The Complete Guide to Hiring a Nanny in Lagos: 2026 Edition

Lagos is not short of people willing to look after your children. What it is short of — or has historically been — is a reliable way to know whether the person in your home is qualified, trustworthy, and consistent. That is changing. Here is how to navigate the process like a professional.

Step 1: Write a Clear Job Brief Before You Start Looking

The most common hiring mistake is beginning the search before you are clear about what you need. This leads to unclear interviews, poor candidate filtering, and frustration on both sides. A job brief should answer:

• Children's ages and needs: A nanny for a newborn needs completely different skills than one for a 4-year-old.
• Schedule: Live-in or live-out? Hours per day? Weekends?
• Responsibilities: Is this purely childcare, or does it include school runs, laundry, meal prep for the children, tutoring support?
• Languages: Do you want your children spoken to in English only? Yoruba? Both?
• Special requirements: Does any child have allergies, developmental differences, or medical needs?
• Budget: What is the monthly salary range you are prepared to offer? This filters candidates before the interview stage.

Step 2: Source Candidates the Right Way

There are four main channels for finding nannies in Lagos:

1. Personal referrals — Fast, but biased. Your friend's excellent nanny may not fit your household at all.
2. Social media (neighbourhood groups, Facebook, WhatsApp) — Accessible, but no vetting whatsoever. You are doing all the background work yourself.
3. General domestic staff agencies — Placement without ongoing management or certification standards.
4. Certified home care agencies like COHCASEL — Pre-vetted, certified candidates with background checks already done. Higher upfront cost; far lower ongoing risk.

If you are going the direct route, expect to invest significant time in the verification process that an agency handles for you. This includes: criminal record check (via NIS or NDIC), reference verification (calling two or three people, not just receiving a name), and health screening.

Step 3: The Interview — A Two-Session Approach

One interview is rarely enough for a role this important. We recommend two sessions:

First Interview: Skills and Experience

Conduct this over video call or phone as a first filter. Key questions:

• "Walk me through a typical day in your last nanny role."
• "What age groups have you worked with and what was hardest?"
• "Describe a time a child in your care was hurt or ill. What did you do step by step?"
• "Are you first aid certified? When was your last renewal?"

Second Interview: Values and Fit

This one should involve your children if they are old enough to interact. Watch how the candidate engages — not just with you, but with the child. Does she get down to the child's level? Does the child warm to her naturally?

Key questions for session two:

• "How do you handle a child who is throwing a tantrum or refusing to listen?"
• "What boundaries do you set with children, and how do you enforce them?"
• "What would you do if you disagreed with how a parent wanted something handled?"
• "What are your career goals in home care?" (Tells you how professional they are about this work.)

Step 4: Background Verification — Do Not Skip This

Background checks in Nigeria are more complicated than abroad, but they are doable. At minimum:

1. Police clearance certificate: Available from the Nigerian Police Force. Your candidate applies; you should receive and review the result yourself.
2. NIN verification: Every adult in Nigeria should have a National Identity Number. Verify theirs.
3. Reference calls: Do not just receive a reference name. Call the reference. Ask: "Would you hire this person again? Was there anything that concerned you? How did they handle difficult days?"
4. Social media review: A simple Google and Instagram search can surface character issues that no interview would reveal.

If this process feels overwhelming — and it is genuinely time-consuming — this is the work that a COHCASEL placement eliminates. Every candidate we present has completed all four steps before you ever meet them.

Step 5: The Trial Week

Even after a successful interview and clean background check, mandate a trial period. Two weeks is standard; one month is better. During the trial:

• Be home for the first day at minimum
• Review any written logs daily (meals, nap times, activities, incidents)
• Ask your children daily, in age-appropriate ways, how they are finding the nanny
• Hold a brief weekly check-in with the nanny about what is working and what is not

At the end of the trial, have a formal review — not just a vague "how do you think it's going?" Set criteria in advance and evaluate against them.

Step 6: Setting Up for Long-Term Success

The best nanny relationships last years. They last because both sides are clear about expectations, communication is consistent, and the nanny feels professionally respected. Practically, this means:

• A written agreement: Hours, salary, leave entitlement, duties, notice period. Even informal ones help.
• Regular salary reviews: A nanny who feels financially valued does not leave when another household offers ₦5,000 more.
• Monthly check-ins: A short conversation about what is working, what needs adjusting. Prevents small frustrations from becoming departures.
• Clear boundaries around phone use, visitors, and time off. Set these at the start, not after the first incident.

2026 Salary Benchmarks (Lagos)

Certification Level	Live-Out (Monthly)	Live-In (Monthly)
CHMC Bronze	₦50,000 – ₦80,000	₦40,000 – ₦65,000
CHMC Silver	₦80,000 – ₦130,000	₦65,000 – ₦110,000
CHMC Gold	₦130,000 – ₦220,000	₦110,000 – ₦180,000
Global-Ready	₦200,000+	₦160,000+

Note: Live-in rates reflect accommodation and meals being provided by the employer. Diaspora families typically pay a 15–25% premium for enhanced reporting and management services.

Hiring a nanny in Lagos has never been easier — as long as you do the process right. If you want COHCASEL to manage the process for you, get started here.