A nanny will become an essential member of your household, caring for the most precious part of your life. So it’s a sensible decision to onboard a nanny (or any household employee) the correct way. These four steps will ensure that your nanny can begin work without delay and, come tax season, you or your tax preparer will have the necessary elements to file correctly.

Your children are in elementary school full time and you and your partner are working full time. After school childcare is a priority. Your son wants to participate in an after-school computer program once a week, and your daughter wants to play fall soccer. Mom and dad have demanding jobs, and just getting a healthy dinner together can be a major challenge. You wonder, are there after school nannies?

Peter Schutz, motivational speaker and the former CEO of Porsche, famously opined “Hire character, train skill.” In the business world it is easy to understand this philosophy. Character is ingrained, you can and should train specific skills. How does the role of character translate into the nanny hire?

Concerns about childcare are one of the most stressful considerations for new, first time working parents. Research into childcare options begins early in pregnancy, if not before! Looking at your lifestyle and schedules through the prism of childcare options is a daunting endeavor.

Is a nanny really the best choice for your family?

Your gut instincts are a powerful tool to help you hire the best nanny for YOUR family.

Finding a nanny to watch your children is one of the most important decisions that you’ll make as a parent and there are truly some wonderful nannies out there searching for a job. Once you have put out a job notice and have started narrowing down your candidates, you’ve crossed the first hurdle. Next, you’ll need to spend some time getting to know the candidate and doing some in-depth research on each person.

If you’re just beginning the search of hiring a new nanny to join your family, you likely have a list of requirements that you want fulfilled and hiring a bilingual nanny may be something high on your priority list. Instilling a love for a variety of cultural traditions and languages is important to many families and if you’re thinking of hiring a bilingual nanny to join your family, here is some basic information on how to go about this process.

Hiring a nanny for the first time can be a harrowing experience. Before you introduce a new nanny to your children and invite them into your home, you want to be 100% confident that they are the perfect fit for your family. Save yourself the frustration of hiring the wrong nanny by avoiding these common missteps.