Best Questions to Ask a Babysitter

As a parent of a tween you may think finding a babysitter for an older child is a piece of cake.  Think again.  You should still use care when choosing a babysitter for the older child.  Of course, many parents are lucky enough to have grandparents or other family members close by to help babysit, but when you’re far way from family, how can you find the right babysitter?

First turn to the mom-network. Ask friends, co-workers and other moms.  While they may not be willing to share their favorite babysitter with you, they may have additional candidates for the job.   Just letting people know you’re looking for a babysitter will cause candidates to come your way.

Don’t forget the local YMCA or a house of worship.  The Y often runs babysitting certification classes and a church or synagogue often has members of the youth group babysit kids during services.  Both places are great to find experienced trusted sitters.

The local college is also a  great source for babysitters – with more fleixibility and mobilut than high school students, you’ll likely find students who are eager for a part-time job.  Check with the education department as well – students training to be teachers often love to babysit.   And your tween will totally look up to the cool babysitter – and feel less like they’re being babied.

Once you have selected some babysitter candidates, it’s time to form a list of questions to ask the babysitter.  Start by discussing their experience.  See if they have babysat for other kids and their ages.  Find out if they have taken a babysitting certification course, including first aid and CPR. Ask them if they have preferences on what ages of children they like to watch and what they would do during their time with the kids.   Throw out some ordinary and not-so ordinary scenarios to them and see how they would react.

Ask for references and check them carefully.  Good babysitters will be happy to provide references – whether they’re other parents or coaches or teachers. If your babysitter seems reluctant to give your references that might be a red flag.

Once you have narrowed your candidate pool to one or two, set up a trial babysitting time. You should let your kids and the babysitter interact without you hovering – disappear into another part of the house, go for a short walk, or run over to a neighbor’s.  Your kids are a great judge of character and they will be able to tell you what they think of the new babysitter – and she will know who she needs to impress.  If your kids are younger and can’t talk, give the babysitter some space put poke your head in from time to time to see the interaction.

Using these strategies to find a babysitter will make the whole process that much easier. Knowing what questions to ask a babysitter will make finding a good babysitter a piece of cake.