Trusting another person besides yourself to take care of your children is hard. However, knowing where to find reputable nannies and babysitters is even more difficult. Once you find one, you need to figure out how to hire them.
To help make the process easier, here is how and where to hire a nanny or babysitter. Since it’s such an important decision, you should make it carefully.
Where to Find a Nanny or Babysitter
By Recommendation
Asking friends and family for help or recommendations is the first place anyone should go.
When it comes to choosing a nanny or babysitter, getting a recommendation from someone you know well and trust most is the best option for all parties involved. However, some people may not want to mix business with friendship or family.
Care.com
Care.com is an online platform made specifically for those seeking care providers. The site offers plenty of services, including nanny and babysitting services.
To help pick the right professional for the job, it offers a background checking service called CareCheck. So, you can sleep easy at night knowing whoever you decide to hire is vetted and trustworthy.
Angi
Angi, formerly known as Angie’s List, is one of the top-performing platforms for home services. Although the site doesn’t specialize in care provider services, you can find local individuals seeking employment in the childcare field.
Angi uses a third-party background check service to ensure all their job seekers are reputable and safe.
UrbanSitter
UrbanSitter is an online care provider platform that allows parents and guardians to find reputable nannies and babysitters in their area.
The great thing about this platform is that you just need to pay through the app and UrbanSitter will handle the rest. This takes out the guess work of writing up payment related contracts, which leaves less room for error.
All nannies and babysitters get a thorough background check before being accepted onto UrbanSitter.
Sittercity
The aptly named Sittercity platform offers childcare services from local providers. To find a nanny or babysitter, you can place a free ad on the website that care providers can respond to.
The downside to Sittercity is that the site does not perform background checks.
How to Hire a Nanny or a Babysitter
Interview Candidates
Once nannies and babysitters reply to your advertisements and inquiries on the previously mentioned platforms, it is best to conduct interviews. That way, you can make sure that the care provider is up to your standards.
If possible, you will want to interview more than one candidate. This will give you options and guarantee you are making the best choice.
To help you narrow down your list of candidates, ask the important questions. These include:
- Do you have previous childcare experience?
- What are your views on disciplining children?
- What hours are you available?
- Do you have any special skills?
- Do you have a reliable mode of transportation?
- Do you have a criminal record?
- Are you certified to perform CPR?
- What would you do in case of an emergency?
Also, make sure to ask questions that suit the needs of you and your children. Each family is different and requires different forms of care.
Discuss Payment
After interviewing candidates and choosing the best of the group, it’s time to discuss payment.
Payment will depend upon each individual. Their established rates and required skills all play a part.
Organize Tax Paperwork
If you choose to hire a nanny and not a babysitter, you must fill out tax forms.
Contrary to popular belief, nannies are not independent contractors. No matter how many hours they work, whether it be a small or large amount, they are considered employees. As such, you will need to provide your new employee with the following forms:
- I-9: Employment eligibility verification.
- W-4: How much money will need to be deducted for taxes.
- W-3: Transmittal of wage and tax statements.
- W-2: Report of wages and tax money withheld.
For further information, be sure to check with your state’s rules and regulations for hiring employees.
Look Into Insurance Coverage
Contact your insurance company to see what options are available for your new employee. Each insurance company and plan are different. As such, it’s best to know what you can offer before creating a contract.
Create a Contract
Creating a contract is essential for a multitude of reasons. Your contract should discuss specific details, including payment, liability matters, terms, and conditions.
If you need help formatting and creating a contract, there are plenty of free templates online. You can customize the templates to suit your needs. Some platforms also have contracts built into their system. However, those typically only discuss payment dealings.
If possible, have a lawyer review the contract to make sure it’s legally and structurally sound. It is crucial to cover all your bases and ensure there are no loopholes if an issue were to arise.
Schedule
So, you have interviewed candidates, discussed payment, organized tax paperwork, got insurance coverage, and signed a contract. Now, you are ready to schedule.
The hours needed from your new employee should have already been agreed upon during the interview stage.
Conclusion
Hiring someone to take care of your children is a serious matter. It should not be a quick and impulsive decision. Always have an interview with prospective candidates and make sure a thorough background check has been conducted by you or the job platform.
Keeping your children safe and sound is the top priority. So, continue to do research and find out which options are best suited for your family.