CAN YOU PLEASE BABYSIT SATURDAY NIGHT?

Do you remember when you used to babysit? Okay, besides the fact that we got LESS THAN $1.00 per hour (oops, am I showing my age?), we tried to get away with as much as possible, right? Whether it was eating every bit of junk food they had in the house or (gasp!) sneaking the boyfriend in after the kids were asleep. We were, after all, teenagers!

But now we’re the PARENTS, and we know what they are up to (eek!). But, when looking for a babysitter most of us just ask our friends and neighbors who they use, then we call them, right? But shouldn’t we use the same thought and effort when hiring the 3 hour babysitter as we would use if hiring a full time nanny? We are still trusting somebody with our children, our home, our lives for those 3 hours that we are gone.

In our book, “By The Book: Caring For MY Kids,” we’ve included a section just for parents. It has interview questions for the potential sitter, as well as forms to fill out with your sitter’s information once you hire him or her. It even lets you “rate” the sitter and lets your child do the same. Hmmm, interesting differences in those ratings, don’t you think? J

What we’d love to do is look the potential sitter in the eyes and demand answers to “Do you have a boyfriend?” or “Have you ever tried illegal drugs?” or even “Are you going to pay attention to my kids and play with them?” But, it’s probably not the best approach! Don’t forget, they are checking YOU out, too!

Here is a sample of the questions you will find in the book:

1. Are you certified in Infant or Child CPR? How about First Aid?
2. Have you completed the Red Cross Babysitter Certification Course, or similar course offered at school?
3. What grade are you in at school and what are your grades?
4. What are your extra-curricular activities and hobbies? (This can tell you a TON about what kind of person she is.)
5. What age children are you most comfortable with and why?

These are just a few of the questions you might consider asking a potential sitter.

Depending on the person’s age, you might even want to have her parent there with you during the interview. Not only do you want to be comfortable with her, but you want her to be comfortable with you, and sometimes that means having the parent at ease also. And don’t forget, if she runs into problems, she’s probably going to call her own mother first, before bothering you while you’re out. Soooo… yes, you’re checking out the mom, too!

Next week, we’ll discuss how to hire a nanny. And VERY SOON we will have a giveaway for a FREE book, so keep checking back!

Karen