Babysitters… they’re like looking for a diamond in the
rough. And finding one you like – no
LOVE – is hard! The whole process of hiring babysitters and nannies is a super stressful, as it’s hard to find someone that you trust with caring for your children. While you’ll find that most professionals from a Nanny Agency in new york will be unsurprisingly trustworthy, but babysitters can be a bit more hit and miss. I have some suggestions on where to look and how to get them acclimated to your kids prior to hiring them. As my wallet will tell you, babysitting pays pretty well, and it is a great way to earn some extra cash. This is especially the case for Cultural Care Au Pair students, who find work as a carer for children while they complete their studies. You might want to look into becoming an au pair if you want to earn some money while you study. On the other hand, you might want to try and find an au pair if you are desperately in need of some alone time away from the kids.
rough. And finding one you like – no
LOVE – is hard! The whole process of hiring babysitters and nannies is a super stressful, as it’s hard to find someone that you trust with caring for your children. While you’ll find that most professionals from a Nanny Agency in new york will be unsurprisingly trustworthy, but babysitters can be a bit more hit and miss. I have some suggestions on where to look and how to get them acclimated to your kids prior to hiring them. As my wallet will tell you, babysitting pays pretty well, and it is a great way to earn some extra cash. This is especially the case for Cultural Care Au Pair students, who find work as a carer for children while they complete their studies. You might want to look into becoming an au pair if you want to earn some money while you study. On the other hand, you might want to try and find an au pair if you are desperately in need of some alone time away from the kids.
Because of my post partum anxiety it took me a long time until I was willing to
let anyone watch any of my kids.
Including my poor mother who couldn’t wait to get her hands on some
newborn babies. Thankfully my mom does
most of our babysitting. Occasionally we
needed someone else and once I was ready, I didn’t know where to look.
I asked on my Facebook page
where you all find sitters and someone said that they had good luck on
Care.com. I know quite a few people who
have used them successfully. Here are
some suggestions on where to look:
where you all find sitters and someone said that they had good luck on
Care.com. I know quite a few people who
have used them successfully. Here are
some suggestions on where to look:
- Church
- Preschools
- Play places (Bounce U, Little Gym)
- Day cares
- Recreational classes (Gymnastics and dance instructors)
- Post a flyer at a local college or contact their early
childhood department and ask if they could recommend anyone.
When we began our search
Care.com didn’t exist (and if it did, we didn’t know about it). I started to pay attention to young girls
around us but had trouble finding someone who met our criteria:
Care.com didn’t exist (and if it did, we didn’t know about it). I started to pay attention to young girls
around us but had trouble finding someone who met our criteria:
- We wanted someone
who was college aged. She didn’t
necessarily need to be in college but needed to have graduated from high
school. Our girls are very close in age
and three kids can be quite a handful.
We thought someone who was older would be more successful at this even
though our girls are very well behaved for sitters. Also, a college-aged girl would be able to
stay later than a high school girl. - We wanted someone
who could drive. We didn’t want to have
to drive someone home at the end of the night.
Matt was especially worried about having to drive a young girl home
alone. We had decided if that were ever
the case, I would drive them home instead. - We wanted someone
who had some experience with children.
Babysitting three kids is no joke.
Often I am sure it feels like you are being in three different
directions. Someone with experience with
kids would have a better understanding on how to juggle that. - We wanted someone
who would dress appropriately. I know
that may seem weird but we’re raising three girls and I don’t want to hear one
of our girls say, “Mama, why can I see her underwear?” And yes, that has happened. (Seriously babysitters, come dressed to
play!)
Miraculously, we have THREE babysitters that we (and the kids) love!
Here is how we found them:
We met M through our
church. Her mother is a preschool teacher
there and M teaches Sunday school. Turns
out that every family pretty much wants her as a babysitter and she’s tough to
snag. She’s a huge hit with ALL kids.
church. Her mother is a preschool teacher
there and M teaches Sunday school. Turns
out that every family pretty much wants her as a babysitter and she’s tough to
snag. She’s a huge hit with ALL kids.
E was found by pure luck. We were taking classes at the Little Gym and
asked the director if she knew of any college age girls who would be interested
in babysitting. We had an event coming
up that we desperately needed a sitter for.
We had E come over for our trial run and the girls LOVED her. She’s our most regular babysitter when she’s home from college.
asked the director if she knew of any college age girls who would be interested
in babysitting. We had an event coming
up that we desperately needed a sitter for.
We had E come over for our trial run and the girls LOVED her. She’s our most regular babysitter when she’s home from college.
I have known D since she was
a baby. Ironically, I babysat her while
she was an infant. She has a degree in
elementary education and is currently a preschool teacher. She couldn’t be more perfect.
a baby. Ironically, I babysat her while
she was an infant. She has a degree in
elementary education and is currently a preschool teacher. She couldn’t be more perfect.
All three babysitters are AMAZING
with our kids. They play with them the
entire time, aren’t afraid to get dirty and play outside, and make them feel
special. I love that about them. They also make sure the kids clean up which
is important to us.
with our kids. They play with them the
entire time, aren’t afraid to get dirty and play outside, and make them feel
special. I love that about them. They also make sure the kids clean up which
is important to us.
