It is hard to find peace of mind without the personal attention that only a nanny can provide. While you are searching for the right nanny for you, prioritize your needs and expectations.
It is important to know exactly what you want from your nanny, so discuss the matter with your spouse and children as much as possible and make a few basic decisions, before you even begin your search.
First of all, decide whether you are interested in hiring a live-in nanny or a live-out nanny. A live-in nanny stays in your home and is provided with room and board in addition to an appropriate salary. Live-in nannies can provide additional flexibility with working hours, personal attention and closeness, and can also help you manage your home. You do, however, have to make special arrangements to give a live-in nanny privacy, and negotiate your own living space and privacy within the household. Though the benefits to a live-in are clear, this can be difficult to adjust to and requires flexibility on your part, as well as appropriate living space for the nanny. You must also factor in your own needs for privacy.
Live-out nannies provide the same quality care as live-in nannies, but without the drawback of loss of privacy that comes with having a stranger living in your home.
An important consideration in either position is whether you need the nanny to drive and own her own car. Live-in nannies usually are given a car of their own to use throughout the week, both to transport the children and for their own personal use. Live-out nannies often own their own car, though you should factor transportation costs into your nanny's salary and figure how his or her commuting time will affect actual working hours and timeliness.
Another element to consider is nanny-child intimacy. Because it is just as important for your children to spend time away from you and to get to know different types of people as it is for you to maintain your own life outside the home, a live-out nanny can provide a sort of alternate intimacy that live-in nannies are not always capable of. A live-in nanny is a fixed element in the home, while a live-out nanny can provide an alternate space, like a breath of fresh air for your children and you.
Live-out nannies are also already adjusted in their own neighborhoods and homes, and do not have any of the emotional issues that a new live-in nanny often experiences, such as homesickness or a lack of friends in an unfamiliar place. Live-out nannies are childcare providers with already fixed lives, so they can offer a sense of stability and emotional security to your children, even though they are not an ever-present fixture in your home.
Live-out nannies also require some consistency from you. Since they have set hours, they must keep these hours in order to keep up with other obligations apart from your children. Live-out nannies may have families of their own, classes to attend, or other jobs to go to. If you are consistently late coming home, if traffic is a real problem in your area or if your hours are longer than a normal work day, you may need to make arrangements to have a live-in nanny.
There are many benefits to both live-in and live-out nannies. Being aware of the possibilities and being straightforward during the hiring process will ensure that you find the right nanny for your family.