TTMA hiring a babysitter

[charliefox]

I've always been the babysitter, which I feel like should've prepared me to hire a babysitter but I'm feeling lost.

There's a girl who lives around the corner that is coming over tomorrow to chat. We met her because she would watch the local jeweler's kids at his shop occasionally. H thinks she's the perfect solution because she's right there but I'm pretty sure she's in high school which makes me nervous (although having her parents nearby is nice). Otherwise I'm considering putting an add on care.com.

Any other suggestions? Questions to ask? Information to provide? How much to pay/offer?

I feel like I'm not adult enough to hire a babysitter!!!

Eta: words.

[London]

I wouldn't worry about her being in high school. If she's a good kid and you trust her to handle an emergency, then that's the bottom line. I did a ton of babysitting as a teenager and frankly don't consider myself to be any more qualified now than I was then.

I would ask parents in your area what they pay sitters. I suspect this will range hugely by area. Some questions for any potential sitter might be:

- have you taken CPR training?
- how would you handle hypothetical situations x, y, and z?
- do you have any references? (Past families, or if she's on school maybe a teacher or coach)

I would also schedule a time to have her watch C while you're home (doing a project or working or whatever, but close enough to lurk), just to test the waters for both of you.

[eliza040502]

I asked all my neighbors (who I trust) who they use and recommend. It definitely fast tracked the process. We've only had the sitter come once so far. I definitely didn't ask many questions. I trusted that my neighbor had done sufficient vetting! Perhaps I should have asked a bit more ...

[emejay]

I asked our 16 year old neighbour if she'd like to babysit sometimes when Arthur is sleeping and we need someone to watch the monitor.

TBH - the fact that she has access to her parents quickly is a big plus.

[mowkey]

We've been using my dcp's daughter as a sitter the last three years occasionally. She's 18 now. I had no problems leaving my son with her because she was a responsible and kind as far as I knew. She was around the house every day after school, so I knew her well enough. I think a high school kid is fine for date nights.

[uclameghan]

We wouldn't hesitate to use the RIGHT high school student. We are HS teachers so we have used students that we trust - we LOVE when we know their parents are close by too.

We've also used DCP's daughter - Asher loves her and she sees him almost everyday since there's overlap when she gets home from school before I pick him up.

[cocopuff]

I'm no help since the only sitters we've used are relatives, and only once since M was born. But we interviewed a bunch through care.com. I'd definitely ask what they would do in certain situations - fever, inconsolable, etc.

While I'm definitely anxious about finding a sitter, my husband cannot get comfortable with it. We only have one neighbor we speak to and they don't use a sitter. We've tried asking other parent friends about their sitters, but no one has been willing to share. One dad openly admitted that they don't want anyone stealing their sitter so they don't share her name.

I'd be ok with a teen whose parents are nearby if the kids are asleep the whole time. Otherwise, a trial run to see the interaction yourself would be a good idea.

[britbratjf]

The only high school kid I've used is my cousin & she's done fine!! If they've completed a babysitting course & CPR course they'll be fine! Unless your kid is a terror to put to bed. Then if only use them for day dates. I pay $8-$10 depending on experience

[hovenb]

Jun 21, 2016 20:08:36 GMT -5 ntaylor989 said:

So far all of our non-family sitters have been daycare teachers of the boys.

Same. I haven't used them yet but plan to use the DCP teachers when I need a non relative babysitter. So you'll have one come August/September!

[charliefox]

Jun 21, 2016 22:15:32 GMT -5 hovenb said:

Jun 21, 2016 20:08:36 GMT -5 ntaylor989 said:

So far all of our non-family sitters have been daycare teachers of the boys.

Same. I haven't used them yet but plan to use the DCP teachers when I need a non relative babysitter. So you'll have one come August/September!

I know! But for now we'll have to settle for someone else, plus it would be nice to have someone around for daytime stuff...which neither the DCPs or the high schooler would be good for...

[charliefox]

Thanks guise! If I like this girl we'll probably only use her for date nights when Cal is asleep. I can't believe we might have a real date in our future