MEETING THE BABYSITTERS OR NANNIES

Looking at the babysitter / nanny’s full profile will help you determine whether they are the right person for your family – here’s some points to look out for:

  • Does the babysitter / nanny have the necessary experience with the appropriate age-group?
  • If you are seeking a nanny rather than a one time babysitter, make sure you look out for long term availabilities.
  • If things like child care certifications or first aid certifications are important to you, you can identify those at a glance in the profiles. Always remember to ask the babysitter / nanny about those just in case they have not had a chance to update their profiles.
  • We suggest a skype interview or phone to get the ball rolling and to shortlist the candidates.

Here are a few questions to help you nut out if the babysitter / nanny is right:

  • Tell me a little about what you like to do in your spare time
  • Can you tell me a little bit about your most recent child care experience?
  • Do you have any other jobs or commitments?
  • Do you have referees or can I contact your referees?

Once you are ready with a shortlist of babysitters / nannies, you will probably want to invite them over for an interview and see how they interact with your children. If you are after a one time babysitter, you may not have a chance to do this.

You may want to ask each candidate to bring along their CV, First Aid certificates, WWCC and Driver’s licence.

Once the babysitter / nanny arrives, introduce them to your children and see how they interact. Explain the family routine and tell them a bit about yourselves.

Here are some more questions you may want to ask (especially if you are looking for a full time babysitter / nanny):

  • What do you enjoy most about working with children?
  • Tell me about your last nanny job. Was there anything that you didn’t like?
  • What makes for a good day at work for you?
  • What do you do in your spare time, do you play sports?
  • Why did you leave your last nanny job (for long term)?
  • What are your ideal working hours?
  • We will need you on X days from X to X, how do you feel about these hours?
  • Are you comfortable with driving the children around to different activities?
  • What would you do on any given day with the children, if they didn’t have anything already planned?
  • Talk me through a day at the last family you worked for?
  • Do you have other jobs, babysitting commitments during the week?
  • What are your plans for the next year or so?
  • Have you ever had conflict in any of your babysitting jobs, how did you solve it?
  • Three words to sum up your babysitting style.