There is no course for the profession of being a babysitter or a nanny. So, anyone can brand themselves as a good babysitter and apply for a babysitting job. There is no defined state regulation for home caregivers unless receiving a subsidy payments, a criminal background check is required but with limitations. This is true to many states; after all, a limited background check is always better than not conducting background check at all. This way, parents have a blanket of protection for someone possessing a nice and pretty face but then keep an alarming criminal charges and convictions. The possibility of hiring this kind is real. So, parents watch out.

In attempt to prevent from hiring nannies that has criminal records on their names, parents must take steps to avoid it. Aside from the most effective way of conducting a criminal background check, asking for personal references upon interview can give you tool for verification that you can do so yourself. By checking references, any initial impression you got upon interview could be verified and could be confirmed. Ask the applicant to list down references that have been their previous employer if they have listed working experiences in their resume. Here are the following queries that you must ask and be included in questionnaire sort of checklist when making a phone call to the references listed by the applicant:

• Ask point blank how was that person in subject worked as a babysitter in taking care of their children.
• Kindly describe their general impression and opinion of the babysitter.
• Ask how long the babysitter stayed and took care of their children.
• Ask the specific duties of the babysitter; was it difficult for her/him?
• Ask the ages of the children being taken care of.
• Ask the babysitter’s dependability and decision-making.
• Ask how their children felt about their nanny.
• You could also ask the reason why he/she is leaving or stop working for them.
• Ask any more information and concern that the previous employer may add.
• For this entire question, it’s better to ask for specific example or instances if possible.

But before any questions asked, make sure you start the conversation with greetings as a sign of politeness. It is also better to write down notes rather than relying solely on memory remembering all the answer when you need it for your evaluation. Whatever answer you will get will give you a clue of what kind of babysitter he or she is. If the reference seem to hesitate and quite uncertain, be cautious otherwise an answer that were given enthusiastically could mean positive result. However, it is not 100% percent assurance that what the references had been saying was true. With this doubt, conducting an in-depth background check can clear all the reservations you have. After all, you as a parent have the greater responsibility in accepting and evaluating any potential nanny before even entrusting your child to them.