Babysitters

kmos816 · September 2014

Who is your babysitter? My family is 5 hours away and we don't trust DHs family to babysit- nor are they interested (and one hour away). So who babysits for you? Any luck with finding sitters off care.com?

Laroo0220 · September 2014

Our family is 5 hrs away too so we usually ask a friend. I have some friends who haven't had kids yet but are great with our kids so they are pur go to people. No experience with care.com

Kyllarae · September 2014

For now, my cousin's fiance is our babysitter. It's very temporary until the center near us has an open spot. The babysitter is 25 miles away so it's a hike and sometimes it costs me more to bring the baby there than what I make that day but it's worth it to me. I'd rather have someone I know and trust watching her than a stranger.

belindahampton · September 2014

We found our nanny on care.com and she's been amazing... she also works as our babysitter on nights we need her to. I'm considering finding a second babysitter in the case that she couldn't help (also don't want to over work her) and I will definitely be using care again to find candidates.

The only suggestions I have would be the same where ever you found a candidate - interview thoroughly, make sure to get the background check and always call references.

*sparky* · September 2014

We used to use our neighbors' kids but now they have all gone off to college. :-(

We also have used my parents but my step mother is not in good health so that is not an option very often.

We found our nanny on care.com. There are tons of sitters on there - like someone else said, just make sure you do background checks, etc.

Also if you have any neighbors or friends with young kids ask who they use.

kmos816 · September 2014

My friends with LOs use their parents- lucky them!!! I'll check out care.com.... Thanks!

snowbound · September 2014

Wow. I'm surprised to see so many of y'all have used care.com. DH and I are so skeptical of letting other people watch our son. I should take a peek...

momofmanyinthemitten · September 2014

I have several friends who used care.com and are very happy with their sitters. FIL, our go-to sitter, just had surgery for pancreatic cancer. That kind of puts a damper on caring for small children. Several middle and high school kids from church have offered to sit for us, so I'm thinking we'll have to take them up on it soon. It's tough for us because 3 y/o DD1, is not comfortable with strangers (or even family members that she sees several times a week). And when I say uncomfortable, I mean panic attack/scream/cry/break out of the house to run after us uncomfortable.

hpanabaker · September 2014

Usually it's family, but if they weren't available we have a high school student who we trust. She did her co-op placement with me at my home daycare so I know she's capable.

yellowflower15 · September 2014

Our family is all a 5 hour flight away, so no luck there! We actually haven't left our kids with anyone since the LO was born. But, when we do, we have a part-time staff from DD's daycare who also babysits for a number of families at our centre. That made us feel better.

snowbound · September 2014

@dani+california‌ that makes sense. We are in a town with zero family and next to no friends. So we've just accepted that we're tied to a baby. Not a big deal. A nice dinner together sans baby would be nice, though. Maybe I can convince him. Luckily, there's an hourly daycare that's open nights/weekends but LO isn't quite old enough yet.

allyandmike24 · September 2014

We have a neighborhood babysitting co-op. You "earn" 1 hour of babysitting per kid for each hour that you provide. We have an email group, so when you know you need care you email the group for coverage. You "pay" with earned hours (little coupons that are printed out) and then they can "pay" someone else in the co-op to watch their kid/kids.

zazu13 · September 2014

We are lucky to have family close by. My sister tends when I work and MIL is back up. My mom will do date night or weekend. I've used a teen next door for short times like running to the store or gym

janice9821 · September 2014

I contacted the local agency that certifies day cares and got a list of places currently accepting infants. That's how I found my daycare. I also have 2 babysitters I found on care.com that I really like but haven't used yet. I have them as backup and for days where I work wacky hours or DH and I need to go out or whatever.

strawberrytree · September 2014

I found my sitter on care.com as well, although I haven't yet left the baby with her. She is awesome- young and energetic and fantastic with my toddler. We don't live near family and I wouldn't leave my kids with the ILs anyway so we didn't have much of a choice. I'm so glad I found her! You can just look around at profiles on care.com before posting an ad or paying the fee so you could get a feel for what kind of care provider you're looking for.

hlm184 · September 2014

Does anyone have a part-time drop off care provider? We're military, zero family around, and I'm not comfortable with having a stranger in our house because of the firearms (they're locked up, but even so).

LaNorte · September 2014

I have just starting letting my students babysit - they've been chomping at the bit since LO was born! Yeah, they're teenagers, but I've had them in my classes for 5 years and I know which ones are the good eggs. Thus far, they have been better at getting LO to nap than me, so I might just ask them to move in permanently.

speechie517 · September 2014

What's a babysitter?

I have several friends who have standing offers to watch B and one of the Kindergarten teachers that I work with who is "waiting on her son to settle down" and "give her grandbabies". I have only used babysitters to go to two weddings, a concert, and an evening work meeting. We need to get out more!

MamaFantastic · September 2014

Scrolling through, I had to wonder if this was a paid advertisement for care.com

My brother lives locally so we use him. We also use our neighbors and people from our church. My parents are an hour away and they watch kiddo for longer stays.

Truthfully, though, we don't get out much.

ricekez · September 2014

We have a few different teenagers who babysit for date nights. We met one through our church, one is a coworker's daughter, and one is a neighborhood girl who babysits for a friend of mine. I also have a coworker whose wife is a college professor and recommends her students to me.

AmberLiz99 · September 2014

kielpinskim said:
I have several friends who used care.com and are very happy with their sitters. FIL, our go-to sitter, just had surgery for pancreatic cancer. That kind of puts a damper on caring for small children. Several middle and high school kids from church have offered to sit for us, so I'm thinking we'll have to take them up on it soon. It's tough for us because 3 y/o DD1, is not comfortable with strangers (or even family members that she sees several times a week). And when I say uncomfortable, I mean panic attack/scream/cry/break out of the house to run after us uncomfortable.

I have this same problem with my 3 year old boy. I have the hardest time getting a sitter because of it!

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