Past Tense

Not many things are more upsetting than discovering that your child has been abused, in any way, by your babysitter. People think that to be a babysitter means you must be a nice person. WRONG! Some of the nicest people turned out to be Serial Killers, so don’t ever give a Babysitter the benefit of the doubt. Unless you have a good friend and neighbor who happens to be an experienced nanny, the best place to go for prospective childcare providers are nanny agencies. These agencies usually perform preliminary background checks – education, experience, personal references, and even psychological testing – copies of which should be forwarded to you.

Start your search at least 2 to 3 months before you go back to work so you have enough time to make a thoughtful decision. Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations. Before hiring or accepting an offer to baby-sit from relatives or friends, install Hidden spy cam and also be sure they are qualified to care for your child and that you would feel comfortable giving those instructions or disagreeing with them on child-care issues that are important to you. Avoid hiring someone who is looking for something to do until a better offer comes along. To find candidates, check with a local agency that provides training and placement for in-home providers. Ask your doctor for names.

Check child-care ads and place your own help-wanted ad in your local newspaper, local college career services office, and community bulletin board or newsletter. Specify the hours and days you need child care, your child’s age, the general area in which you live (but don’t give your address), and whether or not you want the sitter to live in or have a driver’s license. If you require a nonsmoker, say so. Your child’s caregiver should have training in child development or have experience taking care of children. The caregiver should also appreciate the importance of stimulating your child’s intellectual, social, and emotional development.

He or she should be able to communicate well so your child can build his or her language skills. Your caregiver should respect your philosophy of child rearing and understand that you are the ultimate authority for making decisions about the care of your child. He or she also needs to guide your child’s behavior with positive reinforcement rather than physical punishment. Even if you work with a child-care agency that prescreens candidates, you should participate in the screening process. First, screen candidates over the phone to eliminate those who don’t seem right.

This document should spell out specific duties like house chores, childcare tasks, and use of supplies, provisions for meals, accommodations and transportation, among others. During the first few days of employment, you have to spend time getting acquainted with your nanny like daily conversations and updates, occasional and surprise visits during working hours, and if necessary, scheduled meetings on important matters. Most important of all, you can also install a Teddy bear camera so that you will be able to keep a closer eye on the nanny. With this you should also respect your nanny and show confidence in her abilities. When the time comes, you might even consider spy gears almost disposable and your nanny indispensable!