Commonly Asked Nanny Interview Questions

When you interview for a job as a nanny, the parents will ask you many questions. Some questions will require factual answers, such as: Do you drive? Do you smoke? What hours can you work?

Other questions are more open-ended.

Parents ask these questions to get to know you better, to find out how you conduct yourself, and to learn about your attitudes toward children.

Following are ten commonly asked nanny interview questions and suggestions for how to answer them.

10 Popular Nanny Interview Questions

To help you do well in your interview, here are 10 commonly asked nanny interview questions.

1. What is your philosophy about discipline?
Indicate that you will follow the employer's guidelines about discipline. Firm, yet gentle, patient and nurturing is a good approach.
2. What do you see as your most important responsibility as a nanny?
Use your experience. Here's an example: To use parents’ guidelines to help foster the growth, wellbeing and personal development of the children.
3. What are your childcare experiences?
Be prepared to explain why you left your last job without saying anything negative about the children or the family. Offer to provide personal recommendations from former employers.
4. Why do you like being a nanny?
Be honest, but if you can't say something sincere about liking to work with children, you better look for a different profession.
5. What kinds of activities would you do with a (child of a certain age)?
If you know the ages of the children in the household before the interview you will be better able to prepare for this question. Otherwise, rely on your experience. Talk about activities that are fun, educational and safe.
6. Tell me about an emergency you were involved in and how you handled it.
Good qualities for an emergency are calmness, resourcefulness and the ability to ask for help. Focus on the well being of the children. If you have first aid or CPR training, this is a good time to mention it.
7. What is the most challenging childcare situation you have faced and how did you handle it?
Be prepared with an example for a question like this. Describe the situation, what you did and what happened as a result of your actions. Reflect on what you might do differently in a similar situation in the future.
8. What do you think children like best about you?
Use this as an opportunity to showcase your best qualities, such as kindness, gentleness, respectfulness, ability to comfort and nurture, a listening ear, etc. Don’t say that kids like you because you let them run wild and eat ice cream all day.
9. Describe the best child and the worst child you babysat for.
Never use negative words to describe any child, words like "monster" or "brat". Spend approximately the same amount of time describing the best and the worst. Demonstrate empathy and caring for both children.
10. How would you react if a child bit or hit you?
Rely on your experience. Focus first on calming the child and making sure the child is safe.

Creating The Right Impression

During your interview be relaxed, yet polite and professional. Parents are looking for someone they can trust to take good care of their children and be a positive role model. Show them you are that person.

What About General Interview Questions?

As well as asking specific nanny interview questions, your interviewers are likely to ask some general job interview questions too. Take a quick look at these 38 sample interview questions before your interview so you're fully prepared.

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