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snowy · 02-07-2006, 10:45 AM

As a former teen babysitter, I got jobs mostly by word of mouth. It also helped that a good friend's mom was an elementary school teacher and would refer people to me. It wasn't uncommon for them to ask me to come over and interact with the kids for a while before entrusting them to my care. Of course, I also had stellar references.

Some questions to ask: Have they taken any babysitting classes? (Don't necessarily hold it against them if they haven't, I never did.) Do they know First Aid? Child/infant CPR? How long have they been caring for children? What ages do they have experience working with? Treat this as a job interview. Give them some hypothetical situations related to childcare (things that might come up over the course of the evening), and see what their responses are.

Do you attend church? If so, asking around your church would be a great place to start. Mal's suggestion of the local high school is also a good one. Furthermore, if you have any coworkers that have teenage kids, that's also a good place to start--even if they themselves don't have children interested in babysitting, their kids might have friends interested in childcare.

Oh, and also make it VERY CLEAR what your expectations are. I once babysat for a woman who was terribly upset that I didn't clean her house. Um...I'm there to take care of your child, not do dishes. I cleaned up after myself to the point of putting the dirty dishes in the sink, but I'm generally unwilling to do more than keep things tidy as it takes away from time spent with the child. Wouldn't you rather have a babysitter who watches your child closely versus one who's overly concerned about keeping your house neat as a pin?

02-07-2006, 10:45 AM	#3 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	As a former teen babysitter, I got jobs mostly by word of mouth. It also helped that a good friend's mom was an elementary school teacher and would refer people to me. It wasn't uncommon for them to ask me to come over and interact with the kids for a while before entrusting them to my care. Of course, I also had stellar references. Some questions to ask: Have they taken any babysitting classes? (Don't necessarily hold it against them if they haven't, I never did.) Do they know First Aid? Child/infant CPR? How long have they been caring for children? What ages do they have experience working with? Treat this as a job interview. Give them some hypothetical situations related to childcare (things that might come up over the course of the evening), and see what their responses are. Do you attend church? If so, asking around your church would be a great place to start. Mal's suggestion of the local high school is also a good one. Furthermore, if you have any coworkers that have teenage kids, that's also a good place to start--even if they themselves don't have children interested in babysitting, their kids might have friends interested in childcare. Oh, and also make it VERY CLEAR what your expectations are. I once babysat for a woman who was terribly upset that I didn't clean her house. Um...I'm there to take care of your child, not do dishes. I cleaned up after myself to the point of putting the dirty dishes in the sink, but I'm generally unwilling to do more than keep things tidy as it takes away from time spent with the child. Wouldn't you rather have a babysitter who watches your child closely versus one who's overly concerned about keeping your house neat as a pin? __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau Last edited by snowy; 02-07-2006 at 10:47 AM..