How To Find A Babysitter

It might be that you’ve found a babysitter – but you need babysitters to stay. You may have tried hiring a good babysitter in one occasion but somehow can’t get her to work again for you for some reason or another. How do you keep good sitters working for you?

Parents need to remember that babysitters, especially the good ones who are not purely motivated by the monetary remuneration from the job alone, can screen families, too, in the same way that families screen their babysitters. It is no doubt that these babysitters have personal preferences, too, when it comes to how they are treated, their working conditions, and house rules among others. If you need babysitters to stay, here are some factors you may want to look into.

Duties and Responsibilities

Of course it is not proper to assume and it is always best to talk it out with the sitter but one possible factor that keeps her from working again for you could be her duties and responsibilities. As the employer, it is necessary to delineate her duties and responsibilities. No one wants to be hired as such only to work at odd jobs around the house. Prior to starting her stint as a babysitter, sit her down in a one-on-one talk about the job description. It would be wise to be honest about your expectations from the beginning. Albeit babysitters are generally hired to watch over kids, you may need yours to do a little cooking for the kids or some tutoring with homework. Once you have discussed the job description, make sure you try and stick to what has been agreed.

The Working Conditions and House Rules

Aside from a clear list of duties and responsibilities, all other working conditions should be established. This would include whether or not she needs to stay up late into the night to wait for you, or whether or not she can bring a friend along, whether or not she’s allowed to cook her own food or watch television when the kids are already in bed. Is there any room in the house where she and the kids are not allowed? Are there house facilities, such as swimming pool or game room or entertainment room, where she and the kids can explore? Make sure your babysitter knows how you would like your facilities and things to be used.

Disciplinary Method

Some professional babysitters who take the job to heart can be quite sensitive when it comes to questioning their disciplinary methods. Since you are the parent though, you are entitled to instruct her on how you want your kids to be managed and handled. The idea here is for her to use the same disciplinary method that you are using in order to avoid confusion in the kids. Before your babysitter starts, discuss with her the ways in which you would want a behavioral problem to be handled.

Rate

Nobody works for free. Your sitter may not be purely motivated by money alone but they don’t work for free. The rate or salary therefore is a major point of concern for you when you need babysitters to stay. As a general rule, babysitter rates can vary within a range, depending on her training, experience, and job description. If you need babysitters to stay around, make sure you’re paying them enough to commensurate their experience and ability. Be transparent as to how much you can afford to pay. If you cannot afford to pay more, make sure the babysitter understands this perfectly.

Every once in a while, we need babysitters. Whether they are from a babysitting agency or from around the neighborhood, the idea is to keep the good ones working for us. But in order for them to keep their end of the bargain, you need to keep yours, too.

Try to find a nanny and, if you haven’t realized yet, you’ll find out that parenthood goes beyond providing for your kids material needs; it is also about making sure their safety and welfare are taken cared of while you work to provide for what they need. This is because when you try to find a nanny, you do more than consider whether the person has the capabilities to watch over your kids, you also have to make sure they don’t put your kids in any form of danger. Finding a nanny then entails a laborious process of screening and interview questions and below are some of these questions:

Can you tell me a little bit about your experience working with kids?

The most basic question perhaps but it is one of the most crucial in trying to establish the experience of the nanny. It is noteworthy to remember though that some people who don’t have the experience can still end up as good nannies. However, some families still prefer nannies with prior work experiences. This is especially true if you know your kids to be quite a handful. Other than babysitting experience, you may also consider individuals who have worked with kids in other settings such as the classroom, in nurseries or in day care.

Have you had any special training relevant to babysitting?

One doesn’t need to go to school to become a nanny. It is a given though that being a nanny require certain skills and knowledge to help ensure the safety of their charges. As a parent, find out if the potential sitter has had any first aid training, emergency response and CPR. You would want a nanny who can give the right initial response in case of emergencies.

Why do you want to become a nanny?

Nannies who are inclined to work with kids are the best candidates. Asking this question will tell you a lot about an applicant’s motivation for going into babysitting, and her character. It is understood that people generally work for the money but nanny candidates who naturally enjoy being with kids is a better option, all other things considered.

