Having the right nanny caring for your child is very important for a working mom. It makes you feel comfortable and at ease knowing that your baby is receiving quality care and nurture from the nanny you have hired.
However, to get the right care from your nanny, you have to hire the right one. You must hire a nanny who at least meets the minimum requirements and qualifications of a credible and professional nanny.
They must be educated in childcare, have the relevant skills, have adequate experience and are within your hiring age and pay bracket.
Below are the most important minimal requirements your nanny must before you hire her;
Minimal Requirements your Nanny Must Meet Before Hiring
1. Educational Background in Childcare
Caring and nurturing your child is the most important chore for your nanny. You need to be sure that your nanny or baby sitter can provide the right care to your baby by making sure she has the educational training and background in childcare.
A good and reliable nanny or baby sitter should have the following certificates
- A college education
- CPR and First Aid certificate
- Newborn care certification * necessary if your baby is an infant
- Foreign language certifications * necessary if your nanny is foreign
- Children’s nutritionist certification
- Early childhood education certification
- Special needs care certification * necessary if you have a special needs kid(s)
- Valid driving license
- Any relevant professional nanny and childcare provider certification
All these educational backgrounds and certification are crucial for the proper growth and development of your child. A nanny or bay sitter with above certifications will have the core care knowledge such as how to stimulate the baby, play with the baby, soothe the baby, feed, bathe, and dress the baby among others.
Hire right from the beginning. Do not hire a nanny who does not an educational background for it.
2. Adequate Experience as a Nanny or Baby Sitter
A reliable nanny should have adequate experience as a nanny, care giver or baby sitter.
Ask for 3-5 minimal experience when hiring a nanny. As a working mom, you want a nanny who is knowledgeable in caring for babies. You are therefore more likely to be comfortable and feel safer with a highly experienced nanny rather than a newbie.
It is extremely crucial especially when the baby in question is an infant. Often many years’ experience as a nanny is an indication of a good nanny who has acquired and mastered the effective skills required for effective child care.
It also indicates that the nanny is reliable and loves her job as she has been able to stick in the career for a long time.
If your child is an infant you may need 5 years of experience in a nanny. A high experience indicates a loyal and reliable nanny. Therefore aim for the highest experienced nanny you can get and don’t hire if a nanny does not meet you minimal requirement.
Therefore demand a minimum of 3-5 years’ experience from your nannies. While the minimal experience you may require for a nanny may depend on the age of your baby the least experience you should hire a nanny on is 3 years.
You also need to be specific on the type of experience you need in your nanny as these differ with the age of the child. If your baby is an infant, you want someone who is experienced in caring for an infant. If your baby is a school going, you need someone experienced in caring for an older child.
3. Relevant Skills
- Language– If your nanny is foreign, she should have have linguistic skills to speak in your language. Good nannies and baby sitters have multi linguistic skills. Being able to speak at least in either English, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Hungarian or Swedish, which ever your family speaks in is mandatory.
- Swimming– Swimming skills are necessary if your nanny will be taking your kids out for swimming. Be specific about hiring a nanny or baby sitter who can swim.
- Creativity– Art and Craft skills are necessary because the nanny will need to engage and simulate your children in different ways.
- Housekeeping– While your nanny is not your housekeeper, she needs to possess basic skills such as cooking, cleaning, pet care and laundry among others. A good nanny should be able to prepare meals for the kid, clean after their mess and do their laundry.
- Driving– You should require that your nanny should know how to drive. Part of your nanny job may included driving them to parks, museums, shopping, daycares, classes etc. It is therefore crucial you hire a nanny with a valid and clean driving license.
Read: Creating Reasonable Nanny Description
4. Credible Referees
Referees can tell you a lot about the nanny you are about to hire. A good nanny has a good number of past employers with whom she has worked for. As such demand that your nanny or baby sitter has 3-5 referees with whom you can confirm about their work and character.
When checking with the nanny referees ask about the following questions and clarity areas;
- How does the nanny work and behave with the families?
- What are the reasons the nanny was fired or left their jobs?
- For how long have they worked for these families?
- What their biggest strengths and weaknesses?
