How to Find a Babysitter in Four Easy Steps

Finding a great babysitter is an eternal struggle! If your kids are small, you may be just starting to look for caregivers. If you’ve recently moved, you might be starting from scratch. Even if you’ve got some great babysitters right now, odds are that one of them will leave for college or get busy with activities at some point in the future.

If you’re not sure exactly how to hire a babysitter, these 4 steps will have you heading out on date night in no time! You’ll also find 10 creative places to look for your new babysitter.

How do I find a babysitter near me?

Fortunately, there are lots of good avenues for finding babysitters. Get creative and don’t limit yourself. Try out caregiver sites and social media, but don’t overlook good old-fashioned word of mouth either. We have found babysitters in a bunch of different ways over the years! Keep your eyes and ears open and you should find plenty of candidates.

Nextdoor.com

We’ve met some of our favorite babysitters on Nextdoor.com. They’ve usually been high school students in nearby neighborhoods or recent college grads looking to make money on the side. Sometimes I post an ad looking for a babysitter, and sometimes I reach out to babysitters who have posted an ad on Nextdoor.

Local College Job Boards

We are lucky to live in an area with a ton of colleges, but even if you don’t have quite the abundance that we do you may still have a college or university close by. Many financial aid offices will maintain job listings for students who are looking for part-time work. There’s usually  a bit of a process to posting an ad – it’s not as easy as throwing something up on Facebook or Nextdoor – but I’ve heard great things about this route. I’ve had many friends and co-workers recommend it, although I haven’t personally hired anyone this way.

Family Friends

I love hiring the older kids of family friends. We meet people in various community activities, and if they have a high-school aged child I’ll usually ask at some point if they have any interest in babysitting. This is especially nice because we already know the family and, to some extent, the babysitter. If you’re nervous about leaving your children with someone else, a family friend could be a great route because you already know them (and their parents)!

Daycare Teachers

Some of our most beloved babysitters have been daycare teachers. This route is especially confidence-inspiring when your kids are babies. If you hire one of their infant room teachers, you can be sure that this person knows your child and is comfortable with babies. We did this when my youngest was a baby and it was so, so nice. It really eliminated my anxiety about leaving a little baby with a babysitter.

You can also feel comfortable that daycare teachers have first aid training and are up to date on the latest guidelines. There are just a few caveats to consider if you go this route. First, make sure that the daycare allows teachers to babysit in off hours. Some schools we’ve been to have policies against this. Second, I always pay daycare teachers more per hour because of their training, experience and familiarity with my kid. It can add up, but when you really want peace of mind it can be 100% worthwhile!

Facebook Groups

My local community has a caregivers Facebook page, where babysitters and nannies can advertise. I’ll admit that the one person I hired via this method did not work out. She was competent, but just did not mesh with my kids’ personalities. Still, I’m sure that this could work given the right personality fit.

Placement Agencies

If you’d like to hire someone who’s been fully vetted, a placement agency can do a lot of the legwork for you. This route will be higher priced, but may be worthwhile for your peace of mind – especially if you’re looking for a longer term relationship. I’ve also heard of agencies that will provide a backup babysitter if your original caregiver has to cancel for whatever reason. This could be a great choice if there is an event that you absolutely must attend without your kids. The price will also be higher than other options.

Neighbors

How old fashioned, right? Yes, you can still meet neighbors while walking your dog or when you’re at the pool. If you have older kids as neighbors, don’t hesitate to ask if they babysit. The worst they can do is say no! And you know that their parents are just down the street if they need backup.

Recommendations from Friends

I am always willing to share info about my babysitters with friends if they ask (with the sitter’s permission, of course)! This can be a great way to find a caregiver with a built-in reference that you already know and trust (aka your friend).

Co-Workers’ Kids or Recommendations

If you have co-workers with older kids, you can always ask if the kids babysit. You already have a relationship with the child’s parents, which can be enough to establish an initial comfort level.

Care.com

Care.com is a centralized location for many, many caregiver listings. You can search for free and there’s a nifty quiz to help you narrow the list of potential sitters. There are also some background check options. I personally have never been able to get comfortable with Care.com – it seems like Craigslist personal ads for babysitting to me – but I know many friends who have had good luck with Care.com. If you’re willing to put in the time to sift through ads and interview candidates, Care.com could be a good route to go!

How do you interview a babysitter?

Regardless of how I meet a new caregiver, I have a specific get-to-know-you process that puts me (and the new babysitter, hopefully) at ease.

I invite the potential sitter over to our house for about an hour. (I pay, of course.) Usually, the girls and I take her on a brief tour of the house.  Then the new babysitter will play with the kids for 30-45 minutes while I do stuff around the house.

After playing, I’ll usually sit down with the sitter and chat about experience and availability. I’ll ask for the sitter’s hourly rate and pay for the meet & greet time. My kids are 3 and 6, so I typically ask their opinion after the babysitter has left. I might also check the babysitter’s references. If everyone gives the thumbs up then I’ll put that babysitter on the calendar!

How do you train a new babysitter?

If I already know the babysitter fairly well (family friend or neighbor) I will start having them watch the kids for a short time while my husband and I are away (usually just an hour or two at first).

If it’s someone I don’t know well, I usually have them watch the kids while I’m home for the first time just in case they have questions/issues. Our house is big enough that the kids and babysitter can play upstairs while I work out in the garage or get some chores done and we’ll stay out of each others’ hair. This helps me build my comfort level with the new caregiver.

When we’re all comfortable, I’ll work up to longer increments and situations where I’m further away or harder to reach. I always have a backup contact in case of emergency (we’re lucky to have my in-laws in town, but it could be a good friend or neighbor as well).

Be sure to leave a sheet with other important information for the babysitter:

• Allergies
• Medications
• Emergency numbers
• Bedtime
• House rules
• Food/drink options
• TV instructions
• Anything else relevant

How do you keep a babysitter?

Once you’ve hired a babysitter, it’s important to keep your relationship positive. You can offer to provide the babysitter lunch or dinner if they will be there over a mealtime. Make sure the babysitter knows that they are welcome to (non-alcoholic) drinks in the fridge. Give them instructions on how to turn on the TV. Pay the going rate (extra for any extra services like caring for a pet, doing light housework, etc.). Try to schedule the babysitter regularly – at least once a month – to keep your family on their list!

Good Babysitters are a Wonderful Support System

We mamas need support, and having good caregivers for your kids can be a huge weight off your shoulders.  When you need to go to an event, exercise or just plain get some adult time it’s really freeing to know that your kids are with someone you can trust. Invest the time up front to find and hire a babysitter, and they will be there for you when you need them. That is priceless.