How to Find a Nanny Without Turning It Into Your Second Full Time Job
You need a nanny.
How hard can it be?
Post the job.
Find a few people who seem great.
Schedule some interviews.
Call a couple of references.
Run a background check.
Hire your favorite.
Simple, right?
Sometimes.
But after more than 20 years working directly with families as a professional nanny and household manager, I can tell you that finding people interested in becoming your nanny usually isn't the hardest part.
Figuring out who should become your nanny is.
If you're wondering how to find a nanny you can genuinely trust with your children, your home, your routines, and a very personal part of your life, there is a lot more worth considering than whether someone has a nice résumé and gives a great interview.
Let's talk about what actually goes into finding the right person.
How to Find a Nanny When Everyone Looks Great on Paper
You post a nanny position and the applications start coming in.
One candidate has ten years of experience.
Another has worked with children the same ages as yours.
Someone else has a degree in education.
And another writes an introduction that makes you immediately think, This could be the one.
This is where many parents discover the first challenge of figuring out how to find a nanny.
A résumé tells you where someone has worked.
It doesn't necessarily tell you how they worked.
Were they dependable?
How did they communicate when something went wrong?
How did they handle boundaries?
Did they take initiative or constantly need direction?
How did they respond to a child having a difficult day?
Why did their previous positions actually end?
Would their former employer enthusiastically hire them again?
There is a big difference between reviewing someone's childcare history and understanding the caregiver behind it.
How to Find a Nanny Who Actually Fits Your Family
There isn't one universally perfect nanny.
There is a nanny who may be fantastic for your family and completely wrong for another.
That distinction matters.
A highly structured household may thrive with a caregiver who loves schedules, organization, and predictability.
Another family may need someone flexible who can comfortably roll with a schedule that changes every five minutes.
A child who is slow to warm up may need a completely different personality than an outgoing child who wants constant engagement.
A family navigating divorce and two households may need someone exceptionally neutral, consistent, and emotionally aware.
A child with additional needs may require experience that goes far beyond traditional childcare.
And a parent juggling a demanding career may realize they don't simply need a nanny at all.
They may need someone capable of functioning as a nanny and household manager.
This is one of the biggest things I wish more parents understood when learning how to find a nanny:
You aren't looking for the best nanny. You're looking for the right nanny for your family.
How to Find a Nanny Without Falling in Love With the Interview
This happens more than you might think.
You meet someone.
Conversation flows beautifully.
They are warm, engaging, and easy to talk to.
You can picture them with your children.
Done.
Except interviewing well and nannying well are not necessarily the same skill.
A strong nanny interview should help you understand how someone thinks, communicates, solves problems, handles stress, approaches discipline, responds to changing circumstances, and works alongside parents.
Instead of only asking:
“What ages have you worked with?”
You want to uncover:
“What would you do if...?”
“Tell me about a time when...”
“How have you handled...?”
“What did you learn from...?”
The difference is subtle but important.
You aren't simply confirming experience.
You're trying to understand judgment.
This is where our 20 years in the industry proves the importance of knowing who is a great interviewer and who will let the ball drop when it comes to your children.
How to Find a Nanny You Can Trust: References Matter
Calling references shouldn't simply be:
“Did she work for you?”
“Was she good?”
“Would you recommend her?”
Those questions will tell you something, but they don't tell you nearly enough.
A meaningful professional reference conversation can help uncover how the nanny functioned inside the household.
Was she punctual?
How did she communicate?
How much direction did she need?
What were her greatest strengths?
Was there anything the family had to coach her on?
How did she handle conflict?
How did the children respond to her?
Why did the position end?
Would the family hire her again?
And sometimes what isn't said matters just as much as what is.
A reference check should help confirm that the person you're considering is consistent with the person you met during the interview.
How to Find a Nanny Safely: A Background Check Is Not Just a Checkbox
“Background checked” sounds reassuring.
But what exactly was checked?
That is a question worth asking.
A thorough nanny vetting process can involve identity verification, criminal record searches, driving history, employment verification, professional references, and other screenings depending on the position.
At Premier Nanny Network, background screening is only one part of the vetting process because a clean report doesn't tell you whether someone communicates well, exercises good judgment, respects boundaries, or is the right fit for your family.
Those pieces come from looking at the whole person, not one report.
How to Find a Nanny Means Knowing What You Need First
Here is something parents don't always expect:
Sometimes the nanny search goes wrong before the first candidate ever applies.
Why?
Because the family hasn't clearly defined the job.
You may start by thinking:
“I need someone to take care of my kids.”
But what does that actually mean in your household?
School transportation?
Children's laundry?
Meal preparation?
Homework support?
Activities?
Travel?
Household organization?
Errands?
Pet care?
Schedule management?
Support for a child with additional needs?
Two households?
Evening flexibility?
The clearer you are about what your family actually needs, the easier it becomes to recognize someone who can realistically provide it.
