Customer Reviews

Good nanny book: how to find, hire, and keep t, th

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read the Good Nanny Book twice--once when I first started looking for a nanny in 2003 and again this year. After having 2 wonderful nannies who stayed for a combined 6 years, we went through 4 nannies in a year and I felt I needed a refresher on how to find someone who would stick.

The book is a good starter text for someone who has no idea how to select an employee, but the advise details are clearly showing their age. For example, there's lots of reference to mailing out application forms and having the nanny mail them back. A nanny who doesn't have Internet access is going to have issues dealing with a 21st century child. There's also a great deal of text devoted to posting positions in newspapers. The idea is solid and the rules apply more or less to electronic posting, but I would not recommend placing paper ads unless (again) you want people who don't have access to a computer.

The book focuses on the process of choosing and managing a live-in nanny, and while that is presumably a harder search, there's quite a bit missing about finding a nanny who can be relied upon to show up every morning when her commute is longer than a staircase.

I also think there's a great call for sourcing and interviewing part-time nannies for those of us who have school-aged children and demanding jobs. The selection process is no less important, and the pool of qualified applicants is considerably slimmer.

I understand that this author is drawing on her own experiences and those of families she interviewed, but the sample size is very homogeneous. It would have been more helpful to look at the array of nanny options rather than to focus exclusively on a full-on, live-in caregiver who needs constant management. That is, unless she is a Nanny from Heaven.

A working mom recommended this book to me when I was pregnant with my first child. It is the best book! I followed the interview steps (ad, then mailed questionnaire, then interviews for qualified candidates, background checks and references) and we found the absolutely best nanny ever. Even the teachers at our park district told me in all their yrs they had never seen such a wonderful caregiver as my nanny! I have been recommending this book for 10 yrs. Follow the advice in the book and read about different types of Nannies and you will find a great nanny!

I highly recommend this book to any mom (or dad) looking for a nanny. It gave great examples of the many types of nanny situations you can find yourself in... as well as how to avoid the unpleasant ones. We found the perfect nanny after following many of the tips provided in this very helpful book.

Coming from a nanny of two years this is by far the best nanny book written. It is a book that I recommend every nanny and parent to read if you are either thinking of becoming or hiring a nanny. I give it two thumbs up!!!!

I have been a nanny for 36 yrs and find that this book like many other do not address many issues that nannnies face. its more for parents but again if you want to keep a good nanny resect her time and effort for example i love job but things get taken for granted>I choose to bath the kids i care for and wax and mop and changes bed and much much more, because i wanted to help out between cleaner but now its expected and when i do the wash on fridays no one puts it away so i am left feeling used and unhappy so parents if your nanny helps you because she wants to don't leave every thing for her to do sometimes she just does not want to.Respect your nanny treat her well its the little things that bother her even if she does not say so .Most nannies I know go above and beyond for the famies that respect them