Questions to ask a potential nanny

Hi All
I am intervieing for a nanny at the moment - could you send me a suggestion of what to ask (just hoping I dont miss anything)
Thanks...

Quals?
Disipline techniques?
experience?
pick a difficult situation and how would she deal with it?
Do you want her to socalise your kids at playgroups etc - how does she feel about this?

Thats all I can think of at the moment.. i'll post as i think of more :)

the best thing i did was had my kids with me while interviewing.. so i could see how they interacted, how they got the childresn attention or not..

police clearance and first aid a must..
just ask about what is important for you!

You could why she likes being a nanny and what she likes about children.

We didnt do an interview - we invited them over for lunch. That way we could see how they interacted with the kids and who they were in a relaxed environment. To us that was way more important than an interview or qualifications...

I've been a nanny and done HEAPS of interviews - so I've seen a fair few techniques.

Bear in mind that hiring a nanny is a very intimate thing to do - you're not just trusting them with your children, but with your house, and a good deal of your life. So you absolutely must get along well with them, and I think this is more important than qualifications, and to some extent, even more than experience.

Definitely DO ask what they like about being a nanny, what age groups they're most comfortable/experienced with, what they like to do with children. Find out what they like to do in their own time - it will give you a reasonable idea as to how they might spend their day with your kids. Also whether or not you will have anything in common, as it can affect your relationship.

Describe your children's routine for them, and ask how they might fit in with that.

Bear in mind that to an extent, they are also interviewing you. I have turned down far more nanny jobs than I have accepted, just because a family seemed too uptight or too relaxed, or too relaxed or too demanding for what I could fit in with. So it is a little bit of a sales pitch onyour behalf, but be honest.

If you can, find out about their personal situation (they are sharing in yours, I think it's only fair) This only comes about because this last few weeks I have been supervising a student of a nanny school. She is lovely but comes with SO MUCH baggage!

Good luck. Hope you find a good one!