By Stacy Dymalski
Mar 19, 2010
The Sweetest Words: "Yes, I'm Free to Babysit Friday Night!"
Babysitters are a fact of life for parents. Even though you may think when you bring junior home from the hospital that you’ll never want to part with him, the truth is by week three, you’re arguing with your spouse about who gets to go to the grocery store. Nothing says, “You need to get out more often!” like loitering around the produce section just so you can debate the pros and cons of Huggies versus cloth diapers with the other parents who are also afraid to go home and face reality.
Leaving your child for the first time can be traumatic – for you, not your child. Like wild animals, kids are fine until they sense your anxiety. If you’re apprehensive about leaving, chances are your little darlings are not going to send you on your way with a smile. So it’s imperative to employ a babysitter you feel good about.
That’s all well and good, but where do you get one? Finding a good sitter is about as easy as hunting Easter Eggs on Halloween. That’s because once parents find them, they don’t necessarily want to share them.
“Say Marge, can you recommend a good babysitter?”
“Nope. Don’t know any. None. Nada.”
“But you have a slew of kids. What do you do when you and Bob want to go out?”
“Oh, we just lock the kids in the basement with a DVD.
“What?!”
“Have you tried duct tape?”
It’s a testament to good babysitters that parents would risk having their neighbors call child protective services on them, rather than divulge their favorite sitter’s phone number.
Regardless, the best way to find a good babysitter is to ask your neighbors and acquaintances. But don’t start with people who have kids the same age as yours. Look to your friends with older/grown kids. These are the sages who’ve already been through the babysitting gauntlet, but still have the connections. Heck, they might even have a kid at home who can babysit for you.
A middle school or high school teen makes a great sitter because typically their reputation precedes them (just ask around the neighborhood) and most likely you know their family. (Plus, they’re cheaper than adult babysitters.) If you don’t know any teenagers in your area call your local community college or high school and tell them you’re looking for a babysitter. Many colleges and high schools have job placement programs that allow a teen or young adult to not only work for you, but get school credit as well, giving them an even bigger incentive to do a good job. (Many college girls take on part time jobs as nannies to work their way through school.) Also, school job placement programs typically have their prospective babysitters complete some childcare training, like the Red Cross Babysitting course or an infant CPR class. And if you’re lucky enough to find a sitter 16 or older, they can often drive to your house, instead of you picking them up.
If, however, you prefer to have an experienced adult sit for you, then start by checking with local churches. Grandmotherly Sunday school teachers often moonlight as babysitters, and no one is more seasoned with kids than a Nana who’s raised several children of her own.
You can search for babysitters and nannies for free here on www.Parentainment.com. Additional sources for finding adult sitters are the Yellow Pages and the Internet. Regardless of how you find your sitter, however, it’s always a good idea to ask for references, and do a phone interview with the sitter before you hire them. If possible, schedule your new sitter’s first job to be a short one where you’re not that far away; sort of like a test drive for the sitter and your kids.
Finding the right babysitter takes some effort, but the payoff is enormous when you’re finally seated in a nice restaurant, sipping a Martini, waiting for your steak to come. And if you happen to hear someone else’s child cry during dinner, you can take solace in knowing that the only “whine” you personally have to deal that evening comes from a bottle.
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