3 Points to Consider When Selecting Your Long-Term Nanny

A long-term nanny is an experienced child development professional who seamlessly blends into your family and provides customized childcare.

As parents, you have unlimited choices on how to provide care for your little ones and your household. Childcare options include daycare or afterschool care, family members, babysitters, and nannies. Consider a long-term nanny for a high-quality experience with someone who has been carefully vetted and is compatible with your family.

Long-term nannies blend in seamlessly with your family—ensuring your childcare needs are met month after month. A full-time nanny is an experienced child development professional who can help your family in countless ways. Consider your selection process, compatibility levels, and long-term household goals to get the most out of a long-term nanny.

1. The Interview Process: What You Need to Know

A quality interview process for your long-term nanny can ensure you get the most out of your childcare experience. A nanny's job is to care for children in a household through discipline, supervision, instruction, and setting a good example. They must also connect with the children on a deeper level, providing consistent care that makes them feel safe. A full-time nanny ensures someone is always available to understand and meet your child's needs.

Although finding your long-term nanny might be challenging, asking the right questions during an interview can help you find candidates with the right skills and knowledge.

Education and Experience

When choosing a long-term nanny with in-depth child development knowledge, consider nannies with relevant educational backgrounds or certifications. Questions about their specialties and any medical training may be necessary for those with unique needs. You should also ask questions about your family's needs to determine compatibility. Ask questions about what they look for in a position/supervisor and what they find most challenging (and rewarding) about childcare.

Expectations

Before interviewing your potential long-term nanny, be sure to understand your own expectations for the caregiver. What types of activities do you want your nanny to do around the house? Do you want them to cook or clean? How about activities with the children? During the interview, learn about your potential nanny’s limitations and boundaries. You want to be sure they’re comfortable with a day in the life of your household.

Safety

If anyone spends time alone with your children, you want to be sure you can trust them—in everyday scenarios and crises. Background checks are a must, but also consider their safety certifications. It is important to note that county-level background checks are essential.

The tricky part here, though, is that you, as a parent, may be unable to complete these checks. However, Call Emmy can do county checks for as long as the duration of the sitter’s life. These checks will pick up on red flags like DUIs, domestic violence incidents, and petty theft, which are all things a national-level background check that many service providers offer won’t flag.

First aid and CPR are fantastic. If your caregiver may take the kids swimming or if you have a swimming pool, ask if they have water safety certifications.

2. The Importance of Compatibility with a Long-Term Nanny

Throughout the first three years of life, quality in-home childcare provided by a long-term nanny positively impacts a child's physical and mental health. It aids in the growth of children's social skills, empathy, and sense of trust.

Finding a nanny who’s a good fit for your family is critical to the success of a long-term arrangement. Compatibility can influence the level of care your child receives and your relationship with your nanny. A compatible long-term nanny will have a personality, lifestyle, and parenting philosophy that aligns with or complements your own.

Beyond compatibility, you want to nurture your relationship with your nanny and family through positive communication. Remember, your long-term nanny is more than an employee or a temporary babysitter—they’re family. If you treat them with respect and honesty, you can encourage them to stay with your family for a long time and can prevent emotional upheavals from switching caregivers or from failures in communication.

3. Charting the Way Forward: A Guide to a Successful Long-Term Nanny Partnership

Once you've selected your dream nanny, it's critical to establish a strategy for success. Your success plan should include communication plans, long-term expectations, and support for your nanny. Parents and nannies should be on the same page to ensure a successful family experience and that your nanny can meet your family’s needs for years to come.

Establish clear lines of communication and expectations for the frequency of updates, as well as schedule face-to-face talks with the nanny. Effective communication is essential for a successful team effort. Compile information that they may need to effectively care for your little ones when you’re not around. This should include important contact information and special needs your children may have, like allergies. You also want your roadmap to share your children’s schedules, house rules, and dietary needs.

While you may have a strong sense of how you want your household to run, your long-term nanny is an expert in childcare. Involve them when creating your plans. Your long-term expectations for your family can include early childhood development activities, driving policies, shift expectations, collaboration and consistency, family values, chores, bathing rituals, sleep routines, and screen time.

Most importantly, plan for your nanny and your family to continuously grow and develop together. Give your nanny opportunities to seek professional development and additional child development certifications and specialties. Ongoing professional development and education ensure quality care for years to come.

Customize Your Childcare with a Long-Term Nanny

After vetting your long-term nanny and establishing a solid relationship, you should now have a robust childcare system customized to your family and your child for years to come. A quality nanny will have a professional childcare background and be compatible with your family’s lifestyle. Between you and your nanny, you can strategize the best day-to-day and long-term plans for your whole family. When you or your children need someone, your long-term nanny will be there to support you year after year if you treat them with respect and open communication.

Choosing the perfect long-term nanny can be overwhelming, but the experts at Call Emmy are here for you. So let Call Emmy help you find a nanny that meets all your needs and exceeds your expectations!