How did you find your nanny?

[janine]

Going back to work in 2 weeks and the nanny search has gone no where. Luckily my mom will watch my 2 children (3 and 2 months) so I'm not stuck, but she can't do it forever!

I've asked around for referrals, asked local church and moms at my DD's preschool. Nothing.My next step is care.com but I'm wary of such a random way to find such an important person! I hear of others with such great nannies who do it all (watch kids, drive them around, help with dinners) - if you have one, how did you find her?

[arivecchi]

I found mine through a good friend. Email everyone you know. You can also check any local parenting boards. There is an active board where I live and there are always parents posting there in order to help their nannies find new jobs.

[tylersmama]

I found my nanny through care.com and I've been very happy with her. She's no Mary Poppins, but she's reliable and flexible, which are the two most important items for us right now, and she takes good care of DS. I wish she was a better cook and housekeeper, but honestly, with my circumstances such as they are...she's fantastic. And she's cheap. She's been with us for almost a year and a half now.

I've also hired two long-term babysitters through sittercity.com in the past, with good results. There have definitely been a few clunkers in the interview process, but that's why you interview them (or just send a polite thanks, but no thanks, note in response to their application).

[luckytwenty]

First one I found online through www.enannysource.com. I paid to get a background check done because there wasn't word of mouth.

Our current nanny was found through word of mouth. I sent out a mass email to everyone in the area with kids asking for recs. A friend of a friend who'd been forwarded the email replied. Her neighbor's daughter is now our nanny and we love her.

[gatorsmom]

I've found our nannies through nanny placement agencies and through care.com. I did thorough interviews with my top candidates and insisted on talking to at least three previous employers. I think checking references is key to finding a great one. GL!

ETA: we found two excellent nannies through care.com. Just insist they provide you with a resume and then, like I said, insist on a minimum of contact names and numbers for 3 previous employers. I called my top 3 candidates and interviewed them each for 45 minutes. I also used their advanced background check service which was nice and easy to use.

[LD92599]

I hired one of the daycare teachers when the daycare shut. It's been 7 months and her last day is next week. Gonna miss her....but on the flip side, got DS into the daycare that i've been on a wait list for since i was 3 months pg.

[hillview]

I found one good one from a local mom board. I found out other awesome from our cleaning woman (actually her son's friend). She is a rock star.
/hillary

[carolinamama]

We found ours through care.com. I picked my top 2 candidates, did phone interviews, checked references/past employers, background checks, had in-person interview and then hired.