How to Find a Babysitter (And What You Should Always Consider)
When you’re ready to leave the house for the first time sans baby, need to run a few errands, or are planning a date night just you and your partner, the next big thing on your agenda will be finding a babysitter. Not every parent has the luxury of grandparents that live nearby and can dash over any time you need to venture out, so landing a go-to sitter you can trust and feel comfortable with can be a real challenge.
We tapped Sara Snow, Chief Parenting Officer at Bambino— a babysitting app that helps you find recommended neighborhood sitters-for her expert advice on how to find babysitters in today’s world of apps and websites that can quickly overwhelm you with options.
Find the website that works for you. There are many more ways to find a babysitter than just asking a neighbor, but they’re not always the best method. You could post a notice on NextDoor or a Facebook group, but that’s a public forum, so suddenly everyone knows you’ll be leaving your kids home on Friday night while you head out.
You could scroll through sitters who have listed themselves with area nanny groups or online sitter sites, but that gets tiresome and can be unreliable because you only see what they’ve written about themselves, not what other parents thought of them as babysitters.
Bambino is different because it allows parents to see profiles for those sitters nearest to them, right in their own neighborhood, and then to read reviews and recommendations from parents right in the community.
Get a parent recommendation. The biggest mistake you can make when choosing a sitter is to hire without hearing what other parents (preferably parents you know and trust) say about him or her. You might be OK hiring a plumber from an online search but when it comes to someone who is going to be in your home, watching your children, you want to know what other parents thought about her!
Did she stick to your rules regarding desserts and bedtimes? Did he clean up the kitchen and the toys? Did she arrive on time? In the case of a babysitter for your kids, nothing trumps a personal recommendation.
Consider your kids’ needs. Don’t forget about what your kids want and need. You need someone who will be on time and keep your kids safe, but they might need someone who will get outside and play soccer with them, get messy in the kitchen, or even help with math homework. If you’re ever unsure whether a sitter will work out, schedule a quick meet and greet ahead of time at your home or someplace neutral.
Research rates. Make sure you find out a sitter’s rate ahead of time. There’s nothing more awkward, for the parents and the sitter, than to have that awful rate conversation at the last minute.
On Bambino, you can see exactly what a sit will cost you before you confirm a sitter for a job. And the sitter knows what they’ll make before they accept. Plus payment happens through the app so you don’t have to mess with cash at the end of the night!
Talk transportation. Do a quick check-in on driving expectations before the scheduled sit. Will he or she drive themselves or will they need to be picked up? And, if it’s a young sitter, are her parents ok with you sending her home in an Uber at the end of the night or would they prefer to come pick her up? These are things that are best planned out ahead of time.
You might also like to read How to Make Your Kids More Comfortable with a Sitter or How Much Sleep Kids (and Babies!) Actually Need.
Opening Image: Lily Glass for Mini Magazine