Regardless of whether you are a stay-at-home or working parent, the need for a babysitter will eventually arise. But how can you locate a trustworthy babysitter?

Of course we all hope to hire a sitter we already know, such as a friend or relative. Here are a few other sources for finding a good sitter: neighbors, church groups, local community centers, au pair or nanny services.

No matter what, it’s always important to check references on anyone you leave with your children. In the event of using a stranger or a service found online or through the phone, it is especially important to ask questions and get all the information you can.

Here are my top questions to ask a sitter before leaving them alone with your child:

• Describe your previous experiences in child care. (This is good because it opens the door for them to tell you about volunteer or paid experience, siblings they have watched, or services that have employed them.)
• Are you trained in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver? (This is probably the most important question you could ever ask, and could save your child’s life)
• Do you enjoy working with children?
• What will you do if the child acts out or disobeys? (It is always important to know the discipline tactics of someone watching your child.)
• What rate of pay do you expect of the service?
• What type of availability do you have and can you work on holidays?
• Can you provide a list of references? (Make sure you actually call these references and hear what they have to say about the potential sitter)
• Why should I hire you?
• Are you comfortable working with any age group?
• Are there any health factors that could affect your ability to babysit the child? (This is important and could pertain to allergies to family pets or questions about up-to-date immunizations)

Good luck and always remember to pay close attention to what your children say about the time they spend with a sitter. But probably my most important tip is to trust your intuition! Only hire someone you feel comfortable with.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 1:31 pm and is filed under Newsletter, tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.