Hiring a nanny is a sophisticated process that involves searching, interviewing, checking references and extending an offer to the right candidate. When the nanny has accepted your offer, the final step is conducting a criminal background check. Your offer should be contingent on the outcome of those results.

What to check?
It’s hard to imagine that in this era of the Internet and computerization there is no reliable national criminal database that is accessible by the public. The “gold standard” for checking a nanny’s background is to first run a search using her Social Security Number to see where she has lived in the past seven years. This is done so that a decision can be made on which counties should be searched. Yes, that’s right, these searches are done county by county, not nationally. Few states have a reliable criminal index that is suitable for nanny background checking because nannies tend to commit misdemeanors at most. Many of these indexes only turn up people who have felony convictions and/or have served time. Many states don’t have statewide indexes at all.

Which counties should you search?
Obviously the safest method is to check each county, but in some cases this can get quite costly. A fairly typical scenario may be a nanny who left home to go to college, after which she may have changed schools and then moved again after graduation. So let’s say she’s 23 now and there are four years that can be searched since she turned 18.

2001 — lived at home, 18 years old
2001-2003 — moved for college
2003-2005 — lived at her second college
2005 — moved after graduation to another city

In this case, since she turned 18 at home and moved shortly thereafter, the duration of time spent at her home residence and the city she moved to after graduation is brief. For someone who wanted to hold their costs down, the two most likely locations to check would be the two cities she lived in from 2001-2005. Again, if you want to be absolutely certain and costs are not an issue, you would need to check each place that appears on the Social Security address check.

What other types of checks can be performed?
Driving records are very important if there is driving involved in your job. A credit report can be ordered if you feel that information may be important to your decision. There is a sexual offenders list for each state that should be checked as well. There are numerous other reports that may be ordered if you feel the need.

How do I perform the check?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (which applies to more than just credit checks) requires that you have a written release from your nanny to perform the check. This form is downloaded and filled out by the family and then completed and signed by the nanny.

What are some of the limitations of the checks?
Every company that does these checks warns that these reports cannot guarantee complete accuracy. Also, there is a charge for each type of check that you order, so figuring out your budget ahead of time can help you prioritize which type of checks to run.

All in all, running a background check on a potential nanny for your children is essential. These steps should help make that process more informative and resourceful.

About the Author
Steve Lampert is the President of www.enannysource.com, a web-based nanny search service. Prior to starting the company in 2001, he was president of a well-known nanny agency in Los Angeles. He lives with his wife of 13 years and 8 year-old son in the San Fernando Valley in California. His son’s nanny has been with the family since he was born.

• No two baby brains are alike and there is no such a thing as a set of right answers for enhancing the baby’s intelligence. Be aware of the baby’s interests and motivation and help s/he to act upon the objects.
• The observation of the baby’s brain still difficult to do and it is not yet available to use in real-life situations. So, to know what is happening inside you baby brain we would need to use different kinds of computerized or caps of electrodes to display its structure. So… what we have left in order to enhance the baby’s intelligence? – A combination of behavioral observation and good educational research to help us to get every act we experience with our babies right! This we can perform!
• Don’t be afraid! Mix your personal experience, research results, and observe educational practices, and you will not have a chance to do it wrong with your baby!
• Remember that your baby is always constructing his knowledge of the world, and the more s/he uses his/her body to leave, the better s/he shapes the power of his/her neural connections. The more s/he uses his/her functions, s/he access a dynamic process where his/her neurons communicate through electrical and chemical signaling, leading to creation of complex physical connections, that are all together what will become the structures of the brain. Remember – “Use it and you will have it!” This -phrase works for the babies, the ones who have the brain quality to shape itself every other minute in life!
• So, how to get every act we experience with the baby right? How to increase the baby’s neural connection, increasing the Baby brain development?
• Give them good nutrition – yes, we all already know it is important!
• Pay attention to their rest – we all know babies need sleeping schedules! But, do not impose it to the baby. It’s hers/his own necessity that counts;
• Care for their emotional stability! – This is a factor that makes all the difference. Care for it!
• Promote them time to play! – Playing for the baby brain equals exercise and the experimentation of the relationships of movements, space and body. The baby needs to feel the world by going around places, seeing things, sensing spaces, listening and understanding sounds.
• Promote time to read – I am not talking about reading to the baby. I am talking about time for them to read! Giving the baby the opportunity to be exposed and to using symbols and signs that represents the culture and the thoughts that maintains the culture, are the most valuable experience for him/her. And it is right to learn to read! Even if the culture yet do not accept it!
• But take time! Wait for the baby’s own rhythmic development to have enough time to do their own mental growing. The baby will do the magic! How? Observe the baby’s inner motivation, and go with him towards his/her own interests. Time to learn all about cats? Dogs? Flowers? Family members? Girls? Boys? Toys? Give them all the time they to play and learn about them! Give them all the information they are affected to, attended to, interested in. Give them the opportunity to be observing, exploring the surroundings.
• Let him/her repeat what s/he is doing, how many times s/he needs to.
• Make games to promote problem solving (Ex: Where are we going? What color is the cat?… Keep talking to the baby all the time you can!…)
• Motivate with different colors; when talking to the baby add adjectives to objects, nouns and subjects. (Ex: Book?…Red book. Shirt? White shirt, etc…)

• Brains respond to novelties better than to anything else. So, show the baby the uniqueness of everyday life. Show colors, forms, temperature, animals, fits, cars, words in public places, people of different ages, birds, and wild animals, etc…

All these activities will aid in healthy Baby brain development!

About this Author:
Dr. Eliane Leao is a native of Brazil, South America. She has a background in Education from Purdue University (Masters) and a PhD in the Dept of Educational Psychology from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)/Purdue University (Ph.D.). Visit our website for Free Articles and a Free Ebook on the subject of Babies and Reading at www.baby-can-read.com.