How to Ease the Transition with your New Nanny

By Kristen Hale, PEPS Community Partner A Nanny for U

Whether you have just hired a nanny for the first time or your current nanny is leaving and a new one will be starting, the transition can be difficult. We have a few helpful tips that will help ease the transition for everyone involved.

1. If at all possible, we suggest having your new caregiver shadow you or your current nanny before starting full time. Have her start a few weeks before you go back to work or before your current nanny leaves. This gives you the chance to see how your nanny interacts with your child(ren). Are they engaged and interactive with your child? Are they able to calm your crying your baby? Are they helpful with household duties if your child is napping? This transition time is not only important for you, but for your child so they have the time needed to ease into having a new caregiver.
2. In these first few weeks, set aside some personal time with your new nanny to get to know her better. The relationship between you and your nanny is unlike any other working relationship. Because she is going to be in your home bonding with and caring for your child, you want to know who she is as a person, not just your employee. How was she raised? What are her hobbies and interests? What are her childrearing/discipline philosophies? What did she do over the weekend? Get what you need to know from her in order for you to feel 100% about leaving your child with her.
3. If your child is old enough, be sure to talk to them about the transition. Let them know that someone new is going to be taking care of them. This is also why a period of overlap is so helpful. They will feel better about spending time with their new caregiver when someone familiar is in the home as well.
4. Communication is key in a parent-nanny relationship. You have to set your expectations ahead of time and be very clear with your nanny about what those are. Giving her as much information as possible is only going to make her more successful in her job. You want your nanny to be consistent with what you are doing in regards to child rearing, discipline, how you manage your household, etc. Your nanny is not a mind reader, so it’s important to communicate to her how you want things to be done, otherwise she will not know. It’s a good idea to have a parent-nanny agreement drafted when your nanny starts and make sure that both parties have a signed copy. This agreement should clearly layout all of your expectations including duties, schedule, pay, benefits, and causes for termination.
5. Think about how you want to be kept in the loop about what your nanny and child do during the day. Do you like texts/pictures or would you rather her keep a daily journal? This will give you a better sense on how the nanny fills their day. On top of this, debrief with her verbally at the end of the day as well. This keeps the lines of communication open and gives your nanny the impression that she can come to you with any issues, concerns or questions. If you only email and text with your nanny, she may get the sense that you don’t have the time to talk with her.

Any transition can be difficult, but if you give yourself enough time and make communication with your nanny a priority, you will set you and your nanny up for success!