Nanny Agency JobsIf bringing your own child is part of the nanny role you need, raise it as a specific proposed arrangement. State which days and hours your child would attend and whether this is essential to your availability. Then ask whether the agency and family will consider that proposal for the particular position.
The useful next step is a practical discussion about attendance, responsibilities and changes to the day. Avoid relying on a general impression that a family is child-friendly, or on permission from a previous employer. This guide offers an original worksheet for checking the arrangement before committing to it.
Establish whether the proposal is open for discussion
For an agency-listed job, use the agency’s application or screening route. A brief opening is enough: “I am interested in this role and would need to bring my child on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Is the family considering that arrangement?” Give the child’s age where relevant to the discussion, without sending unnecessary personal records.
North State Nannies generally excludes this arrangement, but considers qualified candidates when a family specifically welcomes their child. North State Nannies FAQ.
Read the particular agency’s full policy and ask about the specific role. If bringing your child is essential, make that clear before investing in a lengthy interview process. If it is a preference and you have another reliable arrangement, explain that accurately. Do not describe a tentative alternative as confirmed childcare.
Write a bounded attendance proposal
Specify the days, start and finish times, proposed effective date and expected duration. If your child would attend only during school holidays, list the actual periods you want to discuss. “Sometimes” gives the family little to evaluate and leaves you without a predictable plan.
Distinguish regular attendance from exceptions. Permission for two named weekdays should not quietly expand to every school closure or an extra evening. Put a separate question beside those circumstances: how would you request an exception, who would decide and what would you do if it was not available?
If you already work for the family, present the proposal before changing the arrangement. Offer a time to discuss it, rather than arriving with your child and asking at the door. The conversation needs room for a genuine decision and for you to assess whether the answer fits your needs.
Complete an arrangement worksheet
Use these labelled fields to turn an initial conversation into a plan that can be reviewed. Leave unresolved items marked open.
- Attendance requested: Days, hours, start date and duration.
- Availability condition: Whether bringing your child is essential or optional for you.
- Employer’s children: The care responsibilities in the proposed job.
- Your child: The care you would remain responsible for during attendance.
- Other adults: Any proposed involvement, with each person’s explicit agreement and time commitment.
- Use of space and belongings: Where agreed activities happen and which items are available for use.
- Existing work: Duties you are expected to complete while your child is present.
- Conflicting plans: Events or assignments that cannot include your child and the decision needed for each.
- Changed attendance: Who to contact when the planned arrangement cannot happen.
- Decision record: What has been accepted, by whom and from which date.
- Review point: When both sides will revisit the arrangement.
The worksheet records proposed responsibilities; it does not establish that any particular combination of care is suitable. If a plan depends on another adult taking over, get that adult’s clear commitment rather than using “someone in the house” as the answer.
Walk through an ordinary day and a changed day
Fictional example: Elise applies for a Monday–Friday position and proposes bringing her own child on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. She has separately confirmed care for her child on the other days. The family is open to discussing the proposal but has not yet accepted it.
Together they walk through Thursday. The employer’s children have an activity that does not include Elise’s child. Elise initially assumed a parent could stay with her child during that period. The parent explains that they will be working and cannot do so. The worksheet leaves that part of the proposal unresolved.
Elise then confirms an alternative arrangement for her child on Thursdays and revises her request to Tuesdays only. The family agrees to that specific pattern, beginning on a named date, with a review after the first month. They also record that any extra attendance day needs a separate request and answer.
For a changed Tuesday, Elise’s first action is to tell the agreed contact what has changed and whether she can still fulfil her work arrangement. They discuss that actual situation. Neither side treats the original Tuesday permission as a solution to every possible disruption.
Make your decision from the confirmed arrangement
Before accepting, read back the attendance pattern and responsibilities. Check that the agency’s understanding, the family’s answer and your own plan match. Record outstanding questions individually; a friendly conversation is not a substitute for resolving a condition that determines whether you can work.
If permission is unavailable, choose your next step from arrangements you can genuinely support. You might pursue the role using independently confirmed childcare, ask the agency to consider you for a different suitable vacancy or withdraw because the position does not meet your needs. Keep the explanation simple and truthful.
If the arrangement proceeds, review it when the actual pattern changes. A different work schedule, new activity or changed attendance need deserves a fresh discussion. Preserve the earlier decision so that everyone can see what is being reconsidered.
Sources
North State Nannies: FAQs for Nannies.