10 Nanny Interview Questions About Housekeeping Duties

Sometimes when a family is ready to hire a nanny, “light housekeeping” is listed as one of the duties they would like their nanny to perform. Typically nannies are responsible for undertaking all of the tasks related to childcare, and this usually includes keeping the children’s areas neat, clean, and organized, as well as washing the children’s laundry. It cannot be assumed, however, that the nanny will automatically be willing to take on the extra responsibility of caring for her employer’s home in addition to her normal duties. In fact, some nanny placement agencies do not allow their candidates to accept positions that also require housework. But for those who do, and for those applicants that are willing to go the extra mile, here are some suggested interview questions you can ask regarding housekeeping duties. The answers will give you insight into if your nanny is truly willing to take those duties on.

1. How do you feel about taking on the extra responsibility of light housekeeping duties? – Even though the providing agency may allow candidates to accept positions where housekeeping is expected, chances are some prospective nannies will not be willing to perform those extra chores. It is best to find out how the applicants view housekeeping before you hire them. You’ll also want to clearly define what you mean by light housekeeping to avoid any misplaced expectations or confusion over what duties are to be performed.
2. Are you willing to maintain the kid’s areas? – Most nannies expect that they’re responsible for keeping the children’s area neat and clean, however it is a good idea for you to be clear about what this means to you. If you expect the nanny to wash bedding, vacuum floors, and perform other similar tasks, then you need to be clear about this so that there will be no misunderstandings later on.
3. Will you have the children help clean their rooms? – The nanny should be a good role model for the children, but the children should be willing to learn how to pick up after themselves as well. This will serve them well later in life. It is definitely easier for the adult to do the tidying up than to work with the children to get it done, but that’s not always the best approach. You must decide whether it’s important to you that your children learn the responsibility of caring for their things or if it’s more important that the area always looks perfectly neat and clean. Your preference should be shared with the interviewees.
4. Would you have a problem doing the family’s laundry? – It is standard for a nanny to wash clothing belonging to the children, but it’s not as common for nannies to be responsible for the laundry of the adults in the home. You will want to make sure that the nanny knows how to do laundry and is willing to do yours, if that’s an expectation that you have.
5. Would you be willing to iron the children’s clothing? – Don’t assume that a nanny who is willing to wash the clothing will do the ironing too. If there is an agreement to do this task, find out if ironing is among the applicants skills; you don’t want scorched party dresses. Also, consider how much time this extra chore will take and decide if this is really something you want to add to her list of duties.
6. Do you cook? – Making meals for the children is something that most nannies will do, but you can’t make the assumption that the meals will have gourmet flair. You may want to define what you mean by “cook”. In these days of convenience foods cooking a meal can easily mean shoving a pre-made meal in the microwave oven. If you expect more, you will need to be clear about that.
7. Are you willing to do other chores such as…? – Find out what additional chores the nanny is willing to do. Keep in mind that you are hiring someone to focus on the care of your children, so you do not want to tie up her time with a lot of household duties.
8. Would you be willing to do the grocery shopping? – If your nanny is taking care of school aged children and has time during the day to do additional things like grocery shopping, she may be willing to help out from time to time.
9. Are you willing to run additional errands like…? – If you have a list of errands that need to be done regularly some of them might be included in the nanny’s duties as she chauffeur’s the kids to their various engagements, as long as she is in agreement.
10. If necessary would you be willing to cook a meal for the entire family on occasion? – Depending on your schedule, from time to time you may need your nanny to fill in and do a little more than what’s usually expected. If you anticipate such instances occurring, mentioning this in the interview would be wise.

Remember that you are primarily hiring a nanny for childcare purposes, so you need to be realistic concerning extra housekeeping duties. It is fine to inquire about how much extra the person is willing to do in terms of cleaning for the children, but don’t overstep your bounds and ask a nanny to do things better suited for a housekeeper.

Taken From Nanny Jobs