How to Choose a Good Baby Sitter

A good baby sitter can restore a measure of sanity back into the lives of even the most harried parents. Follow these steps to choose the sitter that's best for your child.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Address Books
• Yellow Pages

1. Talk to trusted friends and relatives. The best person to sit your child is someone with experience and good referrals.

2. Look in your neighborhood. Pay attention to teenagers in your neighborhood and approach some you think would fit the job. A sitter in your neighborhood has the added benefit of having their parents close by for problems or emergencies.

3. Choose someone old enough. A sitter who is 11 or older should be qualified to look after older children. An infant, however, requires an older and more experienced caretaker.

4. Ask lots of questions. Have a checklist handy when interviewing potential sitters. Include questions about experience, first aid or CPR training, transportation and payment. Inquire about habits like smoking or swearing. Ask for references and call to check them.

5. Watch the potential sitter interact with your child. So your child and the sitter can get to know each other, invite the sitter over for a trial period where you work in another room while the sitter interacts with your child. Watch or listen closely for discipline strategies and ability to guide or redirect play.

6. If your sitter is an adolescent, meet his or her parents. It's a good idea to have the sitter's parents meet your child, too. Make sure the parents will be available for any problems or emergencies that arise.

Tips & Warnings

• Always provide emergency numbers and identify trusted neighbors to contact in case of any emergency.
• Lay down the rules of your house the very first time the sitter works for you. Include discipline approaches, feeding and bedtimes and do's and don'ts for the sitter to adhere to.
• When your children are old enough to understand, talk to them about different types of abuse. Make it very clear that you want to know if something or someone hurts them or makes them feel uncomfortable.

on 6/29/2006 If your child goes to Sunday school, scouts, or other programs, watch how the child interacts with the (often) teenage volunteers. Many are high school or college students, and for the most part they enjoy children and are therefore working with them.

I've gotten hired many times through scouts, summer camps, and Sunday schools.

on 11/22/2005 The woman I babysit for paid for me to go to a babysitting course before I started. It was only for four or five hours, and it cost just $30. The Red Cross does them in each town. Give them a call or check the website to see if there is a course near you. I learned how to do the Heimlich, CPR, and all the basics. It also tells you what to do in case of emergency in all situations (burglar, fire, injury, misbehavior). It is a really good investment if you are planning on hiring a full time sitter, and you have a feeling of assurance when you leave your child with them. You get a "degree," all sorts of paperwork about emergencies, call sheets, etc. It is all done by the Red Cross. All of the paperwork and the "degree" is directly from their headquaters. For parents, it's well worth it, and I'm sure the babysitter won't mind doing it either - just make sure you ask them first!