How to Select A
Safe Nanny
For Your Child
A Step By Step Guide
and grace. Sometimes
someone with a strong ego may be perfect in this situation because they won’t
feel threatened by your presence in the house.
It will be harder for your child to
separate from you if you work at home than if you work at an office, so be
prepared for some tantrums and difficulty when your child would rather be with
you because he or she sees you right there, but can’t be with you because you
have to work. It may take a while to get into a groove with this kind of set
up. On the other hand, once you have the system working, it can be very
rewarding.
Many nannies are more comfortable
working around women and children, which is one of the reasons they chose this
field. If you have a husband who works at home, there may be some discomfort on
the part of the nanny. Some nannies come from countries where male and female
dynamics are less egalitarian and more traditional.
If your husband works at
home, and your nanny is from a culture where men are considered more valuable
and worthy of waiting on all the time, your nanny may find herself wanting to
cook for him or keep your child away from him in a way that puts him first, and
the child second.
The best way to deal with this is
to have your husband address the nanny and tell her exactly what he wants –
that he does not want to be disturbed. That he will make his own food. That it
is important to him that your child has a nice time with the nanny and that he
appreciates all she wants to do for him, but the child comes first.
What do you want your
nanny to do for you?
If this sounds like a silly
question, remember that many people expect a nanny to do housework and take
care of the child(ren). Others expect the nanny to
steer clear of anything not involving the child, while still others hope for a
combination of housework and childcare. Some people expect a nanny to answer
the door and the phone and take messages while others want the phone to be off
limits to the nanny. And still other employers want the nanny to do grocery
shopping, take the child out to meals at restaurants, and pick up dry cleaning.
Is housework part of
the job?
Be honest about what you want. If you come home to a happy
baby and a happy, but tired nanny – and a sink full of dishes, the playroom a
wreck of artwork – and crayons, paints and blocks all over the floor, and a
dirty diaper that didn’t quite make the