Our routine when we get a new sitter:
Whenever we get a new sitter
we always have her come over first. They
come to watch the kids while I am home and working. Usually I am sewing or cleaning the upstairs. This is an important step for us. I think it’s important for a babysitter to be
in our home and see our children fight and see how we, as parents, want their
conflicts handled. I actually pray that
the kids will fight so I can demonstrate how we work their problem solving
skills with the kids.
we always have her come over first. They
come to watch the kids while I am home and working. Usually I am sewing or cleaning the upstairs. This is an important step for us. I think it’s important for a babysitter to be
in our home and see our children fight and see how we, as parents, want their
conflicts handled. I actually pray that
the kids will fight so I can demonstrate how we work their problem solving
skills with the kids.
We didn’t always do
this. We started doing this because we had a
babysitter here once who was playing with the dollhouse with the girls. I overheard the sitter using the Mommy doll
to punish the baby doll. She spanked her
and put her in time out – two things we don’t do in our house. It was at that point that I realized I didn’t
want her playing that way with the girls and didn’t want her to think we
disciplined our kids in that manner, either. Having her come over for a trial run allows us to make clear what our expectations are.
this. We started doing this because we had a
babysitter here once who was playing with the dollhouse with the girls. I overheard the sitter using the Mommy doll
to punish the baby doll. She spanked her
and put her in time out – two things we don’t do in our house. It was at that point that I realized I didn’t
want her playing that way with the girls and didn’t want her to think we
disciplined our kids in that manner, either. Having her come over for a trial run allows us to make clear what our expectations are.
I’m not sure if you noticed
or not, but I always write SHE when talking about a potential babysitter. Matt and I have talked about whether or not
we’d hire a male for the job. While in theory we’d love to say, “Yes, of
course we would,” we never really were sure. I know he’d be fine following our rules and playing with
them. I would more be worried about the bathroom issues that come with three
girls in the ages between 3 and 6. If the girls were older, I know we wouldn’t hesitate for a second. We never came across a male sitter to have to make that decision.
or not, but I always write SHE when talking about a potential babysitter. Matt and I have talked about whether or not
we’d hire a male for the job. While in theory we’d love to say, “Yes, of
course we would,” we never really were sure. I know he’d be fine following our rules and playing with
them. I would more be worried about the bathroom issues that come with three
girls in the ages between 3 and 6. If the girls were older, I know we wouldn’t hesitate for a second. We never came across a male sitter to have to make that decision.
Would you hire a male
babysitter? Why or why not?
babysitter? Why or why not?
xoxo
–k
I don't have kids, but I used to babysit a lot in high school. Thankfully it was for walkable neighbors (less than 3 houses away) and I was a night owl so I never minded staying until midnight (the easiest part is after the kids go to bed anyway). Anyway, my brother used to come with me. The families all had either just boys or girls and boys. I'd change the diapers and feed the kids and he would PLAY. And play and play and play. Legos, swingset, power rangers, whatever the kids wanted. He was 2 years younger than me, so I would have been 15-17 and he would have been 13-15. It worked out so well, we just split the money but we were too young to get jobs that required a car so we appreciated the cash and we still made plenty of money. One of the boys was diabetic, and we still did great even that young. I never felt unsure with his health issues (although i'm not afraid of blood or needles or anything). It was hard work, but it was good money and we enjoyed it. Plus when I went to college, my brother was still available to keep watching them. Built in replacement! It sounds like you have found girl babysitters who will play for hours, which is great. These kids would wear me out quickly so I was thrilled to bring them a playmate who would give piggy back rides and build race tracks and pillow forts long while i popped in a video and gave the little one a bottle. 🙂
Love your post about babysitters! It's always interesting to see how different families do different things. As quite the experienced sitter, I always like it best when I have a trial run with new families with a parent still home. I get paid anywhere from $10-15 an hour and I have recently started to watch some kiddos for overnight weekends.
Funny you mentioned male babysitters- When I was in 8th grade I mentioned one time to one of my best guy friends, M, that I was having a hard time finding activities that both me and the little dude I was babysitting both enjoyed. He volunteered to come over one time (with the little guy's mom's permission of course) and help me out. Within a week my friend M was the go-to babysitter for all of the boys in the neighborhood!
Glad to see you have 3 great sitters!! Still wish I was closer so I could play with your cuties 🙂
xo, @kmalbs
We've never had a male babysitter. It has always been a female looking after the kids. It's not that i dont trust male babysitters but it's usually females who apply for the job, aside from that, i just have a feeling of security when i leave the kids under a woman's care, i have 2 daughters so probably that explains why. I'm lucky to have my babysitter who has been with us for over a year now.
– BabySittersRegistry.com
The sort of work for babysitters furthermore varies on the toddlers, via seeing a new slumbering youngster, modifying diapers, to help doing offers, getting ready food, educating the kid to read, or even traveling, based on the contract between your moms and dads plus the babysitter.
I enjoyed your blog and i must say, you are lucky to find three amazing babysitters. Finding a babysitter is hard enough and it's harder to find a babysitter that you can love. I completely with what you said, to have the babysitter come over first and see how the kids fight and how you guys handle the conflicts. I think it is best that we have the kids and the sitter spend some time before we actually leave them under their care. About hiring a male babysitter, i haven't thought about that.
BabySittersRegistry.com