Babysitters

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lgoewey36
lgoewey36 Posts: 19
in Chit-Chat
Hey off topic of weight loss for a minute. I am having one heck of a hard time finding babysitters in my area. Now, i am a single FRUGLE mom so please do not tell me to go on Sitter City that costs 70 bucks or whatever a month. I only need a sitter for occasional outtings so it is not enough to justify paying for these services. I have tried local places like my daycare (in case they know of any sitters and schools) but of course for good reasoning schools do not want to release information (again for good reasoning). I do not want to be a stalker and go to pools and be like hey kid want to babysit my child. But im about at that point. If you have any save and reasonable suggestions please let me know. I think i am packing on the pounds because i am stressed and need a night out!!!

Replies

  • KatiaClouse
    KatiaClouse Posts: 27 Member
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    Have you looked on care.com? I found a couple of great nannies and babysitters through that site. Good luck!
  • cait0902
    cait0902 Posts: 127 Member
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    Craigslist.com
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
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    There's sites like Care.com

    Or

    Do you know any co-workers or neighbors with teenage kids? Also, try contacting your local red cross...in our area, kids can sign up for a red cross babysitting course to get certified as a babysitter. They may have some contacts for you as well.
  • Prettylittlelotus
    Prettylittlelotus Posts: 239 Member
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    As long as you do your homework, craigslist is a good way to meet potential babysitters. Also, posting a flyer at the local high school/college is a good place to start.
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
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    We get a list of babysitters from our preschool. Most of them are college students and it gives a list of special qualifications, (cpr, child development...) Also, I know that many of the preschool teachers babysit for some of the parents as well. So, perhaps you could go to a local preschool and see if they have recommendations. Also, if you live in a city that has a college or community college, students in the child development programs may be available. So, you could go straight there. Good luck! It's hard finding someone you trust!
  • lgoewey36
    lgoewey36 Posts: 19
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    Thanks all, I also heard that http://www.peoria.com/babysitters/find_babysitter.php (which is near me is a good place to find sitters as well. I wondered about Craig's list. But several people seemed to suggest it :0) I guess as long as like anything you check out the person first.
  • thetrishwarp
    thetrishwarp Posts: 838 Member
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    Not sure if this is an option where you are, but our university career centre always has postings for babysitters - maybe you could find a way to post something similar with a school in your area.
  • StrengthIDidntKnow
    StrengthIDidntKnow Posts: 568 Member
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    You may also want to contact the PTA/O at your local school. Sometimes they have babysitting classes for the students in the area. Good luck!
  • hkasel
    hkasel Posts: 69
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    Sittercity costs less than $20 per month. Once I found a sitter that I liked and could use consistently I cancelled my membership and still keep in contact with the sitter.
    For me the price of membership (that includes background check on potential sitters) was worth the peace of mind. After all, I was looking for someone to take care of my most prized irreplaceable possession!
  • MaybeAMonkey
    MaybeAMonkey Posts: 247
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    Call your local university and see if they offer a degree in early childhood development. If so, ask to contact someone within that department to see if they can give out your phone number and email address (not physical address) to the students interested in taking care of kids for a career - there may be a few who would love some extra cash and part time work. Definitely interview a few of them and ask to contact their professors for references.
  • JuneBPrice
    JuneBPrice Posts: 294
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    Any older kids in your area? I babysit for my neighbor's kids all the time.
  • p0pr0cksnc0ke
    p0pr0cksnc0ke Posts: 1,283 Member
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    My brother has one of the girls from the daycare come to the house on weekends when they need it. Ask if any of the girls there want to have some extra cash on the weekends :) The plus is that your kids are already used to the person.
  • knightreader
    knightreader Posts: 813 Member
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    check with your local highschool. they can probably recommend a few students. also, check with local daycare centers. my cousin works for tutor time, and always has babysitting jobs watching kids that go there.

    good luck...
  • carolinesmiles
    carolinesmiles Posts: 64
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    I'm a nanny, and I found my current job (of 4 years) on Craigslist. Sure, there might be sketchy people on there, but I hope you'd do a thorough reference check/interview/possible background check on anyone watching your kids. :)

    Also, you might want to check if there's a TimeBank near you - it's a local organization that operates entirely on volunteered time, not money. You have to do something first to get some "time dollars", such as baking a loaf of bread for someone, babysitting, music or art lessons, whatever it is that you'd be interested in; but in exchange, you'd have a free babysitter! It's a pretty cool idea.
  • sun33082
    sun33082 Posts: 416 Member
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    I work at a child care resource and referral. We mainly deal with regulated child cares and not nannies or sitters, but you could call your local CCRR and they may be able to help.

    We usually refer parents calling about nannies and sitters to www.care.com, like others suggested, and the local colleges.

    Go to www.naccrra.org and on the right, under Child Care Aware, type in your zip code. You'll be able to find your local CCRR that way.
  • A_New_Horizon
    A_New_Horizon Posts: 1,555 Member
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    Do you know anyone you can get references from? Being a single mother myself, I totally get the safety and money issues. I use family (I am lucky to have very close to me) and friends of friends - through references. Like if you are involved in a church or something - ask around. I actually went as far as to post it on FB that I needed a sitter for a week for my 2 kids (both toddlers), an old friend from high school stepped up, and my kids loved her. She is now my back-up sitter when my normal sitter for work is sick, can't do it, etc.

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