The Basics – What to Look for in a Nanny

The city of Melbourne boasts a lot of nanny agencies promising the best possible nannies you can afford. So the challenge lies not in finding a nanny but in finding the right nanny for you and your family. A nanny will be around your child for long periods of time, most often alone. Therefore it is imperative to know what kind of person you want. But how do you go about setting a criterion that is right for you and your child?

An important factor when considering a nanny is a clean background. This means no criminal records or drug usage. This is where the benefits of an agency come into play, because agencies always do background checks before recommending a nanny.

A prerequisite that you would want to look into is a love for children, your nanny is going to be around your child for a long time, times when your child might be moody or angry and it's the nanny's ability to endure without complaint that will define her love for children. This is not as common a quality as one might think, however many nannies in Melbourne will not hesitate to profess a love for children. In such cases, it is always good to ask for examples where they have gone above and beyond for the children under their charge. This proofs the extreme need of experience.

Experience can be used as a barometer to see how honest potential nannies are when answering interview questions. Experience is important, since nannies are with your kids for long periods of time. It is best that they have the skills required for such a job, that way you can be certain that they will know how to act if there is an emergency. Fortunately, Melbourne, particularly the nannies found on the 'we need a nanny' website have plenty of experienced nannies for you to choose from.

If a nanny has experience then she would have a fair number of references to give you. It is your duty to contact these references and ask questions that require substantial answers. This way, you gain first hand experience of what your nanny is like and can cross-check details such as duration of previous work and age of children previously cared for.