Is it weird to hire a babysitter just so I have someone if needed?

[Foxglove18]

I saw an ad on the noticeboard in our local shop (live rurally) yesterday for a local girl looking for babysitting. DS is 10 months and currently my parents (30 mins away) do pretty much all of our childcare (or we arrange a long way in advance with PIL as they live 2 hours away) but I feel like it would be good to have someone nearby if we wanted to pop out somewhere close by.

Is it the done thing to interview someone for babysitting when you don’t actually currently have any need for them? I was thinking we could maybe get her over for a couple of (paid) hours of an afternoon during the summer break (she’s at college) just to see if I think she’d be okay. I’m just not sure how this works!

No i don't think it's weird to interview but there is now way I would leave a random teenager to look after a baby for an afternoon.

It would be supervised and then if we felt it went okay we’d ask her to watch DS once he was in bed and we’d be close by.

I think for a baby, somebody older with more experience would be better.

She's probably not really looking to babysit actual babies. I used to do a lot of babysitting when I was a teen - all primary school age and all tucked up in bed before I got there

I've found that the best baby babysitters are nursery staff. They're drb checked, first aid trained and are very used to babies. We use the one from the nursery where our DC went and I always feel comfortable they're in safe hands. I do know all of them though. Maybe try your local nursery first rather than local teens?

I agree that she probably means children in bed and asleep in the evening by the term babysitting.

No harm ringing up and asking. I babysat babies from young (14) and was fine. Probably today people would want someone 16 or so for a baby.

It's a good idea to have someone locally. I would suggest if you can afford it she sits for you every other month or so that way your dc can build up a relationship

I have a 15 year old neighbour who looks after our baby a couple of hours a week. She adores babies, my baby adores her. It’s perfect. Nothing wrong with a good teenage babysitter. But yes you need to get to know her first and a paid afternoon of supervised time with your child is a very sensible and normal plan.

I used a local teenager for baby already asleep. Now that teenager is 21 and can put them to bed, o wouldn't have asked her to do that before. I used nursery nurses for a few years. They had to make decisions like giving Calpol, calling us home, and changing a poo covered dd. I wouldn't have asked that of a young girl.

Are there any mum's nearby that you have a good relationship with? I do a babysitting swap once a month with another mum I know from a playgroup; free and it's someone I know and trust