What do you want in a babysitter??

[calif]

First of all I hope she does get a babysitting job soon or a mommy helper position.

What I look for in a sitter is someone who is not only responsible, level headed, playful, and easy going but someone who also cleans up before i get home and has the kids do their chores or bedtime routine. They absolutely have to be able to make my children behave for them.

I babysat at 10 years old and was given way more responsibility than I would ever give a kid that age. (bathing, cooking, cleaning etc) I actually only leave my kids with family. I had a babysitter one time and he happened to be 13 and my son locked him out of the house. That scared me enough to not have young sitters for the time being.

[hypocore]

It's been years since I've needed a babysitter because my older two were my sitters for my younger two (there's 11 yrs difference between #2 and #3).

However both my older two were highly sought after sitters in the area. They both were treated as family in the child care center where I worked during their preteen/teen years, so they had all kinds of experience as 'mother's helpers' at a young age both from the center and then from their younger siblings. It was something that just came very naturally to them. They were quite capable of feeding, diapering, rocking, putting to sleep and engaging young children of all ages in play and learning by the age of 12. They both had also taken CPR/First Aid classes with me.

Although there were many parents wanting them to start babysitting at 12, I had them wait until the oldest was 14 and the second was 13 because I wanted them to be older.

So, for these parents, they were looking for someone with a good head on their shoulders, better than basic knowledge of children and their needs and the ability to make good choices. They also looked for someone who liked and interacted very well with their children.

My girls went above and beyond the basics though. After they prepared simple meals they also cleaned everything up and then some (like doing all the dishes left from before they arrived if there were any and not just what they had used). If they saw the need for a load of laundry to be done, they did it. They would bring things with them to keep the kids entertained....maybe a movie the family didn't have, maybe a special art project or perhaps a new toy.

One family even used my girls for overnights and weekends by the time they were 18 and they didn't trust family members do that! So, there are numerous kids who are more capable than you might think at age 12, you just have to get to know them and how they got to where they are before you make a choice for your own family.

[Marlow]

I was probably 11 or 12 when I started babysitting (back in the stone age) and can still remember wrangling a cloth diaper onto a baby girl, scared to death I was going to poke her with a diaper pin. She looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in the world.

I think it depends more on the child than on the age. We've had teenage babysitters who have done a great job. I usually prefer them to be over 16 because I want them to have a car so I don't have to pick them up and drop them off, but that's not dealbreaker.

[cpg35223]

Having hired a LOT of babysitters, here is my list:

1) The babysitter is not there to do housework. On the other hand, if she feeds the kids, cleaning up the kitchen is not too much to ask. Neither is picking up popcorn after watching a movie. Or putting the house in the same general condition as when we left it. Trust me. Nothing ticks us off more than leaving a tidy house and coming home to a disaster with the kids asleep and the babysitter blithely watching television.

2) If it's during the day, I typically will have one or two chores for the kids. The babysitter needs to make sure they done them.

3) PAY ATTENTION TO THE KIDS. When the babysitter sits on the phone all night or texts friends, my kids notice. In fact, our daughter said of a babysitter recently, "All she does is text all night."

4) Oh, and this is important too. She must actually like kids. Not just plug them into the TV, but take them outside, play a game with them, or even just go on a walk. If all she's going to do is turn on the television, then why do I need her?

5) Be polite. I pay well. I expect a babysitter to have basic courtesy.

Originally Posted by NCyank

My DD is 13 and interested in starting to babysit.

She wants to take the Red Cross babysitting course and I know there are other courses out there as well. Would that make a difference to you if you were looking for a babysitter?? She is not interested in sitting for babies...but maybe 5 and up. Is she still a little too young??

One problem she has encountered is that she is very small for her age, less than 65 lbs and just over 4ft tall. Some of the older children she would babysit might be bigger than she is... She is convinced her size is a disadvantage for getting babysitting jobs. She has references for other types of jobs (pet sitting, house sitting) and is responsible/reliable in general and a hard worker. She has yet to get one babysitting job.

Thanks for the input, it's been a long time since I needed a babysitter and even then I traded time with friends instead of hiring a sitter. At her age I was doing late/overnight babysitting but I know things are different now...just not sure how different. I think I am getting old though....LOL

[cdc3217]

I think jobs where she just watches the children afterschool for an hour or so while mom or dad run errands would be a good start. I'd love to have someone watch my guys so I could go to the gym for a little while. Or maybe, depending on her talents, she could even market herself as a homework helper. I think the key is to just talk her up to a few families you know from the neighborhood or church, etc. I think my best sitters approached me, not the other way around. They (or their parents) knew my kids and said they'd love to watch them sometime, if I ever needed it.

[Tzaphkiel]

The advantage of kids babysitting is that they actually play with and enjoy the kids. I did well babysitting kids who weren't much younger than me, but definitely had problems with kids that were BIGGER than me. I was small too when I was babysitting around age 12.

Now as a parent myself, I'd want to know whoever she was babysitting FOR (i.e. the family) is trustworthy. My mom when I started insisted it would be for families she knew from our church. Once I got one family that liked me I got tons of referrals. Also if she has a friend that babysits, when she can't make it, they give each other's name out to cover, and everyone is happy. Only problem is sometimes they like the "backup" babysitter better than the regular.

And if she has other types of works she enjoys such as housesitting and pets, and the babysitting doesn't pan out, then that's OK too, sometimes other avenues are more open. It sounds like she is hardworking and reliable, and those are great traits in whatever work she takes on.

Another way I found jobs was through a youth community job board, but the families were kind of weird. As soon as I discovered housecleaning i stopped babysitting altogether and just did housecleaning, tons more work, way better pay, and extremely grateful clients/customers.

[treeg26]

The best way to start out is with short amounts of time, where the kids and sitter can get used to eachother. I'd feed my kids dinner, the sitter would come and play with the kids until dinner, then I'd be home before bed. If you want, the sitter could stay and observe the bedtime routine. Work into it slowly, where everyone is comfortable.

Hang a flier up at church, talk to your neighbors.