finding a reliable babysitter/nanny?

[megs4413]

i'm sure this has been talked about, but i quite honestly can't find the time to do an exhaustive search right now.

we need a babysitter. we can't keep relying on friends/family because we have to get some regularly scheduled "break" time. How do I find a professional sitter? How do you gauge if they're reliable/trustworthy? No one I know has a nanny or sitter. We will need perhaps one night a week (from like 5pm-9pm) and maybe a few hours a couple days a week for doc appointments and errands so like T/TH or something for a 3 hour chunk. Ideas? How much will that run us do you think?

[Momof3Labs]

We have found both sitters and our new nanny on craigslist (we had better luck responding to posts than posting for our needs, but YMMV). You may also have some lucking posting at any college near you (except now most are on summer break). Now is a good time to find someone with colleges on break and such, but your periodic 3hr daytime needs may be harder to fill once school starts again, unless you can find a SAHM who wants a few occasional extra hours of work. Most professional nannies want a full days' work versus a half day.

Cost-wise, around here, a mature, responsible sitter started at $10-11/hr and went up from there, capping out at about $15/hr for a professional nanny. If you want someone cheaper, you'd probably do better seeking out a high school student in your area ($5-6 or so ah hour around here).

[Corie]

We found our fabulous babysitter at our pediatrician's office. She works
in the pediatrician office. Not sure what her official title is. She is in her
late twenties, single, CPR certified, etc. We paid her $12 an hour.

I have yet to find a babysitter here in Rhode Island.

[Lovingliv]

Megs,

have you thought about swapping with another SAHM? Maybe from your playgroup? You could take her kids for a few hours then on another day she could take yours?

[jadamom]

We found one through sittercity.com . You pay an initial fee, then they charge you monthly, but you can cancel any time. There is a whole list of sitters with a brief description and sometimes a picture for each one. You can see how old they are, how much they charge, if they are CPR certified, or have transportation. Some of them provide references and reviews from other users. If you choose someone who works in a school or childcare center, they have already been through a background check, or you can pay for one via sittercity. The website also offers a list of questions that you might want to ask them.

[megs4413]

we can't expose PC to another child's set of germs...at least not until after his second surgery in november...so it has to be an adult that doesn't have children or work with a lot of other ones....

[stella]

Education majors at universities, nursing students, church nursery workers, older teen-aged children of friends or co-workers...
Good luck finding someone. I pay older teens $7-8/ hour and younger ones $6/hr. I pay adults $10/hour.

[Corie]

I was also going to suggest going through a college/university. Education
majors or Child Development majors. Maybe call the departments at
a nearby college and ask them how to advertise. You can probably post
something on a big bulletin board in their dept. Or some schools
have websites where you can do this.

Actually, this is a really good suggestion for myself. I prefer a college-aged
person or older to watch my kids. And my husband and I would love a
date night every now and then. :)

[Corie]

I was also going to suggest going through a college/university. Education
majors or Child Development majors. Maybe call the departments at
a nearby college and ask them how to advertise. You can probably post
something on a big bulletin board in their dept. Or some schools
have websites where you can do this.

Actually, this is a really good suggestion for myself. I prefer a college-aged
person or older to watch my kids. And my husband and I would love a
date night every now and then. :)