What are the important things that families looking for a nanny need to know? First, the family needs to have realistic expectations. When a family looking for a nanny has unrealistic expectations, they not only set the nanny up to fail, but the kids are going to get hurt when they become attached and the nanny leaves.
Look at the nanny’s background
The best way to avoid surprised is to look at the nanny’s background, so do a criminal background check into the prospective nanny’s history. A family looking for nanny information such as this should be prepared to deal with what they may or may not find. The answers may not be what they expect.
Take the information gleaned from the background checks, and use it to eliminate possible candidates. Make sure that the background check is done in all fifty states, and if the candidate is an international candidate-run them through Interpol, too.
The truth behind this is not designed to scare away the family looking for nanny information-no, just the opposite. In reality, the background check is designed to help keep the family and children safe from people who may have done something very wrong in the past.
Peace of mind
There have been families looking for nannies that just did not take the time to run the background checks-and have paid the ultimate price in the form of injury to their kids! It’s definitely worth the extra cost to have peace of mind. There are those who may simply just want to make sure that their candidates have no past or outstanding issues with the law. Others however, want to know more-and are willing to pay for it.
Some families may look into the criminal background, credit history, driving records, previous employment history, and verify that their Social Security number IS theirs. Verifying the Social Security number also verifies their last known address, and where they have previously lived, as well – which can help confirm other information they may have submitted.
Interview Time
Now that the candidates have been narrowed down, it’s time to interview them. Of course, gut instinct is involved a lot in this, but families looking for a nanny need to know as much as possible about their child potential caretaker.
Be confident of yourself going into the interview. Make a list of the questions that you have on a separate sheet of paper with room for the answers after each question. This will help you narrow the field later.
Remember, as families looking for nannies become wiser, they will start to use the background checks more and more-whether the candidates like it or not-but they are protecting their children, their greatest assets.
By: Emily B
About the Author:
Scared to leave your baby with a stranger? Wondering how to know you have picked the right person? Find reassurance at http://www.babysitterssearch.com
