Consider these 5 things when hiring a nanny. Or a maternity nurse/housekeeper/night nanny/mother’s help.
Ready to get the ball rolling and hire expert nanny help for your family?
So that you get the best outcome, here’s 5 things to consider when hiring a nanny before you make it official.
A nanny is a professional who provides sole charge care of your children, in your own home. It’s a profession that’s both challenging and rewarding and comes with great responsibility.
As well as ensuring your children are fed well, washed, dressed, and safe at all times, a nanny provides an environment for them that’s respectful, caring and developmentally appropriate.
Before you go ahead and source your dream nanny (via our personalised services of course!), we recommend you think ahead and have a somewhat clear idea as to what your family needs.
1. Your family needs
What’s it like day-to-day in your family? And what will benefit you most?
We speak to parents every day. And regardless of whether they’re working part-time or full-time. Or studying, travelling, or have just welcomed a new addition, the common theme is always time. The lack of it.
You’re doing all the things. Usually for everyone and often on auto-pilot. And sometimes without a great deal of recognition. We get it, we’re parents ourselves. Such is life. And it’s exhausting.
But it is possible to achieve some balance in your family dynamic. One way is to hire a nanny. Another a nanny housekeeper. Or an after-school nanny. Perhaps a governess who offers private tuition. A maternity nurse experienced in the care of multiples. Or a dedicated breastfeeding and lactation specialist who’ll sit with you at 3 am to help your baby get that latch right.
These things are important. They go a long way to reduce your stress. To lessen your worries. To lighten your mental load. And to free up your hands.
We live in an age where not all of us have a village to lean on. So we seek the support of others. And these others, when done right, with love, care, attention, personalisation and professionalism – what an impact they have!
2. The type of nanny, and your unique family dynamic
We see you, and your need. Now it’s time to find the best fit.
If you look for it, you’ll find there’s loads of childcare options available to you. And once you’ve considered the merits of a nanny vs. housekeeper (why not both), or a nanny vs. governess, it’s time to think about the personality fit.
Because, just as there are different parenting styles (we’re betting you’re somewhere in the Authoritative camp, although we salute any fellow Permissives in the group – #hifriend), there are different nanny styles too.
The differences are mostly dictated by personality type. Which means, whilst you’ll find the more experienced and well-travelled carers are (possibly) better at blending with all personality and family styles. Generally speaking, not every nanny will approach the role in the same way.
As a result, it’s important to know your own personality. And also how you prefer to interact with team members, and staff. For example, you might want to be seen as a friend. Or you might want to be seen as the boss. Both options are fine.
Consider whether the ideal nanny (for your family) is someone who’s likely to succeed when given accountability and responsibility. Someone who’s an action-taker. Or whether the best person for the job will be the nanny who is meticulous about your routine and detail.
And in the process, you should also consider the type of personality best suited to the role itself, and most importantly, your children!
We know, it can be difficult to know this ahead of time. Which is why we’re passionate about our NannyHire Check™ process.
Using technology specifically developed for Happy Nest, we assess the “best-fit”. We assess job fit, based on personality, attitudes and how they could impact safeguarding, and job engagement, based on previous job relationships.
This report helps us to make a much more ‘natural’ placement, as it confirms our ‘sixth sense’ and supports the factual data.
3. Your values and expectations
We’re not just talking manners. Although modelling good manners and positive language is definitely important!
It goes without saying, we want the best for our children. Although this measure of “best” looks different for each of us. And we go about it in different ways, and hey, that’s more than OK!
So when it comes down to your children, and your nanny, it’s going to look different too.
You might prefer a nanny who’ll follow your routine, and keep everything in order. They’ll manage to go above and beyond, they probably won’t play mud kitchens with your two-year-old, but your children will be extremely well looked after. Better still, they’ll be happy and thriving!
Alternatively, you might not be that bothered about a 5 pm dinner routine (what’s it matter, you love to cook and you’ll do that yourself when you get home). But it’s important your children have explored their creative self. That they’ve been influenced by the Montessori playroom. And the unique ‘structure’ built from your favourite travel books now filling your living room is 100% worthy of the mess.
Your parenting values, and how you view your children’s growth and development and expression and exploration of their core self, could very well influence the benefit you come to appreciate from your nanny. So consider your priorities, your hopes and dreams, and expectations, and select a nanny that will add value to your shared experience.
4. The children
It seems remiss of us not to have mentioned the children sooner. They are of course, immeasurably important in this discussion.
Just as you should consider the overarching needs of your family as a whole, it’s vital you consider your child(ren) as individuals too.
And whilst we appreciate those of you with multiple children will likely have very different personality types, you’ll no doubt draw a conclusion as to the personality type, level of experience, and honestly, the level of interest, most suited to your family.
Whether it’s as simple as knowing a sporty and active nanny would be the best fit. Or that a level-headed and natural problem solver will navigate the teenage angst present in your household, like a pro.
Alternatively, you might know that a nanny experienced in caring for high needs, with professional development studies in understanding the Autism spectrum, will be the most suitable candidate for your family.
5. Budget
We understand almost all childcare options are expensive.
So you’re no doubt wondering how much you can expect to pay for a nanny to provide the support you’re looking for. The short answer is that it’s not always easy to provide a ballpark figure on this up-front.
This is because the average nanny salary will vary according to your location. And also in relation to their level of experience and qualifications. With that being said, in most cases, we’re confident you’ll find the option of a nanny more cost-effective than other forms of childcare if you have multiple children.
Our best advice is to get in touch, and we’ll be able to discuss care options to fit your family. And we’ll also be able to talk to you about the approximate salary rates for your area.
So there you have it: 5 key things to consider when hiring a nanny. Curious to know more? We’re here to chat! We know all too well how modern families need modern childcare, and that a nanny not only provides childcare but supports the entire family. Get in touch to learn more about how we can help you.
