Babysitters

BADASBKRCK

So, this isn't urgent and we may never need one... but outside of family, where on earth does one go to locate a good, reliable and responsible babysitter? I mostly have family that volunteers, but I know some day we will need one and not have family available when necessary.

AmberLiz99

I have no family close enough to babysit. I'm part of a babysitting swap through church, where the moms trade off watching each others kids (it's a complex point system). I also met and interviewed a nice college student that we can call when we need a sitter.

rrachelle813

I've heard a lot of people have success on care.com. They have references listed too.

JamiesWife2010

We found one on Sittercity.Com.

yellowflower15

We have no family closer than a 5 hour plane ride, so a sitter is a must... We found ours through daycare. We asked if any of the staff did babysitting on the side. One of the young, part-time staff did and so we felt very comfortable with that. Unfortunately she left the daycare and now has a job that doesn't really allow her to babysit (well, good for her, just bad for us). So now we're searching again. I sent an email out to the daycare parents with no luck. I think we'll have to resort to a company... We need to go out!

yellowflower15

You could look into ECE students if you have a college nearby.

emilyann64

We use a sitter that our good friends use. They found her on care.com. The really nice thing about it is there are reviews from families and you can do a background check.

momofmanyinthemitten

We've got several leads from girls at church, but DD1 (who has SPD) isn't ready to be babysat by anyone other than family. We have friends who have had success with care.com. If you know any other moms in your area, ask them for recommendations. I got several jobs from a board at my university's education department.

ETA: When DD1 was about 10 mos old, DH's co-worker offered her daughter to sit. She was in 7th grade and I would only have her over for about an hour at a time so that I could run an errand or get something done around the house. It's too bad we moved out of state soon after because DD1 actually liked her.

kmos816

We found 2 sitters through care.com- and worked out very well!