On Saturday I posted about my search for the perfect nanny. So where did I find her? The YMCA. Yup – this is the perfect place to start your nanny search. Apparently, they only offer their full-time employees 30 hours or so and many nannies need more than that. So I would recommend you check with several YMCAs in your area. Post ads on their bulletin boards in all areas – women’s bathrooms, the dance studio, etc. Much of the legwork is already done for you since this person already passed a criminal background check at the YMCA. However, make sure you check references and do a complete background check on your own just to be safe. One of my greatest resources for nanny placements is through a woman who was my night nurse (more on night nurses in a future posting) who owns a wonderful nanny service that specializes in night sitting as well as day nanny placements, primarily for mothers of multiples. Another great option is posting an ad on Craig’s List. With technology today, I really think you could easily find a good fit on your own, before you pay big bucks with a nanny service. Again, make sure you initially meet for coffee not at your house because this is just an electronic classifieds list. Anyone can post and you just need to be super safe and make sure this person is for real before you let her into your home. Also, check with Queens College – they have a great babysitting list for $20 and sometimes these girls want to be nannies for a while after graduation. You could also check with the nursing schools at Queens, CPCC or UNCC – these girls are often looking to pick up extra hours, especially with a night nurse position.
There are many important things you need to consider when hiring a nanny. I will share those on Wednesday.
Where did you find YOUR perfect nanny? Please share your tips with our readers. Thanks!
3 comments
We had great luck with the local nanny placement service-Private Placements. After filling out an application with what I was looking for, they sent me 11 resumes with background checks, past family comments and referrals. I then contacted four that I wished to interview and found our match. We have had our nanny since our oldest was born almost 6 years ago. While the upfront finders fee seemed high at the time, looking back it was worth the peace of mind and time saved of finding someone reliable the first time around.For babysitting, we are frequent users of charlotte-care grandmothers. Yes, the girl down the street is cheaper, but I only have to make one phone call with all my dates and times and they do all the work. They can also find someone same day or last minute (one day our nanny was sick and they had someone at my house within a couple of hours).
I have a great babysitter that has actually started her own nanny service called Supernannies. She has nanny candidates for full-time or part-time work. Her name is Courtney Smith. You can reach her at (704) 543-5464.
Both in our previous city (6 years ago) and in Charlotte (3 1/2 years ago) we found wonderful nannies by placing an ad in the newspaper. The trick is to place the ad on Sunday then leave the house all day so they call and leave messages on your answering machine (take your name off of your message.) You can tell a lot just by the brief message they leave, and you can decide which ones to call back. After an over-the-phone conversation, we met the nanny candidates at Chick-Fil-A. That really helps to see how the nanny candidates react to children, chaos, etc.