If you only have one phone in the house, and she is going to be living in, explain to her when and for how long, you will allow her to use the phone.

If you do not want her on the phone while your child is playing or sleeping, then tell her now. A nice way to say this is, “I prefer that you make your personal calls on your own time, and when you are here, that you only make personal calls that are absolutely necessary.”

If you allow your child to watch television and movies on DVD or video, tell your nanny how many hours a day or week your child may watch. So that the nanny is not the bad guy, place a sign that says “House Rules” near the television, and you write down the amount of time the family may watch television during the day.

Make the print easy enough for your child to understand so the nanny can refer to the House Rules, when telling your child that the television has to be turned off.

If you do not want the television on as “background noise,” tell the nanny that if no one is watching the television, you want it off. You don’t like the child to get used to the TV being on while he or she is doing something else.

If you do not want the nanny to watch the television while your child is eating lunch at the table, tell her that, too.

Now is a good time to put parental controls on your computer, if you do not already have them. Call your internet service provider and ask about parental limits on the service. If you want more stringent controls, you can use a search engine on your computer with the words “parental controls on computers” and come up with a list of items that are free or for purchase to help limit your child’s access to the web.