by Sarah Staples

Created on: January 24, 2009   Last Updated: January 30, 2009

A great babysitter is a jewel in a crown. Dependable, efficient, fun and loved by your child, once you find a great babysitter you will want to keep hold of them until the day your child announces they no longer need a babysitter.

Unfortunately, however, the search for a great babysitter can be a long and arduous one. You want to make sure the person you select will take care of your child with diligence, care and attention. You need to know your child will be safe and feel loved. The following tips will hopefully make your search an easier and more pleasant task.

Begin your search by looking close to home. You may be lucky to have willing grandparents or other family members that would love the opportunity to spend some quality time with your child. You will be confident your child will be cared for by someone who loves them and most definitely has their best interests at heart. Your child will prosper from spending time with other family members. It is important to ensure your relative is happy with the arrangements and to make sure you do not expect too much or ask too often. You must remember that grandparents have lives of their own to live and enjoy and have already spent many years raising children; you!

Having a babysitter personally recommended by a friend or another parent you trust is a great way of finding a babysitter. Your friend may have used the babysitter themselves on previous occasions or know someone else who has. Possibly a teenager son or daughter of your friend may be keen to be a babysitter. Whatever the recommendation, it is important to interview the potential babysitter and take references.

A fantastic and very cost efficient way of finding a great babysitter is to participate in a babysitting circle with your friends. This is an arrangement where a group of parents who trust each other agree to babysit for each other on occasions. Rather than money exchanging hands, points are earned when you babysit for someone in the circle, which in turn can be redeemed when you want a night off and need a babysitter. A great way of organising this is to use an Internet based system such as MyNightOff which allows easy administration, the ability to email requests for babysitters and a simple way to keep count of points earned and redeemed.

Another potential way of finding a great babysitter is to look for adverts placed locally, such as in the window of your village store or a local newspaper. If you belong to a religious group, sporting group or

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>