There are absolutely no guarantees and abuses do occur. However, the vast majority of caregivers genuinely care for children and do their utmost for your child's physical and emotional security.
Talk to references. Listen to your own gut reaction. Ask your friends, neighbors, and coworkers for referrals. Inspect the center or home personally. Look at the children. Listen to the children. Are they happy, engaged, interacting with each other, clean? Is the home or center licensed? When was the last inspection? Are programs and meals well planned and appealing? What is the ratio of adults to children? What percentage of staff have completed accreditation programs?
Families hiring a nanny or other in-home care giver accept even more responsibility for insuring the safety of their children and absolutely verifying the background of the person they intend to hire. The family must talk to all references and be very attuned to any unexplained gaps in the candidates work history. If hiring a nanny, strongly consider ordering a background check on your candidate. 4nannies.com and most full service nanny staffing agencies include this in their fee. If using other internet services, word of mouth or the newspaper, these background searches are still available and will generally cost $100 - $200 depending on how it is done. Does s/he have a good driving record, clean criminal conviction history, clean bill of health? Are language skills sufficient to communicate with you? With emergency personnel if needed? Interview the nanny at least once with your child(ren) present. How does s/he react? Does she talk to the child? Cuddle the baby? Ask questions?
CLICK HERE TO ORDER A BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION
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