Nanny Guide: Crucial Nanny Interview Questions to Ask the Family

Like any form of employment, nanny jobs can be highly positive – or highly negative – experiences.  Most often, the deciding factor is communication.  Sharing precisely the same childcare philosophy is typically less important than the ability for the two parties to understand what each other expects, and act accordingly.

After all, a nanny job only works when the nanny and family are well matched.  Remember that you, too, are interviewing the family.  Put them to the test.  Find out if you’ll be able to freely communicate with your hiring family and understand all of their expectations.  That way you’ll be much more likely to find a positive and long lasting nanny-family relationship.

Nannies, here are six important questions to ask parents when interviewing for nanny positions:

1.  How do you spend your time with your children?
Find out what kind of conversations and activities children will be expecting from the person taking care of them.

If parents regularly talk with their children about feelings and emotions, then a nanny could expect the children to initiate this type of conversation – or at least be receptive to it if you communicate in this manner. 

However, if parents’ hardly ever discuss feelings with their children, then relating to them in this manner may come as an unwelcome surprise. 

Also make sure you know what activities the child is used to – and what you’ll be expected to supervise.  If you won’t tolerate three hours in a noisy video arcade every Saturday morning, now’s the time to find out whether or not this will be a common activity.

However, being an exact “parent replica” is not realistic either.  In fact, if certain fun activities or outings are reserved exclusively for nannies, or if the nanny has a particular style of communication that is different from the parents’, this may help the nanny foster a unique relationship with the children, giving a positive dose of variety to the child’s world – something that many parents seek from a nanny.  

Additionally, parents may want to exclusively participate in certain activities, such as bedtime story reading.  Ask the parents what activities they don’t want you to do. 

2. How do you Discipline your Children?  
It is crucial that you find out how misbehavior is managed, and what is expected of the nanny.  There are innumerable discipline strategies – ensure that you are well aware of the parents’ way of disciplining.

Many parents want nannies to stay consistent with the existing house philosophy. If “time-outs” are the existing practice, then expect to work with them.

Under no circumstances, however, should you engage in physical punishment.  Regardless of the parents’ existing philosophy, a nanny should never, ever, spank children or engage in any other form of corporal punishment.

3.  How will we Communicate?  
Knowing how your potential employers relate to people – and how they will relate to you – is an important element of nanny jobs.   Despite spending most of your working hours with the children, parents are the people you will report to.  Expect parents to react to every decision you make, every activity you do, and every unexpected event that happens on the job.

Ask if they prefer a half hour weekly meeting, or a 5-minute daily check in.  Make sure you can meet in a way that is convenient for everybody’s schedule. 

More importantly, however, is finding out what kindof communicators the parents are.  For this, consider asking more general questions that further illustrate the parents’ personalities, what kind of people they are and how they communicate to someone holding the nanny position.  Find out what they do for a living, and what they do for fun.  Be direct: ask them whether they would describe themselves as “strict” or “easy going” – parents will appreciate being given the opportunity to clarify their expectations of their nanny.  

4. What Should I know About Health and Safety in this Household?
Find out any and all special health conditions, and medical needs of the children.  Most importantly, find out what specific responsibilities will be expected of you – administering medication, emergency preparedness, overall knowledge of certain conditions, etc.

The children could have any of a wide variety of medical needs, ranging from mild asthma to epilepsy.  Use the interview to develop a strong sense of the difficulty involved in maintaining the children’s health and safety in this home. 

When asking about overall household safety, remember to approach the family with a blank slate.  You may have been raised with extreme health and safety consciousness, or you may have held nanny positions in the past with safety-minded employers.  Your potential employers could still have a much more relaxed attitude. 

Find out if they have a fully stocked first aid kit available, and where it is stored.  Ask them about preparedness for a natural disaster?  No matter how easy-going your potential employer is, it’s important that you, the nanny, be well-prepared for emergencies.

5. What, exactly, will my duties be?
This is probably one of the most concrete questions you will need to have answered.  There are a wide variety of nanny positions, and parents’ expectations vary as well.  It is highly recommended that you and the family concretize the nanny duties in the nanny contract.  For now, ask them to be as comprehensive as possible.  Take notes.  While the interview probably won’t be a contract-writing session, this is your opportunity to get a thorough idea of what the family is expecting.  If the duties mentioned seem out of your comfort zone, then let the family know.  They may be open to reaching a happy compromise.
 
Finally, remember that while online nanny referral services and nanny agencies provide a helpful resource for connecting good families with good nannies, nanny agencies should never be considered the final word on which family is best for you.  The prospects for each relationship must be determined by you, your needs, goal and feelings towards the family.  Even if a family has a stellar record with nanny agencies, you’ll want to learn as much about your potential employers during the interview.  

6. Nanny background checks
Many families will want to do a nanny background check before they hire. This is a very good sign since it means they are serious about hiring you. In order to make yourself really stand out, ask the family if they would like to do one you are willing. And, if you want to go step further order your own nanny background report. The cost is minimal and the payoff could be tremendous. Wouldn’t you like to know what it looks like too?