A poll of the group yielded the following thoughts on which paid holidays to offer a nanny.

Some parents offer paid days off on all U.S. Postal Service holidays:
New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day.

Some parents offer New York Stock Exchange holidays, or the same days as above but exclude Columbus and Veterans Days and add Good Friday.

Still others scheduled days off according to the family's needs and the stance of their nanny:
"If my spouse and I have to work, then our caregiver has to," "Our nanny is not American or Christian and was quite willing to work on Thanksgiving and Christmas."

In short, do what works for your family and your caregiver. But almost every parent has a tale of misunderstanding, assumption and other woe when days off (Election Day? Friday after Thanksgiving?) are not agreed to beforehand, at the beginning of the year or at time of hire so, as a rule, draw up a list as soon as possible.

Parents are always asking for recommendations of caregiver agencies. Here is a collection of some of your comments.

Nannys USA is a good agency. I interviewed two nanny candidates from this agency and although we did not hire them, I was well impressed. I know that most women looking for work through this agency have good experience and at least three references. The agency also runs a criminal background check and others, and most of the women have legal status. They charge a fee only once the person has been hired and is working. The fee can vary, check their web site to find out, www.nannysusa.com.

For last-minute sitters, Pinch Sitters is amazing. The women are lovely and have been great with our sons. 212-260-6005


On interviewing nannies

A number of moms asked Joan Slattery if she could share responses to her query on what questions to put to nanny candidates. Thank you, Joan, for passing along all that you gleaned from the group.

The best advice I got was to write up a list of responsibilities. I didn't make this too formal (I didn't make her sign it) but I spelled out her role. Particularly make sure you address what housekeeping activities you expect (e.g., unload/load the dishwasher).

I found the interviewing process a total pain, and didn't help too much in our decision making. What worked for us was to have a brief interview, and if we thought the candidate was ok or better than ok, have them spend a day with us and the kids, to see how they were at various situations. I honestly would not have picked our nanny from the interview but she was fantastic with them, and we haven't had any issues in nearly a year. It was worth paying for the others - we paid a day rate for anyone who spent the day working, but it really made me feel more comfortable.

As for interviewing for part-time, from my experience, be SURE to iron out the following in advance:
-do you pay for holidays?
-do you pay when you go on vacation?
-do you pay when she is sick?
I did not do this with my first part-time nanny and suffered financially. After that I explained up front that I treated my part-time nanny just as I had been
treated when I worked part-time. This meant:
-higher hourly pay but no benefits
-no sick pay
-no holiday pay
But I did pay if I went on vacation and she didn't work. This worked out great and I had no problems, especially since they like the higher hourly pay which you usually have to do for part-time.

A few things I found helpful:
1. Get candidate references when you set up the interview appointment. That way you can check them in advance.
2. Have them bring some ID and proof of address, i.e., passport and phone bill. Make copies of both. Tell them you're going to do this.
3. Have a brief application for them to fill out. Most balked at doing that but you will want to be sure they can read/write English and understand simple
instructions.
4. Narrow the pool down to two or three candidates and have them come back to babysit for you (you pay them for this). You stay there and work with them and watch them. You can see how they follow directions, figure things out on their own, and obviously how they interact with your kids.

The last point is so important: remember that some great caregivers are miserable at interviews. One of my favorite sitters was this Hungarian girl, whom I wished I'd hired full-time. She was an awful interview. Very quiet. Looked down at the floor. Not forceful - but she was phenomenal with my children. Inventive, involved, creative. Able to follow instructions and figure things out on her own. A year later and my boys still remember meeting her at the dinosaur museum.

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