https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 17 May 2026 05:54:22 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/interviewing-nannies-what-to-ask#post-2833075 Tue, 10 Jul 2018 01:52:35 +0000 agold 2833075@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: thank you for responding with your thoughts. you make me feel a lot better about the 22 year old girl I am going to be interviewing. But I agree that younger could be great if they are willing to listen to direction. I'm also interviewing an older lady and I'm really nervous about that. And if I could find someone who would do a little side cleaning, such as organizing a closet, that would be amazing! Lucky you. </p> <p>@maddyz: Thank you for the suggestion to ask about disciplining. That's a great point. Im making a list of questions.</p> <p>@castilrm: Thank you for sharing how you pay. This is going to be a tough one for me to figure out. And gees.. how to handle two babies.. i'm trying to figure it out myself still! :silly: I, too, am relying on trusted referrals. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/interviewing-nannies-what-to-ask#post-2832965 Mon, 09 Jul 2018 17:10:17 +0000 castilrm 2832965@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our nanny is an hourly employee but she essentially gets a salary as we agree to pay her a set number of hours per week regardless of whether we use her or not. The exception is if she takes off early/gets in late, then we do not pay her for those hours when she is not there. We do give her 10 days PTO, and try to sync it with our vacations to the extent possible. Basically, we treat it like a daycare since most day cares get paid whether you're there or not and also close for a couple weeks a year.</p> <p>But we do a nanny share (another family drops their baby off at our place), so it's a bit cheaper than a solo nanny situation. For us, main questions we had were:<br /> (1) CPR/first aide certified or willing to take a class<br /> (2) fine with the hours we needed (and her reliability/punctuality, which we confirmed with referrals)<br /> (3) how she handles two babies, like syncing naps, feedings, how to handle if both babies crying, etc.<br /> (4) activities she enjoys doing with the babies, like library time, parks, etc.<br /> (5) up to date on vaccinations</p> <p>Also I generally liked to get a feel for past experience (I rely heavily on referrals) and how they handle various situations with babies in the past, like discipline, emergencies, fussy eating, etc. But I also pose a lot of these same questions to prior families and run an independent background check to confirm clean driver's license and criminal history.</p> <p>I also ask about what they do when babies are napping. If they are willing to do some light cleaning or at least organize baby stuff, that's great so I don't have to clean up after the babies when I'm home. But I don't have that be a main part of the job. My current nanny goes some cleaning and food prep (mainly for the kids) when the babies nap and that's been a huge relief. Also, I agree with the above comment that it's important that the nanny is willing to do things your way, if you're really specific about certain things, like diet or nap times. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/interviewing-nannies-what-to-ask#post-2832856 Mon, 09 Jul 2018 13:26:39 +0000 maddyz 2832856@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would ask questions about discipline and expectations they have for a child's behavior. Our nanny's expectations about what is appropriate behavior are very similar to ours. It's not necessary to be exactly on the same page, but I think it's important to be close. I like that she really lets them play and get dirty, but that is not for everyone. I have also really appreciated the way she has handled some trickier stages (biting and hitting). I used to babysit for a family who dealt with misbehaving in a very different way than I would and it was VERY hard for me to implement punishments I didn't find helpful but they wanted. I left pretty quickly because it was not a good fit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/interviewing-nannies-what-to-ask#post-2832589 Sat, 07 Jul 2018 08:43:33 +0000 Anagram 2832589@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@agold: nanny interviews are hard because I realized (after first hiring a bad nanny that I had to let go after 2 weeks) that the interview doesn't really matter. Definitely ask the basics--past experience, pay and time off expectations, what duties other than childcare they have done in past jobs or are willing to do. But then, pick your top 2-3 contenders and do a paid trial day with all 3 of them. And have a security camera so you can observe. I did not do a trial day with our first nanny, but I did a lengthy interview and called her most recent two nanny families, both of which lived in our town, so I thought I covered all my bases. But she was awful---just so bad. But her previous families didn't have cameras and I do, so maybe they didn't know. She was just very lazy, not attentive, on her phone all day from the get go, did not care about my baby's schedule from the get go.</p> <p>Anyway, after that experience with her, I realized I don't necessarily want someone with years of experience who thinks they are going to run the show, I just want someone who I can train to do things my way. And I wanted a rule follower and someone with energy. That was what I looked for when I let go the first nanny and went back to the hiring process. With my final two picks, I paid them to come a full day and I stayed the first couple hours and walked them through our day and my baby's schedule. Then I left and went nearby and observed from the cameras how they interacted with baby, Hoe often they were on their phone, how well they stuck to the schedule, and then I picked my final choice and that time, I got it right. Our second nanny was a real gem and was great with both our kids AND would randomly tidy up the house (I mean, like reorganize their closet and drawers and the kitchen pantry--big jobs) without me ever asking, while the first nanny would 100% have just been on her phone in any downtime. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/interviewing-nannies-what-to-ask#post-2832579 Fri, 06 Jul 2018 23:53:08 +0000 agold 2832579@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JJ2626: thank you! Great points. </p> <p>@Littlebit7: omg. Great suggestions. Thank you! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/interviewing-nannies-what-to-ask#post-2832562 Fri, 06 Jul 2018 19:23:31 +0000 Littlebit7 2832562@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Observations with the kids. Do a trial run</p> <p>See how much she checks her phone during the interview. If it seems to be often....nope</p> <p>What are her expectations for salary, vacation, personal and sick days</p> <p>What would she do if you had to stay late at work (is that even an option for thr nanny, does she have obligations outside of her hours, etc)</p> <p>Really probe her references and ask for more. Double check that the references are legit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/interviewing-nannies-what-to-ask#post-2832558 Fri, 06 Jul 2018 19:07:57 +0000 JJ2626 2832558@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I found most questions not that helpful. The most helpful things for us were:<br /> -How did she talk about her current/previous families. Our nanny showed us pictures and was so cute about them.<br /> -Let her hold your LO and see how she interacts. This was what sealed the deal for us. All the nannies we interviewed were clearly comfortable and nice with babies, but our nanny was so sweet and caring and it just felt right. </p> <p>Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/interviewing-nannies-what-to-ask#post-2832556 Fri, 06 Jul 2018 19:02:17 +0000 agold 2832556@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’m going to be interviewing some nannies next week and I’m at at loss as to how to go about. My main question is, will you keep my kids safe? Beyond that, I’d love to hear how you handled the interview. Did you say what you wanted, or ask what the nanny can provide? And did you pay salary or hourly? Thank you for you help! Finding a nanny is the most stressful thing over done! </p>