Parenting is no easy task. If your parents or reliable family live nearby then, consider yourself blessed. Truly, truly blessed. Don’t kid yourself that you don’t need a break. No matter how much you love your kids, we all need a break…sometime. Whether it’s for a moms night out, a weekend getaway with your love or just some time to be alone. Use sites like Care.com and SitterCity to “Find Reliable Childcare for Date Nights“. But, once you have found a potential babysitter or nanny, what questions should you ask? This post will help you find some questions to ask a potential Nanny.
After all, that caregiver is going to be caring for your most precious gift/s. The questions that you ask are only one aspect of finding a reliable nanny. However, those questions should give you incite into the candidate’s personality, likes, dislikes, strengths and a pretty accurate picture of who they are.
In order to do that the questions should be a mixture of standard interview questions mixed along with fun or eclectic ones designed to reveal incites into the candidate’s personality.
It can be tough but, I took a lot of the guess work out for you.
Here’s a list of the 30 best questions to ask a potential nanny.
1.What is your legal name?
2. Tell me about yourself.
3. Do you speak any other languages?
4. Where are you from?
5. What do you like to do in your spare time?
6. What is your availability?
7. What is your favorite book?
8. What is your favorite tv show?
9. Are you currently working for another family?
10. Do you have paid experience caring for kids ?
11.Why did you leave your last job?
12.How do you handle stress?
13.Where do you see yourself in the next year?
14.Tell me about how my child would spend a typical day in your care.
15.Do you have reliable transportation?
16.Why should we hire you?
17.What are three questions every parent should ask a nanny?
18.What would other parents or other people describe you?
19.Besides childcare, what other tasks can you do around the home? (laundry, dishes, meals etc)
20.Are you CPR certified?
21.Are you willing to care for the kids away from home (hotel, travel etc).
22.What is the least favorite part of your job?
23.If you are caring for a child and they are not adhering to rules or instructions, how do you respond?
24.Is there anything on social media that you would be embarrassed for me to see?
25.Can you swim?
26.Tell me something you look forward to doing with the kids.
27.Are you available for overnight care?
28.If hired, how long do you see yourself with our family?
29.Can you provide 2-3 reference upon request?
30.How soon can you start?
Besides the questions above, services like Care.com allow you to screen candidates with background checks and requesting driving records which I highly recommend. It’s a new school year. This is a great time to reevaluate your workload and get more hands on deck if needed. Outsourcing doesn’t make you a bad mom. Careful outsourcing makes you a “smart mom” with more time on her hands.
If you need more ideas on how to make your mama’s workload a little lighter, be sure to read “Moms Guide to Outsourcing More and Stressing Less.
Original January 15, 2015. Updated August 2018.
Comments ( 2 )
Toni @ Debt Free Divas
Hi Lisa, what accent (just read your bio – cute)? My hubby is from Grenada
LisaDLS
Hi Toni! Thanks for stopping by. The accent is from St. Thomas. I have never been to Grenada. Spice isle right? I hope you have had the opportunity to visit.