Working parents often have a difficult decision to make when it comes to childcare. Do you let them go to the neighborhood nursery or do you hire a babysitter? Even if you want one-on-one attention paid to your child you still have to choose whether or not you want an actual nanny or just someone you hire that watches children. In this day and age you can never be too careful with your child's safety so it is important to know as much about nannies and the care they can provide as possible. Not everyone can afford a nanny but for those that can, or even those seeking work as a nanny, this article can answer some of the basic questions that can arise. It is possible to find good help but until you know the basics, you might find yourself making wrong choices for your family situation.
What are nannies?
A nanny is someone that you hire to watch over your children when you are not available. Even if you work from home, having children underfoot all day can seriously impair your work capability. A nanny can come in and watch your children there in your home. You will most often see nannies working for those that travel a lot or are wealthy. The reason is that the nanny, more often than not, will live in the home with the children. This means that he or she is there twenty-four hours a day with little time off. It is essentially like hiring a personal assistant except instead of helping you with your workload, he or she works with your children. But, granted, the traditional role of the nanny has changed over time. There are many people now in this field of work that do not stay with a family full time. They simply report to work at a certain time and work a set amount of hours.
If I'm looking at employing a nanny, where should I start looking?
Many people are tempted to turn to the classified section of their local newspaper to find help but this is not a great idea. The best way to find a reputable nanny that comes with a solid background is to go through a nanny agency. The agency screens all potential employees thoroughly. This usually includes a background check, credit check and also a thorough check of all references. You can do this yourself but it often is far more problems than it would be to simply go through an agency. Plus with an agency you can always check referrals to ensure they are sound or you can do a search of the agency to ensure that there have been no problems with them in the past.
What type of training should nannies have?
Though there are schools that teach nannies proper behavior and give courses on how to rear children, there are no set rules on what type of training is mandatory. Some people may just have a background with children through school teaching or through childcare. The training you want your nanny to have is all based on your needs. If you have a special needs child then you definitely want to seek out a nanny that has worked with special needs children before. The one training that is an absolute must should be that he or she has gone through CPR training.
Do nannies travel with their employers?
A simple look in any tabloid will confirm that most nannies that are employed by celebrities are always working full time and often travel with the family. Even the nanny that is employed by a non-celebrity may be asked to travel with the family so that the children are still being cared for by someone they know. This is often the case when business takes the mother or father out of town for extended periods of time.
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