Hiring a nanny is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your family, and the right interview questions can make all the difference. Beyond the basics like experience and availability, asking thoughtful nanny interview questions helps you understand how a potential nanny thinks, communicates, and shows up during real-life moments. In this guide, we’re sharing 25 of the most unique and impactful questions to ask a potential nanny—designed to uncover values, problem-solving skills, and compatibility—so you can feel confident you’re finding the right fit for your household.
Master Your Nanny Interviews with our step-by-step guide and feel confident making the right hire.
Preliminary Screening
By the time you reach the in-person interview stage, you should already have a short list of strong candidates. This typically includes reviewing resumes, checking references, and conducting initial phone or video interviews to confirm availability, experience, and baseline alignment.
These early screening steps help ensure you’re investing your time wisely. Reviewing references and employment history offers valuable insight into a nanny’s reliability and past performance, while background checks and verification help surface any potential red flags. Once those boxes are checked, the in-person interview becomes the opportunity to go deeper—assessing fit, communication style, and how a nanny might truly show up in your home.
Preparing for the Nanny Interview
We know you have a to-do list a mile long, but taking the time to properly prepare for an interview is key to maximizing the interview time, help you move beyond surface-level questions and focus on what really matters: fit, communication, and shared expectations. Review the candidate’s resume and references in advance, note any gaps or follow-up questions, and get clear on your family’s non-negotiables, including schedule, duties, parenting style, and values.
It’s also helpful to align internally before the interview. Decide which adult stakeholders will be present, which questions each person will ask, and how you’ll evaluate responses. Creating a consistent interview structure not only keeps the conversation focused, but also ensures every candidate is assessed fairly, which will make it easier to compare apples to apples, and move forward with your preferred candidate with confidence.
And, it’s important to remember that a nanny interview is not a paid trial. You’re speaking with them as a potential employer to potential employee, and you aren’t vetting their caretaking experience or how they interact with your children just yet.
Good to know: While interviewing is a crucial step in finding the right nanny, thorough vetting is just as important. At Hello Nanny!, our placement services guide families through comprehensive background checks, reference verification, and careful screening—so you can feel confident that your nanny is not only qualified, but also the right fit for your household.
Topics to Cover During the Interview
According to Vanessa Brown, Hello Nanny! Family Recruitment and Placement Manager, most nanny interviews last around 30 minutes, so it’s important to be intentional about how you use that time. Rather than trying to cover everything at once, focus on questions that reveal how a nanny thinks, communicates, and handles real-life situations.
While we’ve outlined 25 of the most essential nanny interview questions below, you’ll want to make sure the conversation touches on a few core topics, including:
- Professional background
- Specific Skills
- Previous experience
- Childcare approach and philosophy
- Disciplinary style
- Educational approach
- Transportation
- Availability
- Long-term commitment
- Compensation and benefits
Related:The Benefits of Having a Nanny
The Most Essential Nanny Interview Questions
When you’re inviting someone into your home to care for your children, credentials matter, but so does how the nanny communicates and vibes with your family. Beyond years of experience or certifications, the right questions (and answers!) can reveal how a candidate handles everyday moments, unexpected challenges, and the rhythms of family life.
The questions below are designed to help you understand a nanny’s professional background, hands-on experience, and approach to caregiving so you can feel confident you’re choosing someone who’s not only qualified, but truly capable of caring for your children in a style that aligns with your family’s values:
- What inspired you to work in childcare, and what keeps you passionate about it today?
- How do you typically spend the first week in a new household to get to know the children and family routines?
- Can you describe how you handle transitions, such as helping a child start preschool or adjust to a new sibling?
- How do you stay current with childcare trends, safety guidelines, or child development practices?
- What does a “successful day” as a nanny look like to you?
- How do you encourage independence in children while maintaining boundaries and structure?
- How do you approach communication when a child is having behavioral challenges?
- Can you share an example of how you’ve collaborated with parents to align on routines or expectations?
- What kind of feedback do you appreciate receiving from parents, and how do you like to give feedback in return?
- How do you handle last-minute schedule changes or requests from the family?
- How do you balance household support duties (laundry, tidying, errands) with hands-on childcare responsibilities?
- What strategies do you use to stay organized and manage multiple children or overlapping tasks?
- What are your favorite ways to foster creativity and learning through play?
- How do you handle conflicts between siblings or playmates?
- How do you ensure consistency and structure for children when parents travel or work long hours?
- What’s your approach to maintaining professional boundaries while building a warm connection with the family?
- How do you help children build emotional resilience and self-regulation skills?
- How do you support families in multicultural or multilingual households?
- Can you share an example of when you went above and beyond for a family?
- What do you find most rewarding and most challenging about being a family assistant or nanny?
- How do you approach nutrition and mealtime routines with picky eaters or dietary restrictions?
- What’s your experience with managing extracurricular schedules or homework routines?
- How do you ensure discretion and maintain a family’s privacy, especially in high-profile homes?