Otherwise, you may hire someone for one job and slowly discover that what you actually needed was something entirely different.
How to Find a Nanny Is Only Half the Process
Let's say you found her.
Great!
Now comes the employment side.
Compensation needs to be established.
Hours need to be clearly defined.
Responsibilities need to be agreed upon.
You need to discuss PTO, paid holidays, guaranteed hours, sick time, overtime when applicable, payroll, expectations, boundaries, communication, and what happens when circumstances change.
A written work agreement helps both the family and nanny understand the relationship from the beginning.
And there is another piece parents sometimes don't realize when they begin researching how to hire a nanny: in most traditional in home nanny arrangements, the nanny is a household employee rather than an independent contractor. Families may therefore have payroll and household employment tax responsibilities.
The IRS specifically identifies nannies as household employees when the family controls not only what work is performed but how the work is performed.
In other words, hiring your nanny isn't quite the same as paying the teenager down the street to babysit Saturday night.
Don't worry, Premier Nanny Network has already made the contracts and partners with a payroll company to keep you organized right from the start.
So...How Do You Find a Good Nanny Without Making This Your Second Job?
Now you can probably see why “just find a nanny” can turn into quite the project.
There are applications to review.
Interviews to conduct.
References to verify.
Background screening to complete.
Compensation to research.
Compatibility to evaluate.
Employment expectations to establish.
And through all of it, you're trying to answer one very important question:
Can I trust this person with my child?
This is exactly why professional nanny agencies exist.
Not because parents aren't capable of finding a nanny themselves.
But because there is a difference between having access to candidates and having an experienced professional help you determine who actually belongs in your home.
How Premier Nanny Network Helps Families Find the Right Nanny
At Premier Nanny Network, the process starts with your family.
Not a database.
Not a stack of résumés.
Not whoever happens to be available.
I want to understand your children, your household, your schedule, your expectations, your challenges, your communication style, and what would genuinely make life easier.
From there, the goal is to find someone whose experience and personality align with what your family actually needs.
Candidates go through a detailed vetting process that looks beyond what appears on paper, including interviews, professional references, employment history, communication and character assessment, background screening, driving history when applicable, and overall compatibility with the family and position.
Because after more than two decades in this industry, I don't believe successful nanny placement comes down to simply checking boxes.
It comes down to the match.
How to Find a Nanny: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to find a good nanny?
Start by clearly defining what your family needs before evaluating candidates. Experience matters, but personality, communication, reliability, judgment, expectations, and compatibility with your household are equally important.
Should I use a nanny agency to find a nanny?
Some families successfully conduct their own nanny search. Others prefer working with a professional nanny agency to handle recruiting, screening, reference checks, background screening, matching, and guidance through the hiring process. The right approach depends on how much of the process you want to manage yourself.
How do I know if a nanny is trustworthy?
There is no single screening tool that can answer that question. Look at the complete picture, including professional history, detailed references, background screening, driving history when relevant, interview responses, consistency of information, communication, judgment, and how the candidate interacts with your family.
Should I run a background check on a nanny?
Yes. Background screening should be part of a broader vetting process rather than the only step used to evaluate a caregiver.
Is a nanny an employee or an independent contractor?
In a typical arrangement where a nanny works in your home and you control what work is performed and how it is performed, the IRS generally considers the nanny a household employee. Families should understand the federal and state employment requirements that apply to their individual situation.
Before You Start Your Nanny Search
If you're thinking about hiring a nanny but aren't quite sure where to begin, I created What Every Parent Should Know Before Hiring a Nanny to help you think beyond the résumé and understand what really matters before bringing someone into your home.
Get Your Free Guide
And if you're ready for someone to take the search off your plate, Premier Nanny Network provides nationwide nanny and household care placement for families looking for something more personal than a résumé match.
About the Author
Brynn Ungerleider
Brynn Ungerleider is the Founder and Owner of Premier Nanny Network, a nationwide nanny and household care placement agency built from more than 20 years of firsthand experience working inside families' homes.
Long before helping families hire caregivers, Brynn was the caregiver.
Her background as a professional nanny and household manager gave her an inside perspective that can't be learned simply by recruiting candidates. She understands what makes a nanny successful once the interview is over, the contract is signed, the parents leave for work, and real family life begins.
Throughout more than two decades in private childcare and household management, Brynn has seen how much trust families place in the person caring for their children and how deeply the right caregiver can affect the stability of an entire household.
Today, she brings that experience to every Premier Nanny Network search.
Her work goes beyond traditional nanny placement, with particular experience supporting busy professional households, families navigating divorce and care across two homes, children with special needs, household management needs, and families seeking private elder care.
Brynn's philosophy is simple: families deserve more than someone who looks qualified on paper. They deserve someone who truly fits their family.
That firsthand experience is what continues to guide Premier Nanny Network's approach to recruiting, vetting, matching, and supporting families nationwide.
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