Families spend months hiring and then hand over the keys on day one with a phone number on the counter. Most failed placements were lost in week one, not month six.
Be present for the whole first morning — not to supervise, but to help your child transition to a new person. Walk the home together. Then demonstrate the day rather than describing it: show the nap sequence, the meal setup, the bedtime routine, in order.
Review the work agreement together rather than handing it over. Set up the daily log before the day ends. And give them time alone with your child while you're still in the house — let the relationship start while you're nearby.
The person you hired was trained in childcare generally. They have not been trained in your child. That's this week's job.
Tammy Gold, LCSW, is the author of Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer (Penguin) and the founder of the Care Map Method™. She helps families define what a parent needs, evaluate caregivers and agencies, and set up care that lasts.
The screening call, the Gold Targeted Reference Check™, the three-part clinical interview, and a trial-day checklist — what to ask, and what to listen for.
Seven pages · from Tammy Gold, LCSW, author of Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer
PDF · 7 pages · no sign-up needed
Brief end-of-day check-ins for the first two weeks: what worked, what came up, what needs adjusting. Five minutes, not a performance review. It normalizes talking about problems before any exist.
Schedule the 30-day review before week one ends — put it on the calendar in front of them. A relationship with a built-in review date handles friction far better than one where the first real conversation is a complaint.
Across the four domains: is warmth genuine and initiated, or performed and distracted; are physical routines handled without reminders; is engagement at your child's developmental level; are your household rules honored when you're not watching.
And watch your child. Regression in the first two weeks is normal adjustment. Regression that deepens through week four is information.
Every child's behavior has a reason, and the reason is different for every child. A Care Map call maps your child across all four domains — biological, emotional, social, environmental — so you stop guessing which advice applies to yours.
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Questions first? Text (818) 308-1358 or email info@caremapmethod.com