Tips for Hiring a Babysitter

When Hiring a New Sitter…

Start with a Phone Interview

1. Have a short phone interview and question the sitter about the number of years of experience he or she has and the ages of the children he or she has babysat in the past. Make sure the potential sitter has experience with children the same age as your children!
2. Request at least two references of families he or she has worked for and contact them.

In-Person Interview

1. Provided the references check out, proceed with an in-person interview with the sitter. At this time, allow the sitter to interact with your children to make sure it is a good match for everyone: parents, children and sitter.
2. Ask questions. “What would you do if my daughter came down with a fever?”, “What if you couldn’t get her to stop crying?”, “Are you certified in infant and children CPR?” etc.
3. If everything goes well, follow up with the sitter as to whether or not he/she is interested in babysitting for your family!
4. Discuss expectations and payrate before setting up dates and times with the sitter to make sure everyone is on the same page and to prevent any miscommunications.

Try Out the Sitter

1. Have the sitter over to babysit and enjoy a kid-free night out with no worries!
2. Before you leave, be sure to leave detailed information about where you will be, a phone number where you can be reached, and instructions and mealtimes, bathtimes, bedtimes/routine, etc.

How Did it Go?

1. Question the sitter as to how the day/night went, how the kids behaved, and if everything went ok. Encourage the sitter to be honest (i.e. to tell you if the kids followed direction or misbehaved)
2. Ask the children if they enjoyed the sitter-they will be VERY honest with you!

- Amanda Bordeaux, Founder of Sitter Connection in Raleigh, North Carolina. If you would like help in hiring an experienced, responsible, dependable sitter, visit Sitter Connection ( www.sitterconnection.net), a babysitter referral service which aims to “Connect Families with Sitters” in the Raleigh and Cary, North Carolina area. For the summer, Sitter Connection also offers sitters in the Wilmington area.