Where Do You Find A Good Babysitter?

The Moms Council talked about babysitting this week. Where do you find a good babysitter? Who do you trust? And what do you do when you’re a single parent? Some members of the Moms Council found they had built in babysitters with their own parents, while others aren’t so lucky.

None of the parents in the group hired babysitters, but would rather depend on family and friends.

Tracy: Two months after we were married I got pregnant. My mother-in-law said, “Well maybe I won’t go back to work.” So she has always been there for me.

Denise: My folks are like that, but when I had my first kid they were still working. Still, I could always count on them to step in if I needed emergency babysitting because my dad worked nights and my mom taught school—they could tag team my son if he needed to stay home from daycare.

Tracy: I’ve also met girlfriends though church. My husband and I do mission trips and someone from church will usually take our kids in for the week, so we can take the trip. I’ve been going for 15 years now and a couple of people at the church are god parents. So over the years we’ve built up a relationship.

Denise: I used to belong to a mom’s club when I lived in another town. Some of those friends I could trust to babysit, but I’ve never asked. I think my folks would be insulted if I didn’t give them first dibs at watching the boys.

Brandon: Being a single dad, I’ve noticed that women have their girlfriends that are there for them for everything. I don’t go out anymore--I don’t feel like asking someone to watch my kid. It’s harder because I don’t know anyone here. It seems to me that when you do meet somebody who’s also a single parent, and you talk to them, and say, “Our kids are the same age, do you want to go to McDonald’s and let them play?” They automatically think you’re hitting on them.

Laura: We’re blessed with a big network of family and friends and neighbors we trust. When I first started staying home I found there’s all kinds of groups on Yahoo. I know they have dad’s groups. They’re localized by where you are--you could look into something like that. Then it would just be dads, so they don’t think you’re hitting on them.

Tracy: And any group is going to require you to put some time into it. Obviously you’re not going to meet somebody on Tuesday and leave your daughter with them on Friday. You’re going to have to invest some time into building trust in that person.

Laura: Exactly.

Brandon: My neighbors are amazing. My neighbor’s wife will come over sometimes when I’m at work and clean while she’s watching my daughter. ‘Cause she knows that I, you know, do my best. They’re a huge blessing. They’re the closest thing I have to family.

Laura: Is there anyone at school in the same situation?

Brandon: I don’t know. The school actually rearranged their schedule for me. I don’t get off until 6pm and school is over at 6pm. One of the teachers changed her schedule and comes in 15 minutes later so she can stay 15 minutes later for me. That’s a huge blessing too.