It can be quite difficult to find a good babysitter. You want someone who is good with kids, but doesn’t act like one of the kids. At least, you don’t want to wonder if the babysitter needs a babysitter to watch her and the kids!
You want someone who takes initiative and maybe has some activities for the kids. But you don’t want someone who leaves a mess. You don’t want to vacuum glitter for the next forty days and forty nights!
You want someone who will be in charge, but you don’t want someone who will act like a prison guard. At the same time, you don’t want someone so mousey that the kids take over and your home becomes a scene from Lord of the Flies.
How can you find a good babysitter? Here are some tips that worked for our family.
- If you attend a church, religious institution or a social club, ask around. A church usually has a youth group. It doesn’t hurt to ask the youth pastor and get to know an available student.
- If your child attends Sunday school or extracurricular activity, ask the parents with kids your age.
- Form a co-op with friends that have kids your age. You can either use the network to find qualified babysitters or parents can take turns watching everyone’s kids while the other couples go out.
While this may make things more difficult, please use background checks. Careforhire.com has good tips on how to conduct a background check and what are appropriate and inappropriate ways to do it.
Best of luck!
Related articles
