Nannies 4 Children

Since there is no state or national regulation of ‘babysitters’, choosing the right one for your family is 100% up to you! While performing, or having a personal background check performed can be cumbersome, it is better to be safe than sorry!

Oftentimes if you use an agency to find your babysitter or nanny, they will have already performed a personal background check on the candidate. The only way to know for sure though is to ask the agency what they screen for in their personal background check. Some only check references, others include criminal and driving records. This is why it is so important to ask! Even if the agency performs a personal background check, you may want to conduct your own. The safety of your children depends on it!

Check References in your personal background check

You should check the references of people who have used your potentials child care givers services. Things to ask while conducting your personal background check include:

• How long did they care for the children, and the children’s ages?
• How did you choose her over other providers, what were the sitters duties, and did they have any problem meeting them?
• What do you think overall of this person?
• Was the sitter dependable?
• What are their greatest strengths and weaknesses, why are they not working for you anymore?

Asking those questions in your personal background check will help give you a good idea of how the sitter conducts herself.

Be sure to take into consideration the credibility of each reference while you are conducting your personal background check. For example, the comments of a friend or family member who may not have employed this person as a babysitter are less valuable than those of someone who has seen the sitter in action. Also, parents who have only known the babysitter for a few weeks may be less reliable than those with whom the sitter has worked for a long period of time.

When you speak with references, you can ask if they know of any other parents for whom the babysitter has worked, and then contact those people. These are known as ‘developed references’ and can sometimes yield important information that a prospective sitter might leave out.

Be sure to take notes for each conversation, as it is very easy to forget exactly what was said! Make sure you take their tone of voice in to consideration as well. If they do not sound happy about the person, or seem overly cautious or like they are hiding something, you need a different person!

Additional Personal Background Checks

While conducting your personal background check, some people want to get even more information, especially if they are looking for someone to care for their children on a regular basis. Criminal record and other background checks are becoming increasingly popular as parents look for ways to verify information from prospective caregivers and to uncover anything critical that might have been left out.

Keep in mind that federal law requires all potential employers to obtain written permission for personal background checks from candidates. You should tell a potential babysitter that you plan to do a personal background check and have him or her sign a statement authorizing you do so. Sitters on BabySitters.com can indicate in their profile whether or not they will consent to a background check. If the babysitter is reluctant to cooperate, that may be a sign that he or she has something to hide. Personal Background checks are becoming more and more common for all types of employment, and it is certainly reasonable to want to get as much information as possible before entrusting someone with the care of your children.