A good nanny will obey the rules you set for your home and for your children. It can, however, be difficult to establish boundaries when a nanny is with your children for a good portion of the day. Before your nanny begins working, here is a good list of rules to discuss together.

1. No visitors. Your nanny is getting paid to keep your children occupied while you work. A nanny who has visitors during working hours will not be giving your children the attention they deserve.
2. Always display mature behavior during working hours. Your nanny will be a role model for your child so you want to make sure she will not cuss, smoke, or drink alcohol in your home. Establish what behaviors are acceptable before your nanny begins.
3. Limit the children’s television time, computer time, and video games. Your nannies job is to interact with your children and do fun activities together. Placing the children in front of the television is not quality interaction.
4. Let your nanny know if there are extra jobs or chores that she is to perform throughout the day, and leave her a list so she can perform the tasks as time permits.
5. Help the children develop healthy eating habits. If your family is accustomed to eating a healthy diet, ensure that the nanny is aware of this and feeds your children food you would approve of.
6. Be on time. Families hire nannies mainly because they have busy schedules to keep. If your nanny arrives late, it also interferes with your schedule. Let your nanny know what time she needs to arrive as well as what time you will be home.
7. Be sure the children do their chores. Part of the responsibility of being a nanny is to ensure that the children complete their chores, homework, etc.
8. Limit social networking, phone calls, and texting. Some parents do not mind if the nanny does some social networking or computer time, while other parents do not allow this at all. Before hiring your nanny, decide what will work best for your family. Make sure that your nanny understands how much, if any, computer time will be allowed during working hours.
9. Depending on the ages of your children and the neighborhood you live in, you will want to determine if the nanny should be outside with the children while they are playing in the yard. If you have older children and a fenced in backyard, you may allow them to play while the nanny supervises from inside. Decide what you are most comfortable with, and let your nanny know the rules.
10. Determine whether or not your nanny will be allowed to take your children off your property. If you allow this, also make sure she always lets you know where they will be going.

Establishing ground rules right from the beginning will help you develop a good working relationship with your nanny. If your nanny knows and understands the rules for your home, she will be able to handle any situation in a responsible, mature manner.