The successful candidate should have formal childcare training and/or many years of experience (several of which should be with multiples) They should also be very patient flexible, organized and have excellent communication skills.
Written and oral communication skills and organizational ability are some of the most important skills to access when screening a nanny to care for infant twins or triplets. One of the challenges when caring for multiples is developing and following an efficient routine. It is also important to maintain an inventory of supplies in various locations throughout the house. The caregiver must be very organized and capable of keeping a journal.
Triplets are usually born premature and may have some health issues. They may spend some time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after birth. Because of this, it is often necessary to hire someone with a nursing background or extensive first aid training
As the children get older and more independent the job becomes a little easier. They play together and entertain themselves. Because they do everything at the same time and are at the same developmental stage it is easy for caregiver to plan activities throughout the day. Caring for twins or triplets is a lot of work no doubt about it, but it is also a lot fun!

If your nanny lacks certain skills that are teachable there is a possibility that, with an effort on their part and patience from your end, these problems may be dealt with. For example if your nanny is not a good cook and cooking is an important part of the job you may want to send her to cooking class. If, however, the problems stem from her personality or life style (as with non teachable issues) then it is less likely that you will have success.
Some issues like reliability, if address immediately, can improve with effort from the caregiver and good communication skills from the employer. But a nanny’s energy level and outlook on life is certainly more difficult to address as these are life style and personal issues that are often hard to change and may involve too much time and effort on behalf of the employer. After all your priority is to employ a nanny who is suitable for your family and can provide safe and engaging play for your children.
Common sense dictates that these issues should be addressed during the interview and screening stage of your nanny search but sometimes people can present very well in an interview yet their job performance is not in keeping with this original assessment. There are two ways to avoid this type of problem. The first is to be very diligent and thorough when checking references. Ask the previous employer specific questions with regard to areas that are very important to you. Ask about personality and how the nanny bonded with the children. Secondly, it is always wise to have the short listed candidate come back after the initial interview to spend time with the children. This will give you an opportunity to see them interact with your children in your home and view their response to her.
Unfortunately even with diligence and thoroughness there are often times when you realize the nanny you have hired is not right for your family. Though this may be a very stressful experience for both your family and your nanny it can also be a learning experience which will provide you with additional tools to recruit and screen applicants in the future.

These changes will also protect live in caregivers from exploitation by prohibiting employers from using employment agencies that charge caregivers fees for their services.

Families and Nannies do have other alternatives. There are websites that do provide the same service as most of these agencies. These sites charge less than $100. Canada Immigration does a thorough interview of each applicant so it is not necessary to pay an agency an exorbitant fee for this service.

The are also some challenges when employing a live in nanny that should be addressed.
1.Most live in nannies are on the “live in Caregiver program” which means you must apply to Service Canada so that the offer of employment can be assessed. This can be a time consuming and confusing process which involves approval from three government agencies. For more information regarding this process please go to

http://www.opti-mum.com/overseas-paperwork-processing.html

2.Although it is nice for your nanny to become a member of your family there are sometimes problematic issues with regard to privacy for both your family and your nanny. If you do not have private self-contained accommodation your nanny will be living in your home using your kitchen and coming and going on her time off. If is important to set some clear guidelines with regard to her having friends and family over to visit or stay in your home.

3.If your live in nanny is from another country she may get lonely and rack up an extensive phone bill. She may also lack a social life and may need assistance and guidance with regard to networking in the community to make contacts. It is a good ideas to hire someone who already has an established social life and/or supportive family near by and will not rely on you to solely provide this for her.
In both live in and live out arrangements the most important issue is two way communication before and during your nanny’s employment with your family. Clearly explain your family life style and house rules when you are making the employment offer. This will decrease the likelihood of misunderstanding and miscommunication and will ultimately lead to a more successful employment arrangement

Being underpaid.: This is one of the main reasons a nanny will start to look for employment elsewhere. Unfortunately they are often not confident enough to bring up their concerns regarding this matter. It is important to pay your nanny based on the market rate, their experience and education and the job description. If this does not happen she may feel under valued from the start and may be influenced by peer and family to look for other employment. It is also important to give your nanny pay raises, pay appropriately for over time and give bonuses to let them know you appreciate a job well done. •

Too Much Housework Sometimes employers will ask their nanny to do a great deal of housework. First off, it is important to remember that a nanny is not a housekeeper. She will engage in light housekeeping duties –like general tidy up, laundry, sweeping and simple meal prep. If you want to hire someone to do your housekeeping and take care of your children you can hire a nanny housekeeper. It is important to remember that even a nanny housekeeper cannot and should not be expected to do heavy housework if she has young children to care for and there is no time to do the housekeeping safely. If your children are older and in school, or if you have one child who sleeps a lot, there is time for housework. If you are a mom or dad at home and you will be taking care of the children for scheduled periods then housekeeping expectations are acceptable. In the nanny interview make sure the applicant has an opportunity to discuss what they are willing and not willing to do when it comes to homework. Tell her what your expectation are and when you would like this work to be done. Once your nanny or nanny housekeeper has started, make sure you have a clear job description and stick to it. We often receive complaints from nannies who say they are asked to do more and more housekeeping tasks that where not originally agreed upon.

No free time or privacy: When you have a live-in nanny, she will be living in your home but she will need her own time and privacy. It is important that you do not assume she is available to work beyond her work hours with little or no notice and without additional pay. Make sure you tell your children that your nanny’s living area is her private space and they should not be entering it unless they are invited. Your nanny needs her time off to rest and relax so she can come to work feeling refreshed and enthusiastic.

