We're many months away from even starting to look for someone, but I'm curious and like to plan ahead 
If you're looking to hire someone (a stranger, not a friend or family member who you already know and trust) for full-time long-term child care for your newborn, how do you do it? Where do you look? What qualifications would be required? What do you ask to ensure applicants are qualified? What are your absolute deal breakers?
Thanks
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
I looked up licensed centers and in-homes in the area. Mapped them out, priced them out, and crossed off the ones that were too expensive or inconvenient. Toured a few, crossed a few more off the list. Every time an in-home told me they were full, I asked if they had a personal recommendation (which is how I found T).
Honestly, T runs an unlicensed daycare. She had 4 kids of her own (all now grown) and has been running a daycare (of 4 children) for close to 25 years now. When i toured her home and met with her, it was a gut feeling that I knew E would be well taken care of. And she is. She feeds them healthy stuff, they play, she rotates toys...it's a good environment for us, and it's only a few minutes away from our home. We toured a center and would have been fine with it, but T blew us away.
Dealbreakers: Smoking, citations, her own kids at home, no backup care, that kind of stuff.
apricot / 309 posts
@blackbird: Definitely good deal breakers. I know plenty of smart, responsible people who smoke, but I wouldn't hire one as my child's care giver. No backup care is going to be a problem for us because we're looking for an individual, not a center, but it's definitely an important consideration.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
@MrsBananaGrabber: Well, T has a backup. sometimes those in-homes/individuals are pretty well networked and they take care of each other
grapefruit / 4006 posts
we have a nanny and we love her. we found her through a friend - referrals from someone you know are the best way to find one. outside of that, you can find them on mommy groups/local message boards. in terms of what to look for, you have to figure out what you want in a caregiver...what are your priorities? i wanted someone who was experienced and loving, gentle and warm with my kids, while other people want someone that is more focused on educating/teaching their kids....that wasn't a huge priority for me. there are some nannies that are very stern with the kids they watch and i didn't want that at all. some people don't mind it. i needed someone that was flexible with their schedule - could come in early or work late on short notice. so you need to consider their personal life as well. do they have young children that will prevent them from having flexible hours?
bring them in for an interview, but a trial period and references are much more important. a trial period is good because you can see the chemistry between you and the nanny, and the nanny and your child. we did 5 days. references are the most important though. speak to at least 3, and they have to be recent. have a list of questions prepared...ask specifics. ask about problems they had with the nanny and how they were resolved. you want to know the bad, not just the good. good luck!
apricot / 309 posts
@SleepyMonkey: Did you know your nanny would be loving, gentle and warm based on your initial interactions with her, or based on your friend's recommendation?
grapefruit / 4006 posts
@MrsBananaGrabber: i was able to tell from her interview, by the way she interacted with my daughter. Then i was able to confirm my hunch based on references and the trial period. If you interview multiple candidates, it is easier to compare them and determine which one fits your needs the best. The referral from a friend just served as a check that our nanny is a good person.
apricot / 309 posts
@SleepyMonkey: I'm not sure we'll be able to make a trial period work in our situation. We're going to be hiring someone to work in a day care center that's being set up in our office, once I've gone back to work full time. If it didn't work out during the trial period, we really couldn't be without a caregiver for any period of time while we find a new person. We're going to have to base it all off the interview 
grapefruit / 4006 posts
@MrsBananaGrabber: ah got it. I do think reference calls go a long way too. I found those to be the most useful.
eggplant / 11824 posts
We wanted a center, so some of our requirements (licensed and insured, accredited with NAEYC, certain education credentials for the lead teachers, good food made on-site, etc.) may not be as applicable for hiring a nanny.
I would look for someone with experience (and call every single reference provided), and someone with a background in/some higher education in early childhood education or a related field and someone who was CPR certified. Definitely a non-smoker and I would only hire someone whose core child-rearing beliefs aligned with my own (especially concerning discipline, etc.). Someone who was creative, so they were doing more than just watching my child.
I would also definitely hold an interview to see how they act with your LO – I would really try to have that “interview” be where you can see them, but your LO can’t see you, to see how your LO acts with the caregiver, without you being right there.
apricot / 309 posts
@yoursilverlining: The "interview" with the baby is a great idea. Our baby will be less than 6 weeks when we hire someone (since we'll need this person to start around the 6 week mark), so I'm not sure the test would be too meaningful, but I'm a big fan of the idea overall. I do a lot of hiring other positions at my company (obviously not caregivers), and I always have some sort of test for applicants. People will say anything in an interview- there's no way to know without testing what they can actually do.
pineapple / 12566 posts
I think other than the obvious things like good recommendations, non smoking, cleanliness, proper training/certification, etc. you can really rely a lot on your gut feeling towards a caregiver or a center.
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