Finding a Nanny

ambmama

Has anyone had luck finding a nanny or sitter online other than at Care.com? I've searched Care and after 2 months if searching just can't seem to find the right person. I want to make sure the site is credible and safe, but am hoping there are options I haven't heard of. TIA!

Starfish02807

I have always had great luck on Craigs list and its free. You can post a job in their childcare section. I have found two great live in sitters thatI had for two years each. I demand references and check them all and interview applicants with a friend at a local coffee shop.gr they have any information about my kids other then how many and their ages. I don't like care.com

babyhannah2013

I found my nanny on care.com and I love her! I am so lucky to have found her. I found her after my SIL flaked on us one week prior to me returning to work. I would recommend running your own background check in addition to the one provided on care.com, just my opinion. Good luck with your search!

nycitygirl1

I also found my nanny on Care.com and love love love her! I posted a job and had a lot of (unqualified) people respond, but I got the best results when I sent messages to people whose profiles I viewed and felt were qualified.

I'm not sure where you live but Urban Sitter is a place where friends of mine have had success (not sure if they are in your area). You could also try an agency, but those can be very expensive.

Brummy14

We didn't have any luck on care.com, ourselves -- the nanny we did end up hiring (we only needed someone two days a week -- my parents cover the other three), we found via a personal reference. I just posted a short blurb on FB, and a friend recommended someone - and she was PERFECT.

At the same time, we were also in touch with a placement agency to help us out (another friend who is also a nanny recommended the service, which was helpful), since we had particular needs with preemie twins -- the candidate they found for us was also great, just not as good as the first we found. While the placement fees were a bit steep (standard 1 month's pay), we were willing to pay that for the peace of mind of finding the right person, thorough background checks, etc. 

We had the great dilemma of having TWO amazing candidates -- we actually lost sleep over which one to choose (after having spent months prior losing sleep about not being able to find *anyone*)

Hang in there -- and keep looking. I know how absurdly stressful this process can be! 

ambmama

Thanks everyone. Our first nanny we hired through care.com and it ended up being a disaster. I put something out on FB and am looking through Care profiles again, so hoping I can find someone. I work from home so I just need someone for about 25 hours per week, but it's been a challenge so far!

bthshnnn

Sittercity.com is similar to care, but I got more jobs off sittercity. I would definitely recommend sittercity!