A guide to hiring the right nanny for your family

What type of nanny do you need?

Nannies are a great option for families with specific needs or unique situations. A part-time nanny or full-time nanny can be a great option for working mothers who need assistance with juggling multiple tasks throughout the day. So, think about whether your family will need a part-time or full-time nanny. This means you will also need to decide if you need to hire a live-in nanny or live-out nanny. Also, if you need infant care or toddler care, you may want to search for a confinement nanny.

Look for the proper qualifications

In addition to your family's needs for tasks such as cooking and cleaning, think about the other qualifications your nanny will need to have. It’s a good idea for your nanny to have some First Aid Training. In Singapore, the Early Childhood Development Agency provides specific Child First Aid training. You might also want your nanny to have up-to-date vaccinations to keep your family safe. It is also a good idea to ask if your nanny has a driving license in case of an emergency.

If you have an infant, you should look for a nanny with specific experience for taking care of infants and toddlers. In Singapore, certifications such as Higher Certificate in Infant Care (HCIC) is a great thing to look for if you are looking for a highly qualified nanny. If your children have any special needs, you can make sure your nanny has experience caring for children with special needs with the Babysits Special Needs Program.

Choose a reasonable wage and hours

Once you have decided on the type of nanny you need and the qualifications you wish your nanny to have, you can determine a reasonable wage, as well as the amount of hours they will work.

When searching for your nanny, you can specify which days of the week you require nanny services and at what times in the day you will need your nanny. Nannies who work more that 35 hours per week in Singapore are considered a full-time nanny, so make sure you determine their hours in advance.

Obviously a nanny will be more costly than a babysitter, but there are benefits of hiring a qualified nanny if your family has several needs.

Check out our latest update about determining the hourly wage of babysitters and nannies in Singapore.

Set your expectations ahead of time

Good communication between you and your nanny is very important. Make sure that you set all of your expectations as clearly as possible in advance to make sure your nanny is comfortable. It is advisable to write up a contract of employment to keep both you and the nanny covered.

Remember that your nanny is your employee, and this means that you will be required to pay employer taxes with the IRAS. Once you have determined the hourly rate of your nanny, make sure that it is in line with the average monthly rates of nannies in Singapore. This ranges from day-time or part-time nannies at around $750 per month, to overnight or full-time nannies at around $1,500 (source).

Look for a nanny with experience

In Singapore, there are many experienced nannies. The best thing to do is to do a background check to make sure you know all the important information about the person you are hiring.

You can also use our Intake Form as a guide to help you cover some important questions when interviewing nannies.

Overall, choosing a nanny with experience comes down to trust and your intuition. As a parent, you know your children best and what they need. When searching for a part-time or full-time nanny, experience is just as important as qualifications and certificates. With experience comes expertise that is gained through years of taking care of children.

Create a profile that shows the needs of your family

In your profile, It's good to choose which ages your nanny will need experince caring for. With Babysits, you can also select specific filters, such as first aid certification, special needs experience, cooking, cleaning, homework assistance, driving license etc.

Also look at our Babysits Special Needs Program to find a nanny specialized in special needs care by filtering on experience with special needs care when searching for a nanny.

You can filter by choosing which languages you want your nanny to know, whether that is English, Malay, Manderin, Tamil, Hindi, Sign Language etc.

Hopefully this article will help you in choosing a nanny that is suitable for your family! If you wish to find a nanny now, you can check out our nannies in Singapore here.

If you’re wanting to find a nanny job for yourself, then you can check out some available nanny jobs in Singapore here.