Making the decision to have someone come into your home to care for your child is an extremely big decision and you have to take several things into account. One of the most important questions that most people have is how do I know that my child is safe with the nanny? Do you just let anyone into your home? When someone comes to your door to sell you something and they ask to come in what do you say? For most people they don’t let just anyone come into their home, and if they do they take precautions to make sure they know they will be safe with them in their own home. Finding someone to care for your children is a similar process, you have to take certain precautions. Ask yourself those same questions. Do you just let anyone take care of your children? If you meet someone at the park and they say they are a nanny and have years of experience working with children, would you offer them a position right there? In most cases you wouldn’t, you would take the necessary precautions to make sure your children were safe with this person. When you decide to find a nanny or hire someone to find the right person to care for your children in your home, you need to make sure that you or the agency doesn’t just pick anyone. There needs to be extreme measures taken to make sure they are a right fit for your family and that they will keep your children safe from any harm. When searching for candidates to become your next nanny, you or the agency needs to put the nanny through an intense interview process. Start off by researching a person’s experience and qualifications. If they meet the qualifications and experience that you require then begin a background inquiry. When you first meet someone, do you have the desire to want to know more about them? Where they came from? What type of lifestyle they live? What interests do they have? What type of person they are? Are they someone you can trust? These are the things that you should want to know about a nanny before you have them come into your home and care for your children. A background check should be run to ensure that the individual is not involved in any criminal activity before they are hired and while they are caring for your children. You should contact past employers, and ask for three to five childcare references. When you or the company you hire interview an individual for the first time you should review and analyze the candidates behavior. Do they show that they have little or no patience? Do they possess anger problems? Are they willing to get on your child’s level and play? Do they seem nervous when asking about past employers? Do they show good communication skills? These are all things you need to take into account when choosing the best caretaker for your children. If you had to choose a nanny for your family and you had been given two different persons and you only had a few minutes to speak with them and then you had to choose. What would you do? You don’t know much about each person and you only have heard that they are both good people. You would go with your instincts, correct? In finding a great nanny you can take all the precautions you can by finding out as much information as possible about the person. But in the end it’s going to be on instincts and how you feel around them. If they seem safe with all the information that has been given to you but when you meet them your instincts say don’t do it, you’re less likely to pick them to care for your children. If you don’t feel comfortable around them then why would your children? Some nannies that you will come across are good people that are great around children but do they know what to do in a crisis? Are they CPR certified? Do they know first-aid? Do they know not to shake a baby? Are they trained in first-aid? Do they know the safe sleep practices for children? All nannies should be pre-screened and you should make sure they have knowledge about child care and not just experience. The most important thing is making sure you and your children feel safe with the nanny that you have chosen or is provided for you. It doesn’t just end when you introduce yourself to them. Make it a point to keep on top of the concepts that were discussed in this article to ensure the safety of you and your family.