Hiring a nanny can be a trying experience, whether your leaving your child for the first time or if your just looking for a new one. We need to be very careful about who we allow to keep our children and some basic questions are in order before this happens. Here are ten interview questions to start with that may help in deciding on the future nany of your child.

1. What kind of experience do you have with children, either your own or others? The experience of the interviwee is very important in your consideration of an appropriate Nanny, whether she has only kept her own children or has had experience with others children. Many kinds of experiences would be helpful, such as nursery worker at a church, day care worker, home babysitter, etc.

2. Why should I trust you with my children? Trust is an issue of utmost importance. Whether or not you can trust someone depends on the honesty and integrity. Listen carefully to how the interviewee ansers this one.

3. Can you provide references for children you have kept in the past? Usually two or three refrences are acceptable, but in some cases if the potential nanny has not worked before, this may not be possible. If not, get personal references from a pastor, friend, or other qualified adult.

4. What forms of discipline do you employ? Discipline can become an issue of importance, especially if the nanny employs forms of discipline that you are not comfortable with, such as corporal punishment or isolation techniques like time outs in an isolated place.

5. What is your education level? Education level may or may not be important to you, but a more educated person may offer a good deal more enlightenment to your child's younger years.

6. What can you teach my child? If the potetial nanny has had some experience teaching children, whether in a Sunday School class, daycare, or other setting, it could be a great benefit to your child in the early years of development.

7. What is your religion and would you use it as a basis for teaching my child your faith? Generally you want to stick as close a possible to your own faith if there is potential for the nanny to share her faith with your child, but this may not be a problem if you're open minded.

8. Have you ever been accused of child abuse? This is an important question because if someone has been accused, there is a potetial for abuse to happen to your child. But be careful with this one, because not everyone who has been accused is guilty of offense. With the system as it is, anyone can accuse anyone, without any proof of real abuse.

9. If so, can you provide substantiation that it's not true? The potential nanny's side of the story should be considered if there was an accusation in her past. If she can back up her side with substantiation, that's better.

10. Were you abused as a child? This question is relevant, because some children who were abused will become abusers. But only about a third of them do, so don't automatically condemn.