How to Hire a Baby Sitter

Baby-sitting gives responsible teenagers a chance to earn money-- and hiring a baby sitter can give you a well-deserved night on the town. Choose a baby sitter carefully; this person will be caring for your loved ones. If you're hiring a full-time or part-time baby sitter, go through an agency that does thorough background checks and provides training in emergency first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). See How to Find Fabulous Childcare for more information.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• References
• List of emergency phone numbers

1. Rely on word of mouth to find a baby sitter. Does your child's friends have older siblings? Does your church have a teen group? Can a counselor at the local high school recommend someone? Consider a spry senior citizen who has lots of experience with children, or a camp counselor.

2. Contact a local childcare referral agency for a list of people who have graduated from their childcare skills class.

3. Call prospective sitters to discuss rates and availability.

4. Check two or three personal references. For a teenager who doesn't have baby-sitting clients yet, speak to a teacher or coach.

5. Have strong candidates come to your house for a few hours while you're there to take care of the kids. Stay in the background but keep your eyes peeled for how he or she interacts with your children and how they respond to the sitter. Trust your gut.

6. Review instructions for the baby sitter in person. Include guidelines about television viewing and Internet surfing, snacking, personal phone calls or visitors, disciplinary approaches and bedtime routines.

7. Leave a list of emergency phone numbers (including a neighbor's), how you can be reached, and any food allergies or health issues. Show the sitter where you keep first aid supplies.

8. Ask your children about the baby sitter the following day. Listen carefully to their responses to evaluate whether you'd hire him or her on a regular basis.

Tips & Warnings

• Alert a watchful neighbor about the baby sitter's first visit. He or she can keep an eye out for loud music or friends sneaking by for a visit.

• Make sure the baby sitter knows how to change diapers if such skills are needed.

• If the baby sitter will be chauffeuring your kids to and from lessons, ask to see a driving record to check for moving violations.

• Children make up the wildest stories for baby sitters about what parents allow them to eat, watch or do. Preempt those efforts with clear written guidelines.