How to find babysitters?

zestyfrog7

We have such a hard time establishing a babysitter that is available.  We have an awesome one that is 24 but she tends not to be available that much.  Need new suggestions on how to find more babysitters and we want them to be able to drive to our house and back home as that is just such a pain.

 

sensoregurl

care.com

I've never used it, but they prescreen and you can find sitters. Truthfully I find my sitters by references of people at work. Either their children or sitters they use for their children.

 

Good luck. I agree about having to go pick up your sitter - I hate doing that!

flower_lover

Couple of ideas that worked very well for friends of mine:

first, one person posted an ad on a bulletin board at a nearby senior citizen housing complex. She got so many calls she had to turn people away, she said she felt bad as each person seemed so nice, many contacts were widows. The bulletin board post was a key, we always think internet, but for seniors, that is not the place they look. It also worked because there were people who weren't looking for a "job", but who thought it would be a great way to spend time and get extra spending money, and who of course have plenty of free time. 

second, not sure if you would consider a live-in nanny, but another friend posted ads in small town newspapers/on Craigslist for small towns. It was pretty easy for her to find someone from a small town who was interested in moving to the city.

Thought these were both worth mentioning as they are creative ideas that worked well.

roxane

I have used care.com, and I loved it. We paid $30 for one month's membership and got a couple of great sitters out of it.

becketts

If you have a church home, you could ask the youth pastor for some suggestions of older teens who babysit.