How To Assess Your Family Needs Before Engaging A Nanny

It was just the other day that my friend decided to engage a nanny to look after her 6 month baby; the search for a nanny was not as simple and straight forward as she thought. Being in New York I told her to assess her family needs before engaging a nanny.  

Points to think over in assessing family needs:

• First you need to decide whether you want a nanny to work part-time or full time and come bright and early each morning; do you want her services on Saturday also. It is also essential to decide if you would like her to live with you. 

• Next it is essential to consider special and specific needs of your child/ children if any; a child with allergies would require one experienced in using the EpiPen and a child with Asperger’s syndrome would require a nanny that is both patient as well as encourages social interaction and communication.     

• Assessing your family needs before engaging a nanny also means deciding whether you want a younger person who is full of energy and enthusiasm or an older and experienced person that could be efficient in handling various difficulties and problems of kids. This step also means deciding whether you want to select a nanny that is a parent herself; if she is still raising children, it could mean taking days off to solve her childcare issues.


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•  I have seen parents that love nannies that are independent minded and proactive by nature; these nannies could be either very efficient or rash. You need to choose between an independent minded and proactive nanny and one that is able to follow the guidelines given by you or your strict orders.

• Assessing your family needs before engaging a nanny also means choosing between full time nannies and a au pair; it may be more common for parents to go in for full time nannies, but live in au pairs turn essential for parents that have demanding work schedules.  It is however essential to note that nannies are more experienced, while au pairs are cost effective and often bring multicultural education to your children.  

• As you assess the requirements for a nanny it is essential to look into the issue of US citizenship; this turns very important as the US nanny market is full of workers that are US citizens, green card holders and those that are there illegally. It is best you engage a nanny that has US citizenship as it is easier to check background and these nannies are more flexible in hours as compared to au pair or nannies that have a green card.

Last but most important the best nanny would be one who is a loving and responsible person.