- How truthful/credible is the information? Confirm that they are actual employers the nanny worked for
Do not hire a nanny who has no referees. Lack of referees indicates either the nanny is inexperienced or the nanny has had a bad working relationship with the employers and who would probably speak ill of her.
Also, steer away from nannies whose referees are not credible or those who have negative reviews by the provided referees.
Also when asking for referees from the nanny aim for a mix of both professional and social referees.
5. Positive Nanny Trial
After you have checked the minimal requirements for your nanny, how do you know they are a good fit for you. How do you ensure that you are comfortable with the care provided by the nanny? How do you know the approach they use? How do they discipline the kids? How do they keep them engaged?
You can only learn this through a nanny trial. Invite your prospective nannies for a half a day nanny trial where you can carry out further verifications
- Ask the nanny for a list of potential activities that they will do together with the kids
- Ask and observer the techniques they use to sooth the baby, and discipline the baby among others.
- Observe their rotuine of basic tasks such as changing diapers, feeders, putting to sleep etc.
- Observe how they talk to the baby/engage and if they are bonding
- Observe their creativity and being proactive in addressing the baby needs
- How friendly and willing are they play and learn with the kids
How Old should your Nanny be?
The age of your nanny is a personal preference. Some employers find it easier to work with younger nannies while others find the older nannies to be better and more experienced.
Here is a guide on how you should choose the age of your nanny
- An older nanny is more seasoned and experienced as a baby sitter or nanny role drawn from the many years they have been in the field
- Older nannies are more settled and likely to stay with you longer
- Older nannies are less open to trying out new child care approaches and techniques
- Older nannies tend to have a higher pay rate and demand for higher benefits and demands
- Younger nannies are more creative, vibrant and willing to learn
- Younger nannies are more active in the art, learning, outdoor activities and other overall growth aspects of the child
- Younger nannies are not settled yet and may not stay with your family for long
Judging from these differences you can decide on what age bracket is more appropriate for you.Too young an age is inexperienced, unskilled, and unknowledgeable in childcare. Too old an age does not match the kid’s energy and demands in stimulating activities.
Generally nannies in the age bracket of 25- 32 years old tends to be good nannies as they are settled , have adequate experience as a nanny and are still active and willing to engage the kids in play and learning activities.
Is it Ok to Employ a Male Nanny?
Males nannies and baby sitters are equally good as the female nannies and baby sitters. What matters are having the adequate educational background, skills and experience in caring for children and not their gender.
As such you can employ a male nanny or baby sitter is you so wish. The nanny job is not gender sensitive and men can thrive in this as well. A male nanny is as equally a good match for your family as a female nanny and it is ok to hire one.
However you should consider the following several issues if you want to pick a male nanny or baby sitter
- Check out their background to eliminate the chances of them being a sexual predator
- Verify their working background from credible referees
- Ideal for single mothers so that they bring in a male perspective
Should i Conduct Health Testing & Screening for Nanny?
As a working mom with a family, you need a healthy nanny. It is important that your baby and the whole family is safe even as you interact with outsiders such as the nanny. As such you should conduct a health screening on your nanny before hiring them
You are in your right to have your nanny screened and tested for common illnesses.
Further, you should demand that your nanny is not a smoker as this is will impact the health of your baby through passive smoke. Doing so ensures the safety of the baby and the family hence the reason why you should insist on it before hiring your nanny.
In addition having a healthy nanny will minimize the number of days that your nanny calls in sick. It will save you a lot of inconveniences. Further knowing the health status of the nanny you are about to hire will help you decide on the best way possible to support them health-wise.
Read: Nanny Red Flags that you are Probably Ignoring
Simple Checklist when Hiring a Nanny
- Credible education certificates in childcare or relevant field
- 3-5 credible referees
- 3-5 minimum experience as nanny or baby sitter
- Multi-lingual- Must speak your language
- Possess adequate housekeeping skills
- Has as a valid and clean driving license
- Can swim
- Clean health test/screening results
- Appropriate age bracket
- Is available when you need them
- Passes your nanny trial
- Recommended if nanny lives near you-adds to more convenience for commuting
Read: How to Conduct a Short Nanny Trial
