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The day has come for you to leave your baby in the care of someone else. It’s time to choose a babysitter to care for them while you go out into the world and do things that adults need to do without children — for example, work or attend an adult event like a wedding or date night. Let’s help you choose a babysitter who’s awesome.
Maybe you’re feeling anxious or nervous about leaving someone else to take care of your precious little one. I get it. You made that little human and they’re perfect, you don’t want anyone to mess that up.
No one is going to love your child the way you do — but maybe, just maybe, with a little due diligence, extensive background checks, and a whole lot of experience you’ll find someone who you can trust for a few hours to keep your child safe and attended to in your absence. I know it feels impossible but it’s not. You can do this, mama.
How to find a reliable babysitter
Finding a reliable and capable babysitter may be the hardest thing parents face. Where do you even begin, right? Well, the best place to look is in places that you are familiar with, among people that you trust and are familiar with. Word of mouth goes a long way. Here is a list of places to look for a reliable babysitter.
- Your church bulletin board
- Your neighborhood newsletter
- Local university and high school
- Your work bulletin board
- Trusted friends, family, and colleagues
The places and people listed above will allow you to choose from a group of people you know — or someone you know, knows. You won’t be blind guessing. But finding a babysitter pool is just the beginning.
Next, you need to check their references. These might be from leaders in your community like teachers, clergymen, and, most importantly, other families who the sitter has babysat for. Make sure you ask the right questions.
4 tips for choosing a babysitter
1. Ask the family
When you contact the families the babysitter has worked for, ask them how many children they have. Ask if the family ever had any concerns with how the babysitter behaved with the children, and also how the sitter interacted with adults.
2. Observe your children with the babysitter
Invite the babysitter to your home to see how she behaves with your children. This will allow you to see how comfortable she is with your children and observe if her “parenting” technique is the same as yours. You need to be on the same page. Find out what she’d do in case of an emergency; make sure it’s the same thing you’d do.
3. Qualifications
Be sure to ask her if your babysitter has had first-aid and CPR training. Is your sitter mature enough to use common sense and good judgment when it comes to taking care of your little ones? Is she kind, friendly, patient, and compassionate? Is she responsible and attentive? Is she constantly on her phone and distracted? Does your gut trust her with your child?
4. How much?
It’s good to know right from the start how much your babysitter charges. Don’t guess. Never assume. Ask directly, it’s important to know if you can even afford this gem of a babysitter that you’ve found.
3 most important things to look for in a babysitter
1. What did the references have to say?
You’ve checked the references but what did they have to say? Did you remember to do the background check? Don’t skimp out — it’s a crucial part of the hiring process to not only make sure that your little one is taken care of but that you have peace of mind. Did she perform the same duties with her previous families as she will do with your family? Does she cook, clean, tutor, and get the kids to bed?
2. Ask your kids what they think about the babysitter
If you really want to know if the babysitter is a good personality fit for your little ones — and if they’re old enough to answer — ask them. Was she nice? Did they have fun? Did she get mad? Did she yell? Did she feed them? Were they paid attention to?
Don’t do it cold turkey, though, especially if this is the first time leaving them with a sitter. “Don’t just hire some teenager one night and take off, leaving your child with a stranger,” Dr. Sears wrote on AskDrSears.com. “Build up to it.”
3. Trust your mama intuition
Even if everything looks perfect on paper, if your gut tells you that something is off, listen. Maybe it’s nothing or maybe it’s something; either way better to be safe than sorry. “I don’t care if she’s the perfect sitter, if she doesn’t ‘feel right’ to me, I can’t leave my son in her care,” mom Melissa Tigu told Mom.com.
