On this page you will learn how to hire a nanny. Many parents must return to work after the birth of their child, or have found themselves in other situations where they cannot care for their child for the entire time they are present in the home. Nannies can be a supplemental method of caring for your child when you are unavailable. Nannies can give your child personalized, individualized care in the way that multi-child day cares cannot. However, it is important to be extremely scrupulous when hiring a nanny. There have been many cases in recent years of children being injured or killed in the hands of a careless nanny.

Hiring a nanny is of moderate difficultly and can become difficult if you are looking to pay below average salary or if your child has special behavioral, nutritional, or physical needs. Hiring a nanny can also be more difficult if you live in a small town, or in a rural area where there is not a large population base to choose from. Before you get started you should look at your budget to decide if you can afford a quality nanny. Hiring a nanny is a large financial committment, and you may want to look at other options such as day care or asking a relative that lives nearby for help. If you do choose to hire a nanny, the following steps will assist you in ensuring that the nanny you hire will help fill your childcare needs.

Before contacting a nanny agency, asking a friend for referrals, or posting an advertisement, you should write down a list of your specific needs. Some things to consider (and have in writing) are:

1. How many children will the nanny be responsible for?
2. What are the ages of the children?
3. What level of guidance do the children need? Is it a younger child who will need to be dressed, fed, and entertained? Is it an older child who needs minimal supervision but who is too young to be left alone for long periods of time?
4. Do any of the children have disabilities or special needs? Does the nanny need special training? Even for a common condition such as ADHD, it helps to have a nanny with prior experience supervising a child with behavioral concerns.
5. Do you want a nanny that speaks fluent English? Some families prefer a nanny that speaks a foreign language so that their child can be immersed in a new culture at an early age. Think about the demographic of the area that you are living in. If you live in an area that has a high Spanish speaking population, it may help your child socially and academically in the future to know how to speak Spanish.
6. What is the gender of the child? Many parents now prefer male nannies to supervise their male children. Male nannies are now common and readily available in many areas.
7. What are the child's interests? A nanny that with culinary experience can help expand your child's cooking skills, while a nanny with a history of participation in competitive sports can help a child who may have health issues related to weight.
8. How many hours per day will a nanny be needed? Remember that labor laws also apply to babysitters and nannies. You may need to hire two nannies if your child requires care during the day and at night.

The following are sources where you can find a nanny that will fill your needs:

• Friends: Referrals from friends are perhaps the most valuable resource in finding a nanny. Ask them if they have and any luck in the past with specific agencies or nannies. Perhaps they know a nanny that is out of work because the children they were caring for grew up. Many times there may be retirees in your community that would like to pick up a few hours a day working as an after school nanny.

• Nanny Agencies: In today's modern world of computers, there are a plethora of nanny agencies available at the click of a mouse.

• Newspaper or Online Advertisements: You can also post your own advertisement online or in a newspaper. Remember that when meeting any nanny for the first time you should meet in a well-lit, well populated area without your child present.

You should also make a list of the following before contacting any perspective nannies:

• What is the age, experience level, and level of education you are willing to accept for an applicant?
• Describe the salary that you can offer, and any benefits such as housing or use of a vehicle.http://www.parenthood.com/article-topics/how_to_hire_a_nanny.html/page/2

Once you compile a list of possible nannies, you should develop an interview process. You should ask all of the nannies the same questions so that you can get a comprehensive picture of who the nanny is compared to the other applicants. The interview process should consist of at least two interviews and the nannies should all have to provide a resume and list of references. At least two of these references should be former employers.

There are many nanny screening agencies that can do background and reference checks for you. If the background and reference checks come back clean, you should have a final interview in your house. Have them meet your children, see how they interact with the children and any household pets, and show them the housing situation that they will be working in.

After you have decided on the nanny that you are going to hire, you should type up a job description along with a summary of their salary and benefits for you both to sign. You may also want to have the contract notarized. Within this contract should also be:

• The expected length of employment
• Your expectations
• Grounds for dismissal
• The length that the contract is valid for

If your time or schedule allows, you should supervise one or more sessions where your nanny is in charge of the household. Stay within hearing range within all times, but take a passive role and use this time to monitor your nanny interacting with your children. Coach your children beforehand that although you are home, they should go to their nanny with any questions or needs.

Some things to look for when monitoring your nanny are:

1. Are your children receptive to the change?
2. Does the nanny's management and discipline style match your own? If you use "time-outs" as discipline for your children, then your nanny should as well. Monitoring the first few sessions can help you identify discipline problem areas and instruct the nanny on how you prefer to manage the household.http://www.4nannytaxes.com/NEWS/nanny-hiring-mistakes.cfm
3. Is the nanny comfortable working with your children. This is especially applicable if your child has a behavioral disability.
4. Does the nanny seem happy to be working with your children? Especially on the first day, a nanny should not be flustered or frustrated with your children.

In addition, always follow up with your children about their new nanny. If they are excited to talk about their fun day after a session with their nanny, you can be confident that you made the right choice. However, if your child seems quiet or withdrawn after a day with their nanny, is hesitant to answer questions about their day, or seems overly anxious on days that their nanny is going to be supervising them, you should take a closer look at your nanny's work habits. Try to feel comfortable contacting your nanny about any concerns that you have.http://www.babble.com/25-Rules-for-Hiring-a-Nanny-by-Tasha-Blaine-Do-expect-to-feel-jealous-Dont-install-a-nanny-cam/