I was talking with a friend about this today, and we had vastly different approaches. Just curious what you all do!
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I voted at least 2 weeks before but I only follow that when we have a specific event or reason for needing a sitter. There are plenty of times Wednesday rolls around and I text our sitter and all what her availability is that weekend and my husband and I go out whenever she happens to be free- ditto for if I have errands to run.
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Yeah, that's why I have multiple votes allowed! And I'm assuming non-emergency situations, because we all have those days when the kid is sick and you are scrambling last second!
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We book ahead as far out as we can. When we are issuing a sitter we usually book her for the next date at the end of that night. That way we always have something scheduled. Sometimes we are able to get a last min sitter but it's rare.
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I voted 2 weeks before because I'm assuming it's a special occasion that you know about in advance. In that case I would want to secure one as soon as possible.
I sometimes get a daytime sitter just for random running errands or lunch with a friend. That's usually less notice and therefore less of a big deal when I can't find one.
ETA: actually I should add that we have a standing sitter that we try to book for as many Saturday's as she's free for a 2 month period. So right now I have her booked for 4-5 saturdays in August and Sept. In Sept I'll ask her about October and maybe Nov availability. So I guess I do book her far in advance but usually not for specific things.
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I've never actually gotten a sitter, just my parents. I usually have to "book" them well in advance because they live three hours away and have pretty busy lives. They're almost always willing to drop everything and drive down if I really need them but I try not to do that.
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For a set date, as far out as possible! For a random date night, I usually just text with our favorite sitter and see when she's free.
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I often have people cancel if I book too far in advance so a few days usually works best for me.
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This is all so interesting! I know it's also sitter dependant, using parents vs. high school kids, to everything in between. I love hearing how you all make it work!
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We only use one person - his daycare teacher - so we plan in adnavce. Usually we ask her with a month's notice.
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As early as possible, and usually a minimum of 2 weeks. I think I've only ever been able to do short notice (like 2-3 days) once.
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As early as possible. Especially if it's for specific days that our daycare is closed-- lots of families use the same pool of babysitters (former daycare teachers!) so it's a matter of who asks first. I just confirmed a sitter for a couple hours during the first week of September...
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As soon as I need one for a specific date, I book. Then for date nights I often just text week of to see if they are free. I have a few I use and usually they will text me their availability for evenings in the coming month.
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I book someone as soon as I know I have plans. Sometimes that's a few weeks notice, sometimes it's a couple days.
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13 comments