With school out for the summer, many families will struggle to manage the summer chaos, especially with kids at home all day. Some opt for summer camps, but for many parents hiring a nanny seems like the best approach. Because it can be time consuming to find the right person, use my 10 tips to make your search for a summer nanny a bit easier.
1. Plan ahead – Try not to wait until the last minute as many summer nannies are looking for jobs that start as soon as possible.
2. Create a job description – Be clear about what you expect from your summer nanny. The more detailed you are the better the nanny will know how to make you happy!
3. Recruit – Finding a summer nanny is not hard. You can use an agency for a prescreened professional nanny, get a referral from a friend or use an online resource, such as NPN's Childcare Classifieds.
4. Screening – Make sure you interview each candidate, call references and run a complete background check. Even if the nanny was a referral from a friend, do your due diligence.
5. Trial – Have a “playdate” with the prospective nanny and your kids to make sure they like each other. You want to make sure the nanny knows how to connect with your kids as well as your kids connect with them.
6. Offer – Make sure your offer is clear and detailed. Just because it is temporary you still want to be clear about hours and pay. Also what happens on the 4th of July as well as if you are planning on taking a vacation and will not need the nanny?
7. Training – Have your new nanny shadow you for a few days so she learns your routine, places your kids like to go and how you handle tantrums. This will help your new nanny be successful vs. just throwing her into the trenches. This also helps your kids understand you trust the nanny and when the nanny is on duty the nanny is in charge.
8. Communication – Make sure to continue to communicate with your nanny about how she is doing, what she can change or how to do things differently to be successful.
9. Binder – Having a binder about your kid’s schedules, favorite foods, approved activities, friends for playdates and local parks is very helpful to ensure your kids have a fun summer.
10. Relationship – Just because your nanny is temporary doesn’t mean the relationship has to end when summer does. Keep the relationship active, as maybe your nanny can babysit on weekends during the school year or come back next summer!
