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It is a fast paced world with equally fast paced changing needs. There was a time when one of the parents could aford to stay at home with their kids and look after their needs. But, with growing inflation today, that is just not possible for many parents. Day care centres are a good option, but with so many other kids and all kinds of viruses going around, parents feel safer if they can hire a baby-sitter for their children who can take care of them in their own house.

However getting adjusted to a baby-sitter in the absence of a known face of either parent is a challenging task for any household. Here are a few things that parents need to consider before hiring baby sitters:

1. If you are hiring a baby-sitter to take care of your child for the entire day, and five days a week, the most important quality that you would look for is relaiability. The baby-sitter most preferably would be an adult, with sufficient experience and some very good references. It will always be a good idea to double check the references.

2. The baby sitter should be well versed with CPR and be able to handle any other situation for emergencies. It really helps if parents are able to make a list of questions, testing the baby-sitter's ability to handle such situations.

3. IF the baby-sitter is going to take care of an infant, he/she should be well-aware of the needs of taking care of an infant. He/she should also be physically fit as it takes great deal of energy to take care of an infant.

4. The baby-sitter should at least basic educational qualifications that might help them read the labels and instructions on the formula and other feeding needs of the infant.

5. It always pays to learn as to why the baby-sitter left his/her previous job. Was there some problem with the employee? Did he/she leave the job or were they fired? If they were indeed fired, what were the reasons? It may be a little awkward to ask such personal questions, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. Also, once you're aware of the reasons behind the change, a little bit of research and leg work to confirm the story would also be a smart move.

If the parents are hiring baby-sitters for a shorter time, like for an evening out, or a movie, it might do well to hire some responsible young adult who could be living right in your neighborhood. In such situations, it helps if you know the teenager really well and have talked or interacted with him/her. IF you know for sure that the teenager is responsible, has got good grades and would love taking care of your child, it could prove to be an immense source of relief once you're out there trying to enjoy your night out.

Learn more about this author, Sangeetha Narayan.
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