Questions to ask when interviewing a nanny

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask for PROOF of her Infant CPR certificate and proof of her pertussis and flu vaccines. Nannies lie about having these all the time.


Since she is going to be in a share caring for another child along with yours I would make sure she had multiple experience. Handling two babies is very, very difficult.

Handling TWO babies is very very very difficult?
Man, how do all the millions of families in the world do it? I know how my mom did it and how I and my friends feed, drive, play with our 2-4 kids. If a nanny started soap boxing about providing childcare for 2-3 kids is think she was loony. This is par for the course.

Hi, dummy! In a share, nannies are typically asked to deal with two infants of similar ages. This is not equivalent to moms handling even a 1-year-old and an infant, because 1-year-olds can reasonably be expected to be on a rough schedule, to be content without being held all day, and don't need to be fed every few hours in an active way, because they can self-feed. If one of he babies has any issues (colic, reflux, etc.) then you have to really know what you are doing to maintain a high level of care for both babies instead of leaving one to cry for large portions of the day. Shares are actually more difficult than twins even, because even with fraternal twins, the parents are using the same approach with both and are usually working to get the babies on the same schedule, but in a share, you have to learn how two different families soothe their babies, what everyone's preferences are, and you have to try to balance getting the kids on a manageable schedule during the day with having them on a schedule that works with their at-home bedtime/weekend routine. You have zero idea what you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you most care about, OP?

Hm - safety and trustworthiness would be number 1 of course. My friend had a nanny cam and noticed one nanny stealing and a later hire left a baby alone in the bath! Experience in taking care of an infant, and preferably multiple kids at a time since we hope for a share, and a calm attitude in doing so. Reliability and punctuality so we don't have to worry about being late to work. Also, cleanliness - we don't expect her to do housework other than to clean up after herself and the baby, but I am somewhat of a cleanliness fanatic so no dishes in the sink, clean up your crumbs, etc. Easy to communicate with during the day (texting, picks up phone, etc). Good with pets.

This was actually a helpful exercise, thank you!

Trustworthiness, communication, reliability and punctuality you will get from her references. I would ask them about cleanliness as well.

Safety--ask for certifications in first aid/cpr and ask her some "what-if" scenarios and ask whether she had had to take a charge to the er or ever dealt with and emergent situation and ask how she had to manage it.

Tell her that you are a neat freak and ask what her expectations are regarding sharing your home/her workspace.

Ask her how she prefers to communicate with employers.

Ask her about her experience with pets.

Ask about her experience with infants/multiple kids and take notes--you want to be able to confirm with her references what she says is true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask for PROOF of her Infant CPR certificate and proof of her pertussis and flu vaccines. Nannies lie about having these all the time.


Since she is going to be in a share caring for another child along with yours I would make sure she had multiple experience. Handling two babies is very, very difficult.

Handling TWO babies is very very very difficult?
Man, how do all the millions of families in the world do it? I know how my mom did it and how I and my friends feed, drive, play with our 2-4 kids. If a nanny started soap boxing about providing childcare for 2-3 kids is think she was loony. This is par for the course.

Hi, dummy! In a share, nannies are typically asked to deal with two infants of similar ages. This is not equivalent to moms handling even a 1-year-old and an infant, because 1-year-olds can reasonably be expected to be on a rough schedule, to be content without being held all day, and don't need to be fed every few hours in an active way, because they can self-feed. If one of he babies has any issues (colic, reflux, etc.) then you have to really know what you are doing to maintain a high level of care for both babies instead of leaving one to cry for large portions of the day. Shares are actually more difficult than twins even, because even with fraternal twins, the parents are using the same approach with both and are usually working to get the babies on the same schedule, but in a share, you have to learn how two different families soothe their babies, what everyone's preferences are, and you have to try to balance getting the kids on a manageable schedule during the day with having them on a schedule that works with their at-home bedtime/weekend routine. You have zero idea what you are talking about.

Heard of twins?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask for PROOF of her Infant CPR certificate and proof of her pertussis and flu vaccines. Nannies lie about having these all the time.


Since she is going to be in a share caring for another child along with yours I would make sure she had multiple experience. Handling two babies is very, very difficult.

Handling TWO babies is very very very difficult?
Man, how do all the millions of families in the world do it? I know how my mom did it and how I and my friends feed, drive, play with our 2-4 kids. If a nanny started soap boxing about providing childcare for 2-3 kids is think she was loony. This is par for the course.

Hi, dummy! In a share, nannies are typically asked to deal with two infants of similar ages. This is not equivalent to moms handling even a 1-year-old and an infant, because 1-year-olds can reasonably be expected to be on a rough schedule, to be content without being held all day, and don't need to be fed every few hours in an active way, because they can self-feed. If one of he babies has any issues (colic, reflux, etc.) then you have to really know what you are doing to maintain a high level of care for both babies instead of leaving one to cry for large portions of the day. Shares are actually more difficult than twins even, because even with fraternal twins, the parents are using the same approach with both and are usually working to get the babies on the same schedule, but in a share, you have to learn how two different families soothe their babies, what everyone's preferences are, and you have to try to balance getting the kids on a manageable schedule during the day with having them on a schedule that works with their at-home bedtime/weekend routine. You have zero idea what you are talking about.

Heard of twins?

Not the PP but did you actually read when you quoted? The poster gives specific examples of how caring for two babies in a share is different from caring for two twins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask for PROOF of her Infant CPR certificate and proof of her pertussis and flu vaccines. Nannies lie about having these all the time.


Since she is going to be in a share caring for another child along with yours I would make sure she had multiple experience. Handling two babies is very, very difficult.

How do you know that nannies lie abouthow see things? Where is your proof?

I've had conversations with several nannies about vaccines. Especially the foreign nannies who think that a vaccine will make them sick. Apparently they lie frequently and no one thinks to ask for proof of vaccination. I've also spoken to nannies who admitted they lied about CPR training and college.

In my current job, I was interviewed by two very smart employers who never asked for either my CPR certificate or proof of vaccinations. I had the CPR card in my purse and easily could have gotten a proof of vaccination from the pharmacy.

They also never asked to see a picture ID so they could have run a very expensive background check on someone else!

Lying isn't a trait exclusive to foreign nannies. Sometimes the ignorance on this site goes from the sublime, to the ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will be interviewing nannies for a position to take care of our infant full time, and preferably as part of a share. If the interview goes well, I will get references and also ask about salary. I also know to ask about how to handle vacation days, snow days, etc. What other questions should I be asking? What type of experience is most important?

Will you give out a couple of refs to your favorite candidates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I will be interviewing nannies for a position to take care of our infant full time, and preferably as part of a share. If the interview goes well, I will get references and also ask about salary. I also know to ask about how to handle vacation days, snow days, etc. What other questions should I be asking? What type of experience is most important?

Will you give out a couple of refs to your favorite candidates?

Try to read the thread before posting off topic comments.

This thread is about questions to ask when interviewing a nanny. There is another thread where you can vent about references. Go there.