Let’s be real—hiring a babysitter can bring a lot of stress and frustration, especially if you do not know where to begin, let alone trust issues!
Hiring a babysitter can be a stressful ordeal. But there are many ways to ace it. You can get referrals from your family and friends, ask your child’s daycare, visit a babysitting agency, post a job online, and many more.
In this guide, we will help you make the process a lot easier to bear. Make sure to read further.
Key considerations
The first step in finding the perfect babysitter is listing your requirements and non-negotiables for your new babysitter.
Budget
First of all, the amount you are willing to pay your new babysitter. It all boils down to how much you can afford your new babysitter.
An experienced babysitter would usually charge more than the basic salary, so that might be a barrier if you are only looking for a babysitter that accepts payment in a lower price range. If you have requirements besides the bare minimum, chances are you will need to charge extra.
Do a research on the rates of the babysitters in your area to have an idea about the wages. The salary babysitters expect to differentiate widely between cities and states and is usually tied to the cost of living of that specific area.
You should also consider how many children the babysitter will take care of. If they will be taking care of very young children or more than 1 child, chances are they will want to be paid more than the minimum.
Availability
Of course, you should determine how often you will need a babysitter. It makes a huge difference if you are going to require a babysitter everyday or every weekend. The same thing goes for the babysitters for daytime compared to evenings. You need to determine what kind of availability you need so that your prospects would know what to expect.
Also, you need to consider the qualities of a babysitter. Are you looking for someone funny, playful, and outgoing who your children will love and enjoy to play with? Or do you think it is more important if the babysitter is able to enforce house rules while you are at work? List down your personal non-negotiables as well. For instance, if you do not want a smoker, an alcoholic, or someone very young, then list them down.
Tasks required
Next is to list down all the duties that you are giving or expecting from your ideal babysitter. Your babysitter will supervise your children, but how? Would you require them a driver’s license and a car so they could pick up your children from school? Do you require cooking skills because you want them to cook for your child? How about someone who can help your children with their assignments, feeding their pets, cleaning their bedrooms?
And what do you want your babysitter to do with your children? Are you fine with your babysitter sitting down with your children in front of the TV? Or someone who knows how to play video games or navigate gadgets with them?
Perhaps you want someone who will engage your children in more fruitful activities like painting, art, or going out in the park to play sports with them?
If you demand specific tasks outside the typical chores, then make sure to list them down.
How to find the perfect babysitter
Now that you have finally listed down your requirements, let us discuss where and how you could find the ideal babysitter for your children.
Ask for personal recommendations – This is the most ideal way of meeting your ideal babysitter. Ask your friends, colleagues, and family members, particularly those who hire babysitters too. Chances are their babysitters know people who are reliable like them. Hiring a babysitter from personal recommendations are more dependable and responsible since your trusted people vouch for them too.
Check out online services – View reputable online babysitting resources, since they are most likely to screen all candidates thoroughly. These services usually help facilitate the interview process between you and your prospect babysitter.
Interview the babysitter – This is the most crucial part, since it is during the interview you will find out the candidate’s past experiences, skills, and demands. It is also during the interview process in which you can discuss your requirements and non-negotiables to see if the candidate is fit for the ideal babysitter you are looking for.
Do reference and background checks – When you find a potential babysitter, make sure to ask them for several references. Make time and talk to these references and ask a lot of questions regarding their work ethics and personality.
Additionally, you should also do a background check. A simple Google and Facebook search would do. Their digital footprints will give you an idea of their general interests and will let you see the people they are interacting with.