One of the hardest decisions you’ll face as a parent is finding a great babysitter! You might need to hire a babysitter while you work or maybe you’ll need a babysitter for a night out. Whatever the reasons you have for looking for a great babysitter, we have some tips to help you find the right person.
If you don’t have a family member or close friend to watch the kids for your night out, then consider using these tips to find a great babysitter.
Ask For Recommendations
Ask your friends and family for recommendations. This is a group of people who care about your children nearly as much as you do, so if they know about any good babysitter they’ll happily share their contact details with you. Your friends or family may have used a babysitter in the past that’s still babysitting for them or has a current sitter that they just love.
Advertise in Paper
Consider placing an advertisement in a local collect paper or on a job bulletin board at a local high school or college. These are two great places to find a great babysitter that won’t cost a lot of money. Do be sure to interview each of your candidates while your children are around so you can get a sense of how they are with your children and how your children react to the potential babysitter.
Look Online
There are many online services that help you find a great babysitter. Sign up for a local online babysitter platform where you can find local sitters at a reasonable rate. Most of these sites are free for the person hiring the babysitter and some complete a background check before allowing the sitter to advertise on their website.
Create Interview Questions
Once you have a few candidates chosen, it’s time to create some interview questions. You’ll want to do a brief phone interview first and if that goes well, invite the potential babysitter over for a meet and greet with your family.
Watch Interactions
Allow the potential babysitter to interact and engage with your children while you’re present. This will let you see how your children respond, and how they respond to your children in real life. It’s best to have a practice run like this to see how well the children and the babysitter get along.
Pay Attention
Lastly, you’ll want to pay attention to any signs that seem off-kilter, such as your children being more shy than usual or looking anxious around this person. You’ll want to see how patient the potential babysitter is during this trial stage to ensure you’re hiring someone that has the right personality to handle your children while you’re away. Do not feel bad if you have to interview and do a meet and greet with more than a few babysitters. This process will take some time if you’re looking for the perfect match.
You’ll want to make sure that your new babysitter comes with excellent references, and seems to mesh well with your children. The last thing you want to do is place your children with someone they’re uncomfortable with while you go out on a date. Use our tips we shared above to a reliable and personable babysitter who will tend to your children’s needs properly while you’re away.