Do you have a great babysitter? How did you find her? How do you keep her coming back even though teenagers are extremely busy these days.? Share your tips and experiences...
I know it sounds horrible but I actually found mine on care.com. She's a college student that is trying to save up money to go back to school and has a lot of experience with special needs kids. Since mine are healthy I knew she would be able to handle it. I have had a HORRIBLE babysitter before that was recommended by a friend so needless to say I put the poor girl through the ringer when I interviewed her. But I do recommend care. com, it's $40 for the first month (they don't tell you about the $20 processing fee or whatever it is) and then $20 after that. You do have to tell them not to automatically renew every month. They offer references and free background checks. I love my sitter, and so do my girls!!
I'm one of the lucky ones - my mom lives in town and there's also a woman at my daughter's daycare who babysits too. But a couple of my friends have gone through Meredith College. Apparently they've got a list of students who are looking for jobs. Don't know exactly who to contact but here's a link I found off their Web site that refers to childcare jobs: http://www.meredith.edu/finaid/student-employment.htm#employer
I know a lot of people in my neighborhood hire students as nannies, but I also know a lot of them babysit too.
When my kids were in preschool, I often had the preschool teachers babysit. Later on, I would just start recruiting neighborhood kids. I actually found that boys made great babysitters! My suggestion is to get them young...12 or 13...because usually their Moms would make sure they were home and would be watching out for them. And the younger ones were more likely to actually play with the kids rather than talking on the phone.
One of my friends had a babysitter cancel on her at the last minute on a Friday and she had no other options. She went down to the middle school bus stop and as the kids got off, she just said, "Hey...does anyone babysit?" She actually ended up finding a good sitter that way!
We're very fortunate to have friends from church who are willing to babysit. If I don't mind them being out of the house, I can take them to the parents house. If I want to keep them home, their college-age daughter will usually come babysit.
Comments
I know it sounds horrible but I actually found mine on care.com. She's a college student that is trying to save up money to go back to school and has a lot of experience with special needs kids. Since mine are healthy I knew she would be able to handle it. I have had a HORRIBLE babysitter before that was recommended by a friend so needless to say I put the poor girl through the ringer when I interviewed her. But I do recommend care. com, it's $40 for the first month (they don't tell you about the $20 processing fee or whatever it is) and then $20 after that. You do have to tell them not to automatically renew every month. They offer references and free background checks. I love my sitter, and so do my girls!!
I'm one of the lucky ones - my mom lives in town and there's also a woman at my daughter's daycare who babysits too. But a couple of my friends have gone through Meredith College. Apparently they've got a list of students who are looking for jobs. Don't know exactly who to contact but here's a link I found off their Web site that refers to childcare jobs: http://www.meredith.edu/finaid/student-employment.htm#employer
I know a lot of people in my neighborhood hire students as nannies, but I also know a lot of them babysit too.
When my kids were in preschool, I often had the preschool teachers babysit. Later on, I would just start recruiting neighborhood kids. I actually found that boys made great babysitters! My suggestion is to get them young...12 or 13...because usually their Moms would make sure they were home and would be watching out for them. And the younger ones were more likely to actually play with the kids rather than talking on the phone.
One of my friends had a babysitter cancel on her at the last minute on a Friday and she had no other options. She went down to the middle school bus stop and as the kids got off, she just said, "Hey...does anyone babysit?" She actually ended up finding a good sitter that way!
We're very fortunate to have friends from church who are willing to babysit. If I don't mind them being out of the house, I can take them to the parents house. If I want to keep them home, their college-age daughter will usually come babysit.
Stacie - Mom to two boys