INTERVIEWING FAMILIES
There are several steps in the process of employing a nanny, one of which is the interview process. Nannies will have to go through a series of interviews, including placement agencies as well as families. Because their role is so specialized, it is important to use these interviews as an opportunity to ask your questions and ensure you can find a great fit.
This kind of reverse interview will help define the scope of the role and the expectations of the family. As a nanny, she is going to have a much closer working relationship with you and your family than the average employee. It is important to find the right fit to create a strong, long-term relationship and optimize the growth and development of the children.
In the case of qualified and highly experienced nannies, they can find themselves in the position of having to choose between several families. To provide accurate comparisons & make well-informed decisions, it is important to ascertain your nanny’s chemistry with your family and ensure a comfortable situation with your nanny. The nanny has to spot red flags before she gets started. Some questions that a nanny can ask the family may include some of the following.
BACKGROUND INFO
Have you had a nanny before? This would be a great question to open up if it doesn’t come up during the interview. Family/nanny dynamics are employer/employee relationships, but they are also personal relationships. Listening to the way a family describes their previous nanny relationship, the strengths, and the weaknesses can provide significant insight into the role a nanny may play with the family. Please visit https://childcarehelp.co.uk/ for more details.
What was your previous experience? Understanding the relationship a family had with past nannies, especially any areas where that relationship was challenged, can shed light on their current expectations, fears, and priorities. Asking this question allows you and your employer to discuss what they liked or didn’t like about past situations with nannies so the nanny has a clear idea of their expectations. The nanny could get clues to how they treat employees in their home by paying attention to how parents speak about past nannies.
Do you have a concern about bringing a new nanny into the home? Encourage the employer and their family to be honest about their experiences, expectations, and fears so the nanny can avoid potentially sensitive areas and gain the best opportunity to succeed. Also, encourage your employer to talk about their children’s fears and willingness to develop a new relationship.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND LOGISTICS
What duties do you need or expectation for this role? The role of a nanny can vary widely from one household to the other. Keeping the children safe and caring for them is a major part of this role, but many nannies also provide transportation, education, babysitting after hours, and some other duties. Becoming familiar with any other duties the employer expects to perform will be helpful and will provide an opportunity to discuss where the nanny is comfortable (i.e. making dinners) and where she is not (i.e. doing laundry).
What is the work schedule? How consistent are they? If the parents travel often or the nanny is expected to participate in evening activities such as work dinners and may require additional assistance, this is a great opportunity to discuss that. Don’t forget that scheduling can change seasonally, such as between summer and the school year, depending on the age of the kids, so be sure to ask about variations in hours when the family needs your services.
What is the expected start time and end time? What is the daily schedule? This will help the nanny understand the logistics of her day as well as the compensation she would expect. Working 40 hours per week and working 60 hours per week makes a big difference. Depending on the personal situation, such as your own dependents at home, this may be an important consideration.
How did you handle overtime or after-hours work in the past? This will help the nanny to understand how often families need after-hours support. Also, if the employer considers part of the nanny’s role to provide this support as needed or if it is paid as separate babysitting hours or overtime.
What works best for planning vacations & vacation time? Understanding how much vacation the nanny can take as well as the flexibility the family may have around allowing the nanny to take a vacation to see family and friends will help to understand time off and getting to spend time with family and friends.
PARENTING PHILOSOPHY
Can you explain your parenting style? Most families want a nanny who can take charge, manage their children, and keep them safe and secure, especially when parents aren’t present, every family has different ideas about how to parent children, and they will likely expect their nanny to maintain the consistency with their methods. It is important to understand their methods and the ability of nannies to maintain their methods before agreeing to a position.
What techniques do you prefer for discipline? Some parents use time-outs for punishment while some others believe in a more authoritative approach. If the nanny is uncomfortable with certain aspects of a parenting style, she needs to speak up, ask about the alternative options, or simply consider that she might not be the right fit for a particular family.
What is important to you as a parent? Knowing the priorities of parents where children are concerned is essential. Some families prioritize educational development, while others are concerned with social skills and discipline. This helps the nanny to define the parameters of her position and gives her the best chance to align with the parents’ values, wishes, and existing parenting plan so she can succeed and create a stable and consistent environment for her kids. Please visit https://childcarehelp.co.uk/ for more details.
GET TO KNOW THE CHILDREN
If the nanny doesn’t get to meet the children during the initial interview, she can request an opportunity to spend time with their children before accepting any position. A nanny needs to get to know them as a family unit and get a sense of chemistry with the children before agreeing to a long-term position. This can be in the form of an interview for an hour or a trial day, where she can spend a half or full day with the family getting to know them.
What are your children like? Since the bulk of the job centers on children, not parents, it is important to know what the kids are like before the nanny accepts a job. Learning about the schedule of the children won’t be enough.
