Monday, November 10, 2008

Guildlines on hiring your Nanny Wisely

By Todd Martin

Not many things are more upsetting than discovering that your child has been abused, in any way, by your babysitter. People think that to be a babysitter means you must be a nice person. WRONG! Some of the nicest people turned out to be Serial Killers, so don't ever give a Babysitter the benefit of the doubt. Unless you have a good friend and neighbor who happens to be an experienced nanny, the best place to go for prospective childcare providers are nanny agencies. These agencies usually perform preliminary background checks - education, experience, personal references, and even psychological testing - copies of which should be forwarded to you.

Start your search at least 2 to 3 months before you go back to work so you have enough time to make a thoughtful decision. Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations. Before hiring or accepting an offer to baby-sit from relatives or friends, install Hidden spy cam and also be sure they are qualified to care for your child and that you would feel comfortable giving those instructions or disagreeing with them on child-care issues that are important to you. Avoid hiring someone who is looking for something to do until a better offer comes along. To find candidates, check with a local agency that provides training and placement for in-home providers. Ask your doctor for names.

Check child-care ads and place your own help-wanted ad in your local newspaper, local college career services office, and community bulletin board or newsletter. Specify the hours and days you need child care, your child's age, the general area in which you live (but don't give your address), and whether or not you want the sitter to live in or have a driver's license. If you require a nonsmoker, say so. Your child's caregiver should have training in child development or have experience taking care of children. The caregiver should also appreciate the importance of stimulating your child's intellectual, social, and emotional development.

You can give the prospective nanny the opportunity to back out of the hiring process without negative implications should she express hesitance with their presence. After the two personal interviews, you also need to conduct a working interview. You can observe how she interacts with the children (under your supervision) as well as study how the children take to her. Only after being satisfied with the above procedures should you consider hiring the nanny. Before actually employing the nanny, be sure to formulate a detailed work agreement signed by you and the nanny.

Listen to your gut feeling, even if you are under the gun because you need help immediately. Ask whether or not they're available the hours you need them, their salary needs, how long they can commit to the job, what interests them about child care, what kind of work they have done in the past, and when they can start. Invite the best candidates to your home for an interview. Once they are appointed to know how they care for your loved ones you can install Teddy bear camera at home. Some parents develop a job application form to make the hiring process more formal and professional. Once you have a candidate in mind, contact at least three former employers and three personal references. Ask former employers about the candidate's responsibilities, his or her strengths and weaknesses and the ages of the children that they have worked with.

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