Care.com? Anyone used it?

[mrsdee1982]

DH and I have decided we need to find someone who can come to our house and babysit when we need a few hours of help here and there.   We will still primarily rely on family, but it's not always convenient/practical.  

I think we're going to sign up for Care.com and try and find a babysitter.  Obviously, I have hesitations though.  Stranger danger and all that jazz. 

Has anyone used care?  Any tips or advice?  We plan on interviewing a few before we select someone.  

What interview questions would you ask?

[alayne926]

We tried, but we ran into a lot of college kids that didn't work for our schedule. I'm not opposed to it, but we didn't have luck. We were also looking for full-time, though, so it's a little bit different than your situation. I like that they do background checks for you.

[billyhorrible]

1) We found a great sitter through Care.com, but we interviewed a ton and only found one. So it can be hit or miss. As far as questions, I asked their experience in like-aged children, how they handle typical situations we deal with (bedtimes, food, etc.), comfort with a diaper ;-) and then watched interaction with LBB. We always met at a park/playground so they could get a sense of his energy and we could get a sense of hers.

2)I have local resources I can tap into in your area if you want. Let me know.

[tatersalad]

Like Jemomna I paid to advertise on Care.com with exactly what times/hours we were looking for and I found 2 great sitters amongst all of the awful ones. I also paid for background checks. I started to feel really frustrated with the service and then I found our go to sitter, so in the end it worked out. I received tons of messages from sitters who did not meet our criteria (high school students when I specified college students) and that was annoying. Hope it works out for you!

[Deleted]

I found a great dog sitter there, but I'm afraid to look for child care there, even though I know lots of people who found very responsible, reliable, safe folks there.

[mrsdee1982]

billyhorrible, I would love to know more about your resources!

[billyhorrible]

Feb 17, 2016 10:51:59 GMT -5 mrsdee1982 said:

billyhorrible , I would love to know more about your resources!

You've got a PM then.