You Hired A Nanny. Now What?

When school dismissed for the year, a resounding groan was heard from our home. Not because we weren’t looking forward to lazy summer days by the pool, but because for the first time ever we had to figure out childcare for our school-aged son.

Ideally, he would have done camp through our school’s Extended Day Program. Unfortunately, due to our son’s special circumstances we realized this was an unrealistic expectation, and we didn’t realize this until the last week of school. Uh-oh…now what do we do?

After a lot of Facebook comments, and talking to friends, we put an ad up on the UI Jobnet. Within a couple of days we had a valid pool of candidates, and it was time for the interview process.

I’m horrible at interviewing, and immediately went to the Internet for some guidance, and found some great resources. We’ve pinned them to our Pinterest Board so you can check them out.

I also solicited questions from friends, especially our daycare providers.

Here’s a couple they came up with:

Nanny Interview Questions

1. Do you smoke?

2. What is your childrearing philosophy?

3. If you had {insert crazy thing child did} happen, how would you handle it?

4. Are you allergic to dogs or cats? 

And of course there were a couple of humorous ones like…

Would you mind if we watched you with a surveillance camera?

And

Do you cook and clean? If you do I’ll watch the kiddos and you can do the rest.

It’s good to have a sense of humor when it comes to finding your very own Mary Poppins, because it helps relieve the stress.

Once you’ve hired a nanny, it might be easy to assume that she will know just what to do. However, each family is unique, and having someone in your home is quite a bit different than toting the kiddos to school.

Here are some important items to remember…

Brook 5 tips for nanny

5 Tips for After You Hire a Nanny

1. Make sure the nanny has what she needs to transport your children. (i.e.: carseats, strollers)

We almost left for work without giving her carseats or the stroller. YIKES! That would have made for a VERY long first day.

2. Your house doesn’t have to be spotless every morning, but don’t be gross.

The two times I babysat for a family, their house was so sticky it grossed me out. That’s why I only babysat for them the two times. Once I hired babysitters, I vowed our house would not be the sticky house. Thank goodness my hubby helps me clean.

3. Get all your summer passes (i.e.: pool, The Children’s Museum, The Playstation, etc.) before she/he starts.

Since we were late to the game on hiring a nanny, I wasn’t very prepared, and unfortunately it’s been hard for her to plan activities without the passes. This is on my “to do” list.

4. Set realistic expectations.

Your nanny is watching your children; she is NOT your personal assistant or housekeeper. Make sure your expectations don’t exceed her job description. Sure, it’s realistic to have her clean up after meals she provides your children, but don’t expect her to clean your entire house during naptime. She deserves some downtime, too.

5. Don’t forget about taxes.

I’m not an expert, but our accountant did inform us that we needed a Tax ID number created because our nanny is a hired employee. REMEMBER to include tax deductions in your wage negotiations, as well as reimbursement for gas and other expenses. Our nanny is awesome and keeps all the receipts, as well as a weekly tally of her hours, which makes our job so easy.

Now that all of these items have been addressed, the boys and our nanny can just sit back and enjoy summer.Questions and Tips for Hiring a Nanny

I only wish I was there with them.


 

Brook
Brook {without the "e"} is a spunky faux redhead and former UI grad who has decided to call Iowa City her home for over 10 years. She met her husband on the internet, and they spend their days playing superheroes with their two boys, Edison (2007) and Grant (2010). She juggles mom life with a full-time job as a marketing consultant, competing in triathlons and writing her heart out on her personal blog www.redheadreverie.com. She believes life is a journey, not a destination.

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