What are their personalities like? What are the activities they enjoy doing? Will they spend most of their time playing video games or chasing them around the park? The nanny should listen to how the parents speak about their kids. It may provide good insights into what is important to them and any challenges they are focused on.
Are there any specific challenges the nanny should know about? Are there any potential difficulties the nanny should know about, such as allergies, medical issues, learning disabilities, emotional problems, and so on? Nannies need to be honest with themselves and the family about their willingness and ability to take on more challenging situations.
FINALIZING THE DEAL
Do you have a contract? Work contracts can help to protect both parents and nannies, not only in the event of a dispute but also in ensuring that everyone is aware of the parameters of the agreement from the outset. Like any type of employment contract, the nanny contract should spell out precise expectations for duties and work hours, as well as the amount of sick/vacation time she can take each year.
It should also note specifics concerning compensation that includes regular pay, overtime pay, payment for working vacations, bonuses, and extras like health insurance, a work phone, a work vehicle, and so on. The contract helps to avoid any misunderstandings later on.
Asking the right questions is important to understanding the nanny’s fit with a family and their children. It is the right time to set a strong foundation to create a strong, long-term relationship. Please visit https://childcarehelp.co.uk/ for more details.
WHAT WILL A NANNY DO FOR YOU & YOUR FAMILY?
Nannies come with either experience and/or qualifications that enable them to provide excellent care for your children. Some nannies may collect experience over the years where they have worked for families whereas other nannies may have studied and either be new to the nanny life or would have decided to gain extra qualifications to further their development. A nanny will be able to use their skills to ensure your children are cared for consistently and safely.
A list of a few duties a nanny will do:
Ensure your children are safe at all times and given that nannies work independently and they will be able to ensure this as they can focus on 1:1 care unlike nursery settings with higher ratios
The nanny will sometimes take on nursery-related duties such as taking care of the children’s clothes, tidying the children’s areas, and preparing milk/meals.
Be aware of the educational and developmental milestones of your children and ensure that your kids are properly stimulated throughout the day
Working with other household staff such as chefs, and housekeepers when needed and subject to contract conditions
Arrange play-dates and classes for your children, as well as build a social circle for them
Discuss with parents so that you all have common goals for your children.
BENEFITS OF HIRING A NANNY:
There are many benefits of hiring a nanny to care for your children. Nannies come to your home and offer private, sole-focused care for your children. There are different options for nannies such as a nanny share for two families but they will predominantly work within this scope as a general rule.
The benefits of hiring a nanny are:
Sole-focused care for your children, which means that the nanny will get to know your children well enough to know their needs and attend to them efficiently and attentively. This means that the care provided by the nanny will be solely tailored to the needs of your children, ensuring that they get the most out of their day.
Children will get the security of having a strong attachment base from their nanny, while their parents are away from home. This will help the children to feel emotionally strong, safe, and willing to take part in everyday life. Parents can feel reassured that their children can form a loving relationship with a nanny who knows them well and has an emotional attachment rather than just a care worker attachment relationship.
Nanny will try to make the children’s day as productive as possible, offering children a variety of activities, such as playgroups, playtime, outings, educational visits, and activities, which ensure children get the most out of the day
Nanny can teach your kids a language. With the benefits of being bilingual, many parents are opting for nannies who speak a foreign language to teach their children.
Routines can be altered to the needs of the children, which can help them to feel secure, safe, and as alert as possible.
Nanny is capable of arranging the children’s day to life, which can ease the strain on busy parents. Parents will have the reassurance that their children’s day is organized, safe and stimulating and that their kids are being cared for well
Due to the nature of working closely with families, the nanny will often help out when needed, for example, longer/extra hours subject to prior arrangement, which means families can be reassured that they have child care when they need it
Trust issues are higher due to the personal working relationships between the nanny and the family. There are opportunities to discuss issues/problems and/or successes so that the children, who are the main priority get the care they deserve
Any issues or problems with the childcare can be discussed and cleared as appropriate due to personal relationships. This means that if a certain aspect of the day is changed either by the nanny or by the parents, they can discuss it and come up with a solution
As the nanny will be in the family home, the parents have more opportunities to spend time with their children if their schedule allows. For example, a parent may briefly come home for lunch or a break and be able to spend some time with their children, whereas if the child was in nursery school, they wouldn’t be able to do this as easily.
Having a nanny, will also help the kids to become familiar with other people, and due to the activities that nannies will arrange for the children, the children will enjoy a rich and varied day, which will aid their social, personal and physical development
The only thing left to do now if you are thinking of hiring a nanny is to find the most suitable one for you and your family and watch the benefits for yourself! Please visit https://childcarehelp.co.uk/ for more details.
