Finding A Baby Sitter – Tips For A Successful Search

Good babysitters don’t grow on trees, but you do have to search high and low for the pick of the crop.

Keep in mind that you are looking for someone who will take excellent care of your children in your absence. Be prepared to pay appropriately for quality care and peace of mind.

Where To Find A Babysitter

Agencies
This is the obvious solution, especially if you can afford it. Agency sitters don’t come cheaply but as with anything, you get what you pay for. You can feel confident that an agency sitter will have excellent references, might have medical or first aid training, will have fairly extensive experience and she will have been subject to police checks.

Newspaper Ads

Don’t assume that because you found someone in a newspaper ad, they’re unsafe. Also don’t assume that they’re safe. Conduct whatever checks you can to ensure that they are who they say they are and ask for references.

Church
Wherever you worship (synagogue, church or temple), you probably know other members of your congregation fairly well. Check the community notice board for listings of people who would like to offer their time to look after other people’s children and ask around to find out more about them.

School/Kindergarten
The school notice board or newsletter will often mention other mothers or their older children who are happy to babysit for a fee. Again, ask around as they will be well known in the school community if they are babysitting for other families. Sometimes even teachers may be looking to supplement their income with a few hours over a weekend or at night.

Family Members
If there are other kids in your family, you can bet that others have hired babysitters on occasion. See if they can recommend someone to you.

Post A Notice
Make use of your mall’s community notice board and post a notice saying that you require a babysitter.

Yellow Pages
The phone book is always a good starting point when looking for services in your community.

You can ask around at your club, mother’s group, place of work or doctor’s office for babysitters. Even the Internet is a useful resource and there are plenty of babysitter profile services online. As with any method, you will need to be cautious and ensure that you are dealing with a person you can trust. The need to check references can’t be stressed enough.