Do the words “find baby sitter” fill you with dread? One way to overcome the overwhelm of finding a new sitter can be to use a great service such as Sittercity. You’ll surely find other nanny and childcare agencies in your local area, but this particular service is nationwide and you can start looking at potential candidates online just as soon as you sign up.
Another way that you can locate a babysitter is through referrals. If you are not going to use an agency of some sort, this would probably be the next best thing. A baby sitter recommendation from a good friend or relative that you trust can definitely set your mind at ease when you think about leaving your children with someone new.
If all else fails, you might also try to classifieds of your local paper or Craigslist online. You could even place your own ad under the title of “I need to find baby sitter” and describe exactly what it is you are looking for. One issue with this method is that you will be hiring a virtual stranger to care for your kids. Even if you do check their referrals, you’ll have no idea if you can believe or trust what they are saying.
Regardless of whether you use a service to find a baby sitter or you decide to go it on your own when it comes to locating the perfect sitter, be sure that you are 100% comfortable with the person that you decide to hire. If you are not using an agency be sure to go through the proper screening process and do check the babysitter’s references. It might also be a great idea to have a trial period or to just test the sitter out with the kids for one small time period before hiring on full time.