Tips for Getting Your First (and Best) Babysitter

There are normally mixed feelings involved when it’s time to consider getting a sitter for your child(ren). Here are some tips to help you find a great babysitter that will keep your mind at ease, and one that will keep your kids happy.

Get Recommendations. Get recommendations from your friends who have kids that are about the same age as yours. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about what their performance is like. What worries do your friends have? Any bad habits? Why are they recommending this sitter? Can the sitter handle your kids?

Get to Know Your Sitter First. Before you leave some stranger with your child, spend a week or two with her. Ask her to come over and spend some time with you and the kids either at your house or at a park. Talk about your concerns and your potential sitter’s concerns as well. Watch her and the kids play. Is there chemistry there? Your kids may potentially spend a lot of time with this sitter so it is important to know whether or not they all get along.

Partner with One of Your Kids’ Friend’s Parents. Forming a “Babysitting Co-op” with some neighbors or friends is a great way to get a monthly date night scheduled without having to worry about getting a sitter. Make sure that you and your friend clearly set rules about how often you can ask each other to sit (emergency and/or planned) and how early you should ask. Depending on your schedules, you could have one or two date nights a month with one emergency as well. Keep in mind that your kids will have to spend time with each other so you should pick friends that your kids get along with.

Make Sure Your Sitter is Taken Care of. Grab a movie for them to watch. These days, kid’s movies aren’t just child’s play anymore. There are entertaining movies that will engage people of all walks of life. If you don’t want them to just watch mindless television, then bust out some board games for them to choose from. Have some healthy or kid approved concessions for the movie and keep a stash of “Sitter Snacks” for when he or she puts your little one(s) to bed. Both your kids and your sitter will appreciation the time that you took to make sure that everyone (including yourself) has a wonderful time.

Advanced Notice Is Important. Just like you and your husband need to schedule date nights into your busy schedule, so does your sitter (who has a much more eventful social life than you and husband put together – probably).

Sources:

Dating Divas (http://www.thedatingdivas.com/tips-from-the-divas/10-tips-find-great-babysitter/)

Image by Jarmoluk (http://pixabay.com/en/child-baby-love-newborn-baby-428377/)