In your opinion, what is the proper way of disciplining kids?

Discipline is one aspect of babysitting you should not take lightly. Find out if your nanny applicant shares the same beliefs as you when it comes to disciplining the kids. This is because you want your nannies methods of discipline to be consistent with yours. The more consistent the method between, the less likely the kids become confused. This is also a good way of determining whether your nanny has the tendency to become severe or too physical when it comes to disciplining.

How did you deal with the difficulties in your former job?

Generally, kids are not easy to handle. They are naturally inquisitive and curious and they can slip past your attention with the slightest distraction. It is therefore not uncommon for nannies to encounter problems with handling kids. As the applicant about such experiences and how they dealt with it. It will help you determining if she has the patience, creativity and determination to manage your kids.

What are you currently doing?

Find out if your nanny applicant is currently working elsewhere. It is common to find people who hold two different jobs. As long as her day job doesn’t come in conflict with the time you need her for the kids, it shouldn’t be a problem. This only becomes a problem if your nanny has side jobs that she wouldn’t mind performing while watching over the kids!

Asking these basic questions can help you find a nanny that suits your child’s behavior best. Of course, it is up to you to follow up on an answer or ask her to expound on one. Good interviews should be able to give you an idea of your potential nanny’s character not just in what she is saying but in how she is saying it.

Desperation can tempt you to put up babysitter wanted signs in your neighborhood. Even if you did, you’d do well not to fool yourself into believing that everything will move on smoothly from there. The truth is that searching for a sitter and finding one that fits your requirements can be more stressful and time consuming than you think.

To help you in this quest, here are a few steps.

Step One: Start The Search

The most logical thing to do is to actually start the search. There are several sources that could give you some good babysitter prospects: recommendations from friends and neighbors. You can also post an ad in the papers or, if you feel you need to, post an ad of your own.

A more practical and convenient option would be to start with an agency. It is convenient because most of these agencies have online sites so you need not do leg work going from one agency to another. It is also practical since you need only approach one site and you get several babysitter candidates at the same time. Unknown to most parents, these agencies and services are now more affordable.

Step Two: Find Out How Much It Costs

After narrowing down on some prospects, find out how much it costs. If you have more than one agency in mind, you can compare the costs and the services included therein.

If you are searching for a babysitter without coursing through an agency, you will have to do more than consult the average rates in your area. You will have to consider other rate factors such as experience, those with training, and those who offer other non-sitting services such as tutoring.

Step Three: Background Check

The search for a babysitter will not end when you have taken down the babysitter wanted sign. Once you have the candidate, the next in your agenda is to make sure she is the right person for the job. This means you need to do background check up. One can never be too careful. After all, you are entrusting the lives of your children to someone you hardly know. A background check is therefore essential.

Step Four: Informal Interview

An interview with the babysitter candidate would also help in determining any quirks she may have that could affect her duties as a sitter. A simple chat that allows her to let down her guard should give you a glimpse of what she may easily hide behind a formal interview or conversation.

An informal chat is also a good opportunity for you to set down the house rules you would want her to follow while sitting for the kids. As much as possible, it should be clear to her what’s allowed for dessert, how late the kids are allowed to stay up, when the kids should be put to bed. These guidelines may seem trivial to some parents but you have to remember that your babysitter have sat for different homes with different set of rules. Aside from the standard or general rules of safety, what can work for some families may not necessarily work with yours.

Aside from house rules, the babysitter should also be briefed with how you want your kids to be treated in terms of discipline. This is because you want the sitter’s rules to be consistent with your rules and discipline methods.

Step Five: See If The Kids And The Sitter Match

There are just some things you cannot conclude for yourself unless you’ve seen the babysitter wanted and your kids together. One of these things is whether they match or not. Allow the babysitter and the kids a few hours as an initial session. After which, you can ask each, separately, how it went.

Putting a babysitter wanted sign and getting the desired results will depend greatly on how much effort you are willing to put into it. Nonetheless, once you’ve found a suitable sitter, you can simply keep the number so you wouldn’t need to go through the process of looking for one.