Nightmare Nanny: How One Mom Discovered Her Nanny Was An Alcoholic (VIDEO)

WATCH: Nightmare Nanny: How One Mom Discovered Her Nanny Was An Alcoholic

Choosing the person who will care for your kids can be one of the most difficult decisions a parent can make. Even with multiple interviews and a thorough check of references, entrusting your child in the hands of a stranger comes with a certain amount of risk. Writer, editor and creator of NavigatingVita.com Laura Roe Stevens learned this the hard way. When trying to find a nanny for her three-year-old son, she found out that one candidate had a drinking problem. She shared her story on HuffPost Live.

The candidate seemed perfect on paper, but after meeting her, Stevens wasn't convinced. "She used to be a director of a preschool and her references checked out but I still had a knot in my gut, you know?" she told host Abby Huntsman. "Something wasn't quite right, and she's getting ready to start driving my 3-year-old to swim classes."

As a trial, Stevens asked the nanny to house-sit while the family was on vacation. "I asked her to house-sit, take care of my dog for a week, and I just had this feeling. And we came back from vacation two days early, and there were vodka bottles all over the house and I was like 'thank God I did that!'

"I was horrified. She actually wasn't there, and there were vodka bottles everywhere and she writes poetry and she had pieces of paper all over the house. I just called her and just said 'it's over. I'm sorry.'"

Joining Stevens and Huntsman in the conversation were Becky Norbach, a nanny and part-time copywriter, Elizabeth A. Hawksworth, a nanny, blogger and author of 'Break For Beauty', Parents magazine blogger Joe DeProspero, and Lauren Cahn, a yoga instructor, writer and former attorney.

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