When selecting a confinement nanny, there are several factors to consider. As your chosen confinement nanny will be at your side during your confinement, you must select the best possible option. But how can you know if you did? Especially if you have not yet given birth but must make provisions for after?
We have compiled a list of items you should consider before hiring a confinement nanny.
Know a nanny’s work scope.
Before you begin the recruiting process, understanding what a nanny performs will assist you in determining the extent of her services. A nanny’s responsibilities include:
- Caring for the mother during confinement.
- Caring for the newborn.
- Preparing meals for the mother.
- Handling basic housework and washing for the mother and infant.
- Providing breastfeeding and infant care advice.
Briefly, the role of a confinement nanny is to assist the recovering mother as she heals from childbirth and learns to care for her infant. After understanding all of this, you may decide if you want the complete service or just portions of it, whether you want a full-time or part-time nanny, and whether you prefer an agency-employed nanny or a freelancer.
Recognize the talents and expertise of a nanny.
During confinement, you would want to be as comfortable as possible, and a nanny’s abilities and expertise indicate the level of care you would receive.
Numerous independent babysitters are untrained and often rely on their services based on their experience, self-learned knowledge, and confined care practices. At the same time, it is also recommended that they undergo professional confinement nanny training on an expert-approved module in which they are trained and evaluated on various topics. This includes postpartum care, newborn care, preparing confinement food and herbal tonics, and breastfeeding.
In addition to the nanny’s talents, experience is also essential.
Become familiar with reputation and reviews.
One technique to determine if you are selecting the correct nanny service is to learn about the agency’s reputation and read reviews from other experienced parents in your area. Whether you’re searching for an agency-based or freelance confinement nanny, you should find out what other parents who have used the service you’re interested in have to say about it.
During this step, you may choose the component of the nanny service that most concerns you and seek relevant information or reviews. For instance, if the nanny’s ability to prepare confinement food is essential to you, you might begin your search for nanny services that parents have highly rated for their confinement meal preparation skills.
Determine the implications of hiring a confinement nanny.
There are more factors to consider while hiring a confinement nanny besides the nanny’s abilities and expertise. There is further information to investigate and questions to ask before joining. Here are three key considerations:
- Financial aspect: How much does it cost to hire? Is a deposit required before the nanny arrives? When should the balance be paid? What do my payments cover? Other than the booking charge, rental cost, and deposit, is there anything else you should be aware of? Learn about them before booking.
- Legal aspect: We may be in Singapore, but it is reasonable to assume that most, if not all, of our confinement nannies, are Malaysian Chinese confinement ladies, given the proximity of our nations and the similarity of our confinement procedures. In such a circumstance, a work permit is necessary for the nanny to work in this country. If you are contracting a freelancer, you must consider the lengthy and time-consuming application procedure. However, they would have handled everything for you if you had hired an agency.
- Insurance: A nanny is human, and all humans are fallible. She may sustain an injury while assisting you with chores or cooking. It is sometimes inevitable, and insurance protects both the parents and the nanny. However, remember that this is often accessible for nannies from agencies under specific conditions. You may be responsible for the entire expense if a freelance nanny requires medical care due to a working injury.