Last updated February 2025
Looking for someone to care for your mini-me while you work? While daycares and preschools suit many working parents, others want the at-your-house flexibility of a nanny. But finding a trustworthy one can be as complex as getting your three-year-old to eat his green vegetables. Here are some ways to make it easier.
Determine what you’re looking for. Do you want live-in help? Someone to watch your toddler while you work part time? Would you like a nanny who can drive/do light housekeeping/cooking? Do you have a special needs child or other specific requirements (Must speak French? Has a driver’s license?) Be as specific as possible about what you’re ISO to assure you don’t get too far along in in the hiring process only to find your dream candidate is actually a bad fit.
Be careful where you find them. A nanny placement agency might be your safest bet for a vetted, experienced childcare provider, but fees can be high. You can try recommendations from friends, neighborhood list serves or parents’ groups. But be wary of sourcing the person on Craigslist or a similar website. It’s not that you can’t find a good employee this way, but you’ll want to run extra checks on an unknown person.
Ask for a resume and references. Even if a potential nanny just provides a list of who they have worked for and how long, that’ll give you an idea of their level of experience and expertise. Before even calling in candidates for interviews, check those references, too. Ask past employers about the candidate’s timeliness, responsibility level and honesty. What did they like or not like about the person? Why did the nanny leave?
Interview them in person. Once you’ve found a potential candidate (or three), set up a time to chat with your would-be Mary Poppins. Take note of how the person interacts with you, and ask lots of questions. What age kids have they been in charge of before? How many? Does they have special skills—CPR certification, languages, an education background—that could benefit your offspring? And if your gut instinct tells you it’s a bad fit, trust it.
Give them a test run. If a potential nanny has passed your interview and background checks, ask them over for lunch or coffee to meet your little ones. You also might want to have the possible employee babysit a few times and see how it goes. Determining how the candidate interacts with their possible charges might be the most important test of all.
Give yourself the right amount of time. You’ll want to give yourself a few weeks, or perhaps a month or more, to search (or place) ads, interview job seekers, run background checks, and work out logistics. But, don’t give yourself too much of a window—if you plan too far in advance, your best candidates might fill the time by finding work with another family.
Conduct a criminal background check. Ask the candidate for permission to verify his or her employment history, education, and criminal background history. There are multiple online services that you can use, including enannysource.com, BackgroundReport.com, and Checkr.com.
Talking and thinking money. Once you’re ready to make a hire, ask friends or parenting boards what the going hourly rate is for nannies in your area. According to Care.comy’s 2025 Cost of Care Survey, the average posted nanny rates averaged $827 per week, or about $20.68 per hour, for one child. That number might be higher or lower depending on where you live, how many kids need to be nannied, and on the nanny’s level of experience.
Taxes. Keep in mind that hiring a nanny means you’ll have legal responsibilities associated with being an employer, including verifying that the nanny is eligible to work in the U.S., withholding Social Security and Medicare taxes and paying the employer’s share of those taxes, paying unemployment insurance taxes, and buying workers’ compensation insurance. It’s a complicated process; for detailed info, check our article on hiring a housecleaner; the legal requirements we describe there are the same for nanny employers.
Put it all in writing. Create a clear job description of expectations, duties, hours, pay, and benefits, and put it in writing.
