Finding a Babysitter Who’s a Perfect Match

Imagine your family’s ideal babysitter. They enjoy working with children, they’re caring and patient, and they’re always available whenever you need a night off. Even better, your kids enjoy their company and are excited to play with them. This dream babysitter might even provide homework help, teaching your kids a thing or two in the process. Maybe they’ll throw in a load of laundry while they’re at it.

Now that you have a good idea of what you want out of a babysitter, how do you find your perfect match? There are a few specific categories you can evaluate to ensure your babysitter is a good fit for your family. Make sure to address the following topics when you interview or begin working with a new babysitter.

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Availability

Babysitting is a part-time job that doesn’t always follow a regular schedule. Therefore, it’s important to find a babysitter who aligns with your family’s needs. How often will you require childcare? Are you looking for someone who will watch your children on the occasional Friday night out? Or do you need someone to pick up your kids from school every weekday?

If you’re looking for someone to take on a full-time caretaking role, a nanny is better suited for the job. Nannies often work full-time and may even live with the families they work for. They are often older than a typical babysitter and usually have more credentials and experience.

Once you decide what kind of availability you’re looking for, it’s time to find a babysitter. If you’re posting a job listing online, write out which times you’re looking for coverage. If you found your babysitter through a referral or word of mouth, make sure to communicate your coverage needs to confirm that their availability matches.

Remember, If your babysitter is a high school or college student, they may have occasional schedule conflicts. Important social and academic events like exams or prom might come up. Additionally, if they’re younger, they may rely on others for their transportation.

For these reasons, try to communicate upcoming dates with your sitter well in advance. If you only need babysitters for the occasional odd hours, you might want to have a rotation of two or three reliable babysitters. That way, if one is busy, you can reach out to the others.

Credentials and Experience

When you’re looking for babysitters, you’ll find people with varying levels of experience. You’ll need to evaluate what experience is necessary to take care of your children. For example, a less experienced high school student can likely watch a ten-year-old who needs less hands-on attention. That same babysitter might have less experience with babies and feel unprepared to take care of younger children.

Evaluate what kind of skills you want your babysitter to have. Older children may not require babysitters with an exhaustive list of experience, as long as they can enforce rules, engage, and be a watchful eye. However, if your child is a newborn baby or an active toddler, you want to hire a babysitter who knows how to change a diaper, use a bottle, and properly hold a baby. You may also want to consider hiring someone who can help your child with homework or teach them skills, like a foreign language.

Once you decide on your child’s needs, an interview can help you understand a potential babysitter’s experience level. Don’t immediately rule out young people. Maybe that high schooler has young siblings and is comfortable taking care of babies.

Credentials like CPR certifications, Red Cross babysitting certifications, or childcare classes from a local university can be additional ways to evaluate experience. You may also want to ask for professional or personal references.

Shared Values

Since your babysitter is going to be working closely with your children, chances are your children are going to be disciplined by them. As a parent, you’ve decided your values when it comes to parenting your children. It’s important for your babysitter to be on the same page. If your babysitter has a dramatically different way of enforcing rules, your children may feel confused or unheard.

Consider what your personal parenting style is like. Do you prefer authoritarian, authoritative (commonly known as gentle parenting), or permissive parenting styles? When you interview your babysitter, you can ask for their perspective. You can also ask how they would react in a scenario where your child breaks a rule. This will give you insight into how they will treat your child, especially in regard to discipline.

You should also consider how engaged you’d prefer your babysitter to act with your children. Some babysitters actively play and prepare activities while others take a more passive route. If you follow any educational or pedagogical methods like Montessori, you may even find a babysitter who will incorporate those teachings while they work with your children. 

Your family’s perfect babysitter is out there! As long as you communicate with potential babysitters, you’ll be able to narrow down your search and find the best match for your children.