.

It’s a great way to see how the nanny interacts with your child(ren), how your children react to him/her, and what type of activities the nanny engages in with your children.

 

Call References

Calling references can really shed some light on who your potential nanny is. Make sure to ask if there has ever been a problem, tardiness, and how emergent situations were handled if applicable.

Also, ask what duties the nanny had at their home, were they fulfilled, and how many children they cared for.

Of course references can be hit or miss because the nanny themselves provided them. Asking detailed questions can help weed out real references from fake ones.

 

Check Social Media

Checking the nanny’s social media accounts can help you assess whether they’re a good fit because people tend to be ‘more themselves’ on social media rather than in an interview.

If you see something that goes against your ideals, it’s probably not a good fit.

In the event that nothing you see gives red flags, once you’ve begun to build a relationship with the nanny, you can friend request them. Albeit sneaky, being ‘friends’ with them will allow you to see if they’re posting on social media while watching your children. You’ll want to make sure they’re focused on your kids rather than the latest argument on Twitter.

 

Ask Your Kids

If your children are old enough to tell you about their experience with the new nanny, trust their judgment. You’ll be able to discern a child that was upset they went to time out versus one that was neglected.

Ask them if the nanny was on the phone the entire time, read books to them, played with them, only had them watch tv, made them meals, and/or helped them with things they needed help with.

 

Conclusion

Our children are one of the most (if not the most) important people in our lives. We want to make sure that they are properly cared for when not under our supervision.

With the proper knowledge and tools you will not only find a safe and trustworthy nanny, but one that becomes part of your family. As always, if you’d like to discuss anything related to your child’s health and well-being, make an appointment and we’d be happy to help.