What Resources Does nanny.org Offer Families Hiring a Nanny?

nanny.org, the site of the International Nanny Association (INA), offers families a set of practical starting points for hiring and employing a nanny: Recommended Practices for Nanny Family, the Nanny Employer Handbook, Childcare Definitions, and Tax and Payroll guidance. These are presented as INA's most helpful pages for parents, so they are the fastest way to get oriented if you are new to employing in-home childcare. The site describes itself as an umbrella association providing information, education, and guidance to the public and to industry professionals, which is the basis for treating these pages as general guidance rather than personalized advice.

The four core resources for families

INA groups its parent-facing material under a "Start here" heading. The four items listed are:

• Recommended Practices for Nanny Family — guidance on how a family should approach the nanny employment relationship.
• Nanny Employer Handbook — a handbook framing the family as an employer, not just a household.
• Childcare Definitions — shared vocabulary for the roles and terms used in the industry.
• Tax and Payroll — the payroll and tax side of paying someone in your home.

The grouping itself is informative: INA treats hiring a nanny as an employment relationship with legal, financial, and terminology dimensions, not only a caregiving arrangement.

What each resource helps you do

Recommended Practices for Nanny Family

Use this when you are defining the job before you post it or interview. It sits alongside parallel pages for nannies, newborn care specialists (NCS), and support groups, which means the recommendations are written from both sides of the relationship. Reading the family version next to the nanny version can surface mismatched expectations early — for example, how duties, hours, and communication are normally framed.

Nanny Employer Handbook

Use this once you have decided to hire and need to think like an employer. The title signals the scope: onboarding, expectations, and the employer side of the arrangement. If you have never had an employee in your home, this is the page to read before you draft an offer.

Childcare Definitions

Use this when job titles and terms get confusing. "Nanny," "NCS," "support group," and related roles appear throughout the site, and the definitions page exists so families and professionals use the same words. This matters when you write a job description or compare candidates who describe themselves differently.

Tax and Payroll

Use this when you are working out how to pay your nanny. INA lists it as a recommended page for parents, which confirms that payroll and tax obligations are treated as a standard part of employing a nanny rather than an edge case. The site does not publish rates, thresholds, or jurisdiction-specific rules in the material available, so treat this as a pointer to the topic and confirm specifics for your location separately.

Who else the site is built for

INA's structure shows where families fit in the wider industry:

For families, the practical takeaway is that the parent pages are one slice of a site designed around the whole employment relationship. That is useful context: the guidance you read for families is written to align with what nannies and agencies are told.

How to use the site if you are hiring now

1. Start with Childcare Definitions so you know which role you are actually hiring for.
2. Read Recommended Practices for Nanny Family to shape the job and the relationship.
3. Work through the Nanny Employer Handbook before you make an offer.
4. Review Tax and Payroll before your first pay period, and verify the rules that apply where you live.

What the site does not give you

The available material does not include pricing, membership costs, or login requirements, so nothing here should be read as free or paid access. It also does not provide jurisdiction-specific tax figures or legal advice. INA positions itself as an information and education source; for tax, payroll, and contract specifics, use its pages as orientation and confirm details with a qualified professional in your area.