You’ve finally decided that it is time to reconnect with your partner after weeks or months of holing up in your house. If you are like many of the families we work with, you may not have family in the area, or you may not want to have to rely on them for help with child care. Regardless of your circumstance, you will likely find yourself needing to find a babysitter at some point in your parenting journey.
Leaving your baby with someone else is a big decision to make and something many families find challenging. So how do you go about finding someone you can trust with your most precious treasure?
Option 1: Ask around
You can ask friends, neighbors or social media. As with all parenting decisions, people love to share their opinions and experiences. Getting a recommendation from a friend may help set your mind at ease because you know their standards and can get some insights into what they like about the sitter. The biggest challenge with using your friend’s sitter is the fact that you might have to share.
Option 2: Check your local daycare center
Sometimes the staff at local daycare centers will babysit on the weekends to help supplement their income. The nice thing is you can pretty much count on the fact that they likely enjoy being around kids, they know how to entertain them and most daycares do background checks these day so it can save you a step.
Option 3: Check your local university
Similar to option 2, many college students are willing to give up their evenings and weekends to make some extra money. Colleges with education programs will likely have the best return on investment of time. Often, these students are interested in building their exposure to children of all ages.
Option 4: Care.com or similar website
- Care.com gives you the option to find a sitter by the date you need care, or other qualifications that are important to you; including years of service, age of child, CPR training and more. The biggest downside is the monthly membership fee to use the service.
Option 5: Use your Postpartum Doula
You’ve already decide you trust your postpartum doula. As an agency, we understand that sometimes parents prefer to hire our doulas over a complete stranger. As long as you let the agency know you won’t be home during the shift, it likely won’t be an issue. While you’re at it, ask your doula to stay on for a 12 hour overnight shift. You’ll get the benefit of some help the next morning when you might not feel quite yourself at 6:00am.
What Do I Do After I Find A Babysitter?
Once you have found a sitter, invite them over to meet your child and yourself. Consider this a time to get to know them and see if they are a good fit for your family’s needs. Some things you might want to consider include:
- Do they have reliable transportation?
- Do they have other obligations which might conflict with your schedule?
- Do they have CPR training?
- Do they have references you can contact?
- What is their experience with children your child’s age?
- Do they have experience with health related needs that your child has (allergies, medications, social or emotional needs)?
- Will they provide a background check or the information so you can obtain one?
- What does their social media content reveal about them?
- How does your child interact with them?
- Does the sitter seem authentically interested in your child?
- What do they expect to be paid?
Now Go Enjoy Yourself
Once you choose your sitter, remember you chose them to care for your child, so be ready to let them do their thing. Leave them important contact information, show them around your kitchen, which you might consider stocking with snacks, and any other important parts of your home. Let them know any non negotiable rules of the house and then let them get to work.
You were able to find a babysitter, now go enjoy your night out.