Communication Breakdown: It is extremely important to have open and honest two way communication with your nanny. If this does not occur small issues can become problematic very quickly. Make sure you are very clear with your nanny about what you expect with regard to this issue. Encourage them to come to you if they have a problem or concern. It is a good idea to keep a nanny journal. This allows both you and your nanny to communicate clearly and avoid sticky notes and forgotten verbal instruction. It is also important to have regular follow-up meetings with your nanny (when the children are not around.) These should happen daily and /or weekly in the first three months of employment. At the three month point it is a good idea to do a formal review. You can download a performance evaluation from our website. The evaluation focuses on areas the nanny is excelling and areas where some improvement is required. Keep the tone of this review positive and allow your nanny ample opportunity to give feedback and discuss their concerns.

The Interview
Once you have short- listed to a small number of applicants, send them a detailed job description before you start to interview. This will allow you to spend less time talking about job details and more time listening as the candidate discusses qualifications and experience. While interviewing, pay attention to past experience. Remember, the best way to predict future behavior is to examine past behavior. Creating behavioral- based interview questions will help you assess the applicant’s childcare knowledge.
Safety, discipline philosophy, creativity, time management, nutrition, organizational ability and communication styles are important subjects to consider. Here.are some questions you might ask:
• Tell me about a time when you were caring for a child who was acting out. What steps did you take to address this behavior?
• In your previous nanny positions what type of activities did you plan and provide for the children?
• Can you describe a time in a previous position when you had a conflict with an employer and what steps you took to rectify the situation?
During the interview it is important to verify information from the resume. Try to follow up a yes or no answer with an open-ended question in order to gather more information. Discuss your childcare philosophy only after you have asked the applicant these questions. Otherwise they may answer in a way that is compromised by their knowledge of your preferences. Ask all candidates the same questions in order to make comparisons based on the same criteria.
Although it is important to incorporate the children in the interview process it is less distracting for you and the candidate if you conduct the information gathering portion of the interview while the children are being taken care of by someone else. They can meet the candidate near the end of the interview. You might also ask the nanny to come back and spend a few hours with your children on a different day. This will give you a sense of how the nanny and children will interact.
Finally it is also important to trust your instincts. Balance facts gathered in the interview with your intuition. Sometimes you just know when an applicant is the right one, (or the wrong one.).

When we follow up with our clients and nannies once their employment relationship has begun sometimes there are problems to address in the first three to four months. The most prevalent problem I encounter is a break down in communication.

We always recommend that both our clients and nannies take a business approach to their employment relationship at the core of which is establishing an employment contract. Other helpful aids are a nanny journal, childcare profiles and scheduled brief meetings to discuss the position (including a three month performance review).

Employment contract
Such an agreement should limit misunderstandings regarding employment conditions, making sure that all parties are on the same page now and in the future. Issues covered in the employment contract can include salary, benefits, hours of work, main duties and responsibilities, vacation entitlements, use of a vehicle and travel with the family.

Nanny Journal
Most nannies we interview like the idea of using a nanny journal. The purpose of this journal is to encourage communication between employer and employee.
If this isn’t possible introduce a diary system which allows the nanny to record the events of the day including appointments, meals, social outings, sleep times and medications as well as the child’s developmental steps.

Child profile
A child profile is designed to ease your child and your nanny through the initial transition period. You can download this form directly form our website if you are a member. These forms address the child’s eating habits, preferred activities, sleeping routine and the parent’s philosophy with regard to discipline, safety and nutrition

Schedule brief meetings
Many nannies cite poor communication as a reason for leaving a position. So it is important to take time at the beginning and the end of each day (in the first two weeks) to meet with your nanny briefly. If possible do this when the children are not able to hear this discussion, especially if they are older. After this initial period is over consider a weekly review which involves an informal discussion allowing both parties to give and receive feedback.

Provide positive feedback and praise for a job well done; conversely, if you are unhappy in any way with the nannies performance, discuss this immediately.
These meeting can gradually become less frequent as your confidence and trust in your nanny increases over time.

Although all of the above suggestions are useful it is important, during the interview and screening period to thoroughly assess your nanny with regard to her communication skills. You may want to ask situational questions to asses the applicant’s ability to communicate. Discuss a negative scenario that you may have experienced with past caregivers and ask the applicant how they would handle the situation and communicate to resolve it. When checking references always ask how the nanny communicated with the parents and the children.
Open and honest communication is extremely important in any employment situation. It is especially important when you hire a nanny. Small misunderstanding can often lead to more problematic ones due to lack of communication.

Unfortunately it is often very difficult to know if your nanny is using the phone and employers often must rely on a somewhat unreliable source –their children.

This is a difficult situation as it also puts the children in a position that could be detrimental to their relationship with their nanny.

If you think your nanny may be phone-obsessed to the point of it being dangerous for your kids than this issue must be addressed immediately. Talking on the phone too much means she is likely too distracted to keep track of your children. The following tips could help resolve this problem

• Make sure you are very clear about your position (as an employer)with regard to phone use (both home and cell)
• If your nanny is a live in and you think she will be making long distance calls make sure the nanny and you have an arrangement with regard phone use to payment. It is wise to have this agreement in your employment contract
• Purchase a cell phone that you will pay for or offer to pay for. Make sue it is in your name so you get the bill. This way you can see what calls are being made to your nanny and what calls she is making during her work hours
• If you have no other alternative you can carefully ask the children if they have seen their nanny talk on the phone but make sure you do it in a casual way so your children do not know you are concerned about this issue

Finally it is obvious that being direct and honest is always the best approach if you think your nanny is speaking on the phone too much especially if you think it is effecting the quality of care she is providing to the children. This can be a difficult and sensitive situation but you certainly do not want to get to the point where your children and neighbors are spying for you