If you’re considering hiring a nanny, you probably have a lot of questions. One of the most important ones should be, “When should I hire a nanny?”

Timing is one of the most delicate pieces of the match-making puzzle. Just last Friday, we had something happen in our office that is an all too common occurrence in the nanny world… Let’s walk through the scenario so that hopefully it won’t happen to you!

The Scenario

A nanny had been interviewed, offered a job, and had accepted the position. The parent assumed she was going to start on the agreed-upon date. But now, she was not starting. Instead, she had taken another job.

What went wrong here and so many times in the past?

There was way too much time between the hire and start date

I know every parent wants to get his or her ducks in a row. It is so stressful to think about finding someone to leave your child with. We suggest that it takes between 2 to 8 weeks to find your match. But too much time between hire and start allows for things to unravel. And once again they did.

Sometimes, it is completely out of one’s hands. The nanny’s current employer’s a) best friend, b) boss, c) sister-in-law has also offered the prospective nanny a job with an earlier start date. For the same amount of money. Now you are left with no childcare and dwindling/ no maternity leave.

In other cases, the employer drops the ball. “I didn’t send her the contract? I was sure I sent it.” Nope, the official document was never signed and the nanny wasn’t convinced it was a done deal, so she continued to shop for offers until she got one she preferred. Lines of communication weren’t kept open, and right before her expected start date, the parents and this office were left scrambling.

A few key takeaways:

1. First, please try to avoid a big gap between hire and start dates. While there’s no magic number, we recommend no more than a month. (Though some planning can be done farther in advance to assure peace of mind.)
2. If there is a long time between, make sure you’re in constant contact during that interim period.
3. Always have a signed contract with all terms spelled out–including the start date.

If you’re a family in the Washington D.C. area looking for more support around how or when you should hire a nanny, give us a call at 301-654-1242 and check out our service offerings.