- If you were to describe your communication style in three words, what would they be?
- What are you hoping to find in your next family that will make it a long-term fit?
Let Hello Nanny! find your perfect match. We handle screening, interviews, and working trials so you don’t have to.
Questions to Avoid When Interviewing a Nanny
While it’s important to get to know a potential nanny with specific and detailed questions, not every question is appropriate—or helpful—during the interview process. Certain topics can cross legal boundaries, feel invasive, or distract from what actually matters when assessing fit and qualifications.
Avoid questions about age, marital status, religion, pregnancy plans, health conditions, or childcare arrangements for their own family. Just like any other job interview, these topics are either legally protected or unrelated to a nanny’s ability to do the job well. Instead, keep the focus on experience, availability, caregiving philosophy, and how they handle real-life scenarios with children. Thoughtful, job-related questions create a more professional interview environment and set the tone for a respectful working relationship from day one.
Related: Hiring a Nanny? Here’s What You Need to Know
What Happens Next
Once the interview wraps, take time to review your notes and align with any key decision-makers in your household. Compare candidates based on fit, communication style, and how well they align with your family’s needs—not just on gut instinct. It might be helpful to have this conversation right after the interview so that your impressions are fresh in your mind. Syncing with key household members helps ensure everyone is on the same page before moving forward.
Once you’re on the same page, the next step is typically a paid working trial. A working trial usually lasts anywhere from a few days to up to two weeks and allows you to see a prospective nanny in action within your home and daily routine. During this time, the nanny supports your family with childcare and any agreed-upon responsibilities outlined in the job description, giving both sides a clear, realistic sense of whether the role—and the relationship—feels like the right fit.
Ensuring a Smooth Nanny Interview
The nanny interview is just one step in the hiring process, but it’s one of the most important. When you meet your potential future nanny face to face, their resume is turned into real conversations and you begin to understand how they’ll show up in your home, routines, and your child’s daily life. Because hiring a nanny is both a significant and deeply personal decision, approaching the interview with intention and preparation helps make sure you’re able to move forward in the hiring process with confidence.
If you want extra structure, our comprehensive Nanny Interview Guide (it’s the second resource on the page) walks you through exactly how to prepare and what to ask (and what to listen for) so you can interview with confidence. And if you’d rather skip the guesswork altogether, working with a trusted agency like Hello Nanny! takes the pressure off—from vetting and interviews to working trials and placement support. However you choose to move forward, the right support makes all the difference in finding a nanny who truly feels like the right fit for your family.
Simplify Your Nanny Search with our placement services and focus on finding the right fit for your family. If you’re a family navigating the hiring process, start here.
Nanny Interview Questions FAQs
What questions should I ask during a nanny interview?
Ask questions that help you understand the nanny’s experience, approach to caregiving, and how they handle real-world situations with children. Good topics include their previous roles and responsibilities, how they manage behavior challenges, their comfort with routines and transitions, how they communicate with parents, and scenario-based questions (e.g., what they would do if a child refused a nap or got hurt). Including questions about household duties, scheduling, and philosophy around screen time, discipline, and learning helps you assess fit beyond the basics.
How do I introduce myself in a nanny interview?
Start by sharing a bit about your family: who your children are, what your daily rhythms look like, and what you’re hoping a nanny will support you with. Be warm but concise—this isn’t a performance, it’s a two-way conversation. You can follow with a brief overview of the position, your expectations, and what matters most in your family’s caregiving approach. Ending your intro with an open question like, “Is there anything you’d like to know about us before we jump into questions?” sets a collaborative tone.
What three questions should I ask in a nanny interview?
If you only had time for three, these are especially revealing:
- “Tell me about a time you handled a behavior challenge with a child.” — This shows problem-solving and caregiving style.
- “What are your priorities when you’re caring for a child?” — This gives insight into their philosophy and values.
- “How do you like to communicate with parents about the day or any challenges?” — Communication style can make or break a partnership.
How long should a nanny interview last?
Most in-person nanny interviews last about 30 minutes, which should give you enough time to cover background, caregiving philosophy, scenario questions, and logistics without overwhelming the candidate or treating it like a job performance review. If you need more time to dig into specifics, consider a follow-up conversation rather than stretching one interview too long.
Should I discuss salary in the interview?
Yes. While you’ve likely talked about this during the initial phone interview, it’s important to cover salary and payroll, benefits, PTO, overtime expectations, and any perks (like paid sick days or bonuses) during the in-person interview to ensure you and the candidate are aligned before moving forward.
How do I handle red flags in an interview?
If something feels off—a vague answer about experience, inconsistent details, or poor communication—trust your instincts and follow up with references before moving forward. A working trial won’t fix fundamental misalignment; catching concerns early prevents tougher problems later.
Can I ask about availability and schedule preferences?
Yes, and you should. Clarify days, hours, flexibility, holidays, travel expectations, and any night/weekend care requirements. Misalignment here is one of the most common reasons partnerships fall apart.
