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Hiring a nanny can be a trying experience, whether your leaving your child for the first time or if your just looking for a new one. We need to be very careful about who we allow to keep our children and some basic questions are in order before this happens. Here are ten interview questions to start with that may help in deciding on the future nanny of your child.
1. What kind of experience do you have with children, either your own or others? The experience of the interviewees is very important in your consideration of an appropriate Nanny, whether she has only kept her own children or has had experience with others children. Many kinds of experiences would be helpful, such as nursery worker at a church, day care worker, home babysitter, etc.
2. Why should I trust you with my children? Trust is an issue of utmost importance. Whether or not you can trust someone depends on the honesty and integrity. Listen carefully to how the interviewees answers this one.
3. Can you provide references for children you have kept in the past? Usually two or three references are acceptable, but in some cases if the potential nanny has not worked before, this may not be possible. If not, get personal references from a pastor, friend, or other qualified adult.
4. What forms of discipline do you employ? Discipline can become an issue of importance, especially if the nanny employs forms of discipline that you are not comfortable with, such as corporal punishment or isolation techniques like time outs in an isolated place.
5. What is your education level? Education level may or may not be important to you, but a more educated person may offer a good deal more enlightenment to your child’s younger years.
6. What can you teach my child? If the potential nanny has had some experience teaching children, whether in a Sunday School class, daycare, or other setting, it could be a great benefit to your child in the early years of development.
7. What is your religion and would you use it as a basis for teaching my child your faith? Generally you want to stick as close a possible to your own faith if there is potential for the nanny to share her faith with your child, but this may not be a problem if you’re open minded.
8. Have you ever been accused of child abuse? This is an important question because if someone has been accused, there is a potential for abuse to happen to your child. But be careful with this one, because not everyone who has been accused is guilty of offense. With the system as it is, anyone can accuse anyone, without any proof of real abuse.
9. If so, can you provide substantiation that it’s not true? The potential nanny’s side of the story should be considered if there was an accusation in her past. If she can back up her side with substantiation, that’s better.
10. Were you abused as a child? This question is relevant, because some children who were abused will become abusers. But only about a third of them do, so don’t automatically condemn.
About mamaheartfilled
I am a mother of eight wonderfully challenging children and fourteen grandkids, of whom I am very proud. I am also a bi-vocational ordained evangelical minister, and a Christian Counselor. I received my B.S. degree in 2004, studying primarily in the areas of Psychology, with minors in Religion and English. I received my Masters Degree in 2009 in Psychological Counseling with an emphasis in Christian Counseling. I have endeavored to paraphrase the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. It is my hope that it will be of some use in the great commission of Christ. My ministry is primarily geared toward victims of sexual and domestic violence, including victims of childhood sexual abuse, whether currently or in the past. Since I have personally experienced the healing hand of God in overcoming many of the life issues that Christians may face, I feel qualified and compelled to discuss them in a truthful and open manner, as God’s word tells us that “We shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free.” God has brought me through such diverse tribulations as sexual, physical, and mental abuse, being a victim of a drunk driving accident, spousal pornography addiction, adultery, divorce, remarriage, a very brief, though unjust, incarceration, and having experienced multiple miscarriages and various other trials. I have been asked to leave two Southern Baptist Churches, due to my being a female, ordained as a minister, and fired from a SBC sponsored Christian School (mostly white) for speaking out against racial prejudice in the Family of God. Through God’s merciful forgiveness of my own sins and inadequacies and God’s grace given to me to forgive those who have been a stumbling block to me, I have overcome many of these adversities. God’s word tells us that “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to the purposes of God." Since I have this hope, I believe that God has blessed me with the ability to confront and relate these issues to the Christian community around the world. I hope to be able to use my personal experiences as a ministry of God’s grace and in the comforting of the people of God with the truth of God's mercy. I claim II Corinthians 1: 3 & 4 as my calling, which states: “Blessed be God, the Origin of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Origin of mercies, and the God of comfort; who comforts us in all our troubles, that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble, by the comfort we ourselves have been given by God.” As I have received the gift of God’s healing, I hope to be able to bring the peace beyond understanding to others with the message of God’s mercy and grace. My love for the Sovereign Lord of my life, Jesus Christ, along with my passion for writing has drawn me to explore these commonly experienced crisis issues from the perspective of my own experience in the hope that I may bring an empathetic and compassionate insight to God’s people. I am now a published author and have several books in publication, including my autobiography, "A Little Redneck Theology." The views expressed in my writings are strictly my own insights, acquired from personal experience and diligent study of the related topics and God’s word concerning them. Though I am an ordained minister, my views should not be considered authoritative. I believe that the Christian community’s ultimate authority is the guidance of the human heart by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
Go Fish Ministries, Inc 
i am sorry to be so blunt but your last question is an outrageous invasion of privacy.
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The potential nanny can always refuse to answer as she has that right. But it’s a parent responsibility to protect their children. The question is relevant because many who were abused have the potential to abuse others, though this is not necessarily the case. I was myself sexually abused but have not sexually abused others. I have had to answer this question myself on applications for church work and other settings involving children. It’s pretty much standard on most applications now.
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