My DH and I moved to Texas a little over a year ago. We thought we had a reliable babysitter, but very VERY long story short, we have discovered that she isn't a good fit for our family. I feel really uncomfortable not knowing the babysitter very well, and then leaving him or her with the most important things in my life. But we know very few people down here, and certainly not any high school/college students. So, how do we find a new one?
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I only trust referrals. Our sitter goes to church with my cleaner who is very reliable and trustworthy. Can you ask around at work, church, in your neighborhood, etc?
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@MamaBehr: have you tried sittercity? I was going to say word of mouth or family/friend reference, but it might be worth interviewing a few from a reputable sitter website if you don't know anyone. I know another site is care.com, but I don't have any personal experience with that site, I was hired after I applied to a job on sittercity.
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Care.com for us. We used it to find a nanny but found lots of good part time folks wanting to work on off hours. We feel well stocked with care-takers now... They come with background checks and everything.
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I would consider looking on sittercity and care.com.
For the first few times, deem it a trial and say that you will be in the house to observe, but maybe have a few projects to do that make you somewhat scarce. Work on cooking, cleaning, organizing, computer work, phone calls etc.. but check in on the babysitter frequently, take notes, be sure to ask for and call all her references (ask for parents (I know my parents were honest about me!!), adult friends, any mentors - such as pastors, teachers etc.
Generally I agree that word of mouth is best as well; of the people you do know in the area, do any know of families with teens? Do any work at high schools that could refer some top students? Do any go to a church they like? I was found, as a teenager, because someone called my youth pastor and asked for a reliable, mature, babysitter.
Good luck finding someone!
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4 comments