need some quick help

[rachelh]

I just set up a last minute interview with a babysitter that would possibly be babysitting my newborn when I go back to work. Any good questions that come to mind? Also, how personal can I get as far as asking if she has kids, where she lives etc?

ETA - she would be babysitting full time in my home
Tx!

[hillview]

I think you can ask almost anything you want to :).

I'd ask
- experience (esp with newborns)
- CPR certified
- what she does with newborns (she should say things like being outside, tummy time, reading etc IMO)
- what would she do in an emergency
- tell you about an emergency situation she's had to deal with (or a bad situation)
- how she handles naps and feedings
REFERENCES.

IME you should get the feeling (really feeling) that you trust and want her in your life.

GOOD LUCK!
/hillary

[AbbysMom]

I'd make sure that she's worked full-time babysitting in the past. There's a stress level in taking care of a child for long periods of time that isn't a factor when babysitting in small amounts. If you are having her drive, I'd ask for her driving record.

[gatorsmom]

Absolutely ask for the names of 3 previous employers and their phone nbers where you can reach them now. Preferably other babysitting situations. The most impoertant thing you can do before hiring someone is to check their background, credit, and referrences. IMHO, the referrences will tell you the most about this person because VERY very often past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior. Call the referrences she provides and ask 1- what are the dates she worked for you ( to the best of your recollection). 2- what are her strong points (in other words what did you like about her work) and of course what didn't you like ), and 3- and the most important question you can ask is would you hire this person again if you needed a nanny if you needed a nanny again?

In my experience sometimes applicants don't want to give out this information for various reasons. Let your applicant know that you can't hire her until you've talked to 3 or more previous employers.

People can put on a good front for a few hours time and honestly I never trust my first few impressions of a person.

Hth!

[boogiemomz]

I'd make sure that she's worked full-time babysitting in the past. There's a stress level in taking care of a child for long periods of time that isn't a factor when babysitting in small amounts.

i recently had to interview some babysitters for DD and there are LOTS of folks out there marketing themselves as having tons of experience with kids, and when you ask them about it, it's like "my boyfriend has nieces and nephews" or "my sister has 3 kids," and i play with them all the time, etc. playing with the baby for a few minutes at a family get together is NOT the same as spending an entire day with a newborn by yourself. ideally, references would be families he/she has babysat before. if he/she can't provide those, red flag.

[ewpmsw]

What they said, plus I'd go so far as to ask her to provide a background check on herself, or allow you to do one. (I'm not that paranoid mom all the time, just once in a while.) Definitely get references. I'd also ask how she plans to spend her time with your baby and while your baby is sleeping. I'd have rules about TV, phone and texting from the get-go.

[hillview]

there are LOTS of folks out there marketing themselves as having tons of experience with kids, and when you ask them about it, it's like "my boyfriend has nieces and nephews" or "my sister has 3 kids," and i play with them all the time, etc. playing with the baby for a few minutes at a family get together is NOT the same as spending an entire day with a newborn by yourself.
:yeahthat: x100

They need to be a nanny or offical child care giver as a career.
/hillary

[gatorsmom]

plus I'd go so far as to ask her to provide a background check on herself, or allow you to do one. (I'm not that paranoid mom all the time, just once in a while.)

The OP definitely needs to do the background check herself (in other words, don't expect the applicant to provide her own- she would delete anything negative before giving it to you) to look for any past criminal record and a credit check to look to see if her credit is stable. Don't forget that this person will have access pretty much to your entire house while the baby is sleeping. It doesn't hurt to know what kiind of credit record they have.

If these suggestions sound paranoid, dont' forget that you are putting this person in charge of your most valuable possession- your child who is absolutely irreplaceable. If they have a record of ANY violent crime wouldn't you want to know about that before they take care of your child in your house all alone all day?

A friend of mine (i posted here about this before) decided she was too embarassed to ask for this information of the babysitter she picked because she really liked her and didn't want to jeapardize the nanny taking the job. 9 months later the baby ended up with shaken baby syndrome and a fractured skull and if my friend had done her homework, she would have found out that the family who employed the nanny previously had the same problem (but the nanny wasn't arrested because there wasn't sufficient proof). Like her or not, a whiff of that story and she wouldn't be coming near my child. That's what the background checks and references will tell you.

If you don't know how to do them yourself, you could call a nanny agency and ask them if you could pay them to run the background checks for you even though you found this nanny on your own. For a small fee (not a full nanny- finders fee) they will probalby be willing to do that for you. I had a nanny agency run background and credit checks when I was looking for a doula. I paid $40 for each check. Well worth it.

hth

[TwinFoxes]

i recently had to interview some babysitters for DD and there are LOTS of folks out there marketing themselves as having tons of experience with kids, and when you ask them about it, it's like "my boyfriend has nieces and nephews" or "my sister has 3 kids," and i play with them all the time, etc. playing with the baby for a few minutes at a family get together is NOT the same as spending an entire day with a newborn by yourself. ideally, references would be families he/she has babysat before. if he/she can't provide those, red flag.

:yeahthat: A lot of 21 year olds replied to my ad saying they had "10 years experience" taking care of kids. Yeah, OK.

Also, the whole no-smoking thing, EVERYONE says they're a non-smoker, they're not stupid, they know no one's going to hire a smoker to watch their kids. So ask "when was the last time you smoked?" I learned this after having a "non-smoking" roommate after college...non smoking doesn't mean "I don't smoke when you're home."