When hiring a nanny, you can go through the entire process only to realize later you have hired a bad nanny. However you can rely on key tell tale signs to ensure you hire right from the beginning. Some of the signs you can tell a good nanny with is that she is honest, communicate openly, has positive references, is professional, cares about the baby growth and bonds well with the baby.
On the other hand a bad nanny is dishonest, has a bad personality, poor work ethics, intentionally breaks your rules and boundaries, relates poorly with the baby, and poorly does her job. If you see these signs in your nanny, it is time to fire immediately and replace her.
You can avoid hiring the wrong and get the right nanny match by checking their references, only hiring experienced nannies, conducting a nanny trial, having automatic fails and trusting your instincts.
Top Tell Tales Signs of a Good Nanny
1. A Good Nanny is Honest
A good nanny is always honest especially when childcare inconveniences are involved. They offer credible reasons and have proof such as pictures to back it up. A bad nanny will instead lie about why they are late.
2. A Good Nanny Communicates Openly
Things do happen that may lead the nanny to be late or miss work. A good nanny will always communicate well in advance about this inconvenience to allow you to arrange for backup care. If something also happens at the house, they are open to communicating.
On the other hand, a bad nanny will keep quiet about it. They expect you to ask or enquire first about their whereabouts or the needs the baby needs. It is a major red flag as well as tell tale sign that you need to let them go.
3. A Good Nanny has Positive References
You can tell if a nanny is good or bad from what their past employers have to say about them. When you call people that a good nanny has worked for before, you will get positive reviews.
A bad nanny may not be willing to give contacts of her past employers because she knows the review is negative.
4. A Good Nanny is Professional
Nanny is a job like any other but poor nanny takes the job casually. You will know a good nanny by how professionally they go about their work. Work ethics such as being on time, using courteous language, among others are very crucial.
5. A Good Nanny Bonds well with Baby
When the nanny bonds well with the baby especially those first few days, that’s a good tell tale sign. You may notice your baby getting closer and being friendly to them willingly.
But you can tell a bad nanny from how your kids behave around them. If the kids are not able to bond well or get close to the nanny, then you do not have a good one and you may need to get a replacement.
Read: What to do When your Baby is too Attached to Nanny
6. A Good Nanny Cares about Kids Development
A nanny’s job is to nurture and care for the baby. If she is invested in kids’ growth activities, then that’s bonus point for her. A good nanny is responsible and prioritizes baby health and safety, especially if the baby has health problems.
Reasons to Fire your Nanny
1. She has a Bad Personality
It is very important to have a nanny you are comfortable with as that forms the basis of a respectful and trustful work relationship. A bad character and personality is therefore big put-off in childcare. A nanny will be caring for your kids, so you must get the character right.
If her personality is downright bad, then she has to go. It does not matter how long she has worked for you, if her character is questionable you have to replace her immediately.
Read:Nanny Red-flags that you should not Ignore
2. She Breaks House Rules & Boundaries
It is expected to have house rules and boundaries that your nanny must adhere to. They are crucial in keeping your nanny on the task at hand as well as avoiding unprofessionalism.
Rules and boundaries may revolve around meals for the nanny, baby safety and health procedures, sleeping and downtime rules, TV, home privacy, and confidentiality among others. You should go through the house rules duirng the nanny trial to ensure she understands them.
Therefore when your nanny intentionally breaks these rules and boundaries, and shows no remorse for it, you should just fire them and look for a better one. Some nannies break rules to see what will happen or because they have a poor regard for them. Others will not acknowledge they have wronged you and project an indifferent attitude. If this happen, fire the nanny immediately.
Read: Setting Nanny Boundaries Correctly
3. If She Relates Poorly with the Baby
Babies are good in relations and easy to be friendly to strangers. It is hence a crucial element you can use to tell if your new nanny is good or bad. While it may take a day or two for that relationship with the nanny to strike, you should see the signs of bonding.
However, if the relationship between your nanny and your baby is not improving after a while you may to let the nanny go. Kids can tell a bad person and there is no reason to have a nanny who can’t get along with the baby. She may be good at her work but if she and your baby can’t get along then there is no need to keep her.
4. If She has Poor Work Ethics
Ethics and professionalism are equally as important as the skills and the experiences the nanny is bringing in. She is hired to care and nurture for the baby but be professional and ethical about it. Some nannies are skilled, qualified, and good at their work but have poor work ethics and this is a reason to fire them, not matter how long they have worked for you.
Does she bond well with the baby and care for them but is rude to you? Is she invested in the baby’s development but is dishonest or always arrives late for work? If yes, you have to unfortunately fire her.
Nanny is not a casual job and if the nanny can’t seem to take her job professionally enough, she may need to leave. Things such as arriving late for work for no proper reason, being dishonest about their work, always lying and giving excuses, being disinterested in the baby’s development and welfare, sleeping on the job, lack of courtesy, among others are unacceptable.
5. If She does her Work Poorly
You hire your nanny for one reason; to nurture and care for the baby. If your nanny is not cutting it, she needs to go even if you just hired her. Look out for her general attitude towards babies, level of interest in baby’s welfare, level of interest in growth and development activities such as a park, library, museums, zoos among others.
These are true indication of a nanny performance. If she is not delivering, then you may need to replace her with another nanny.
Read: Getting Ready for Nanny’s First Day
Rules to Avoid Hiring the Wrong Nanny
1. Always Check the Nanny’s References
Always ask and confirm that the listed referees are credible. Call the nanny’s references and ask about the nanny’s reliability, character, professionalism, etc. Also call their personal references and learn about her character and personality.
2. Always Hire Nannies with Experience
You are better off with a nanny who has been caring for babies before than one who is just starting. The more experienced, they are, the more qualified they are to deliver high quality care.
Depending on your baby needs, set a minimum number of years, say three that you require as experience for your nannies. Also ask for their past employers’ contact and verify the information.
Read: How to Set Minimal Requirements When Hiring a Nanny
3. Always Conduct a Nanny Trial
It is important to do a nanny trial because you can pick on signs that tell whether the person is a good or bad nanny. During the interview and nanny trials, emphasis on your core childcare ideals such as parenting philosophies and communication, expectations for daily activities, etc.
Use these elements to evaluate the nanny. The perfect nanny is the one who will meet and match these needs.
Read: How to Conduct a Nanny Trial
4. Set Automatic Fails
Have ‘automatic fails’ for your nanny during the interview and nanny trials. These are things that will lead to automatic fails in the hiring process and it means you can not consider hiring the nanny at all.
Some automatic fails include arriving late, canceling/rescheduling an interview/nanny trial, no courtesy, etc. If a nanny does any of these, she automatically fails. You will avoid hiring the wrong nanny this way.
5. Rely on your Instinct
Please trust your gut. Its better safe than sorry. If you feel that the nanny is not the right fit, then she is not. Do not hire a nanny because you are desperate and have run out of options. Dont despair and continue looking for that good nanny your family needs.
