No one to babysit

[Penny31]

Feeling a bit down. I see lots of pics on social media of couple friends going out together for drinks and it’s making me feel a bit sad. I’d love to do that with DH but elderly parents can’t look after my kids on an evening and we have no one else to babysit. My youngest is just 2 and doesn’t sleep very well.
Don’t know why I’m posting, just feeling a bit sorry for myself really.

@WaterBottle123

Do you not want a paid sitter as you only trust family or because of funds?

If the former then you should probably learn to relax, there are many great professional sitters out there. If the latter, local teen is a good bet, they'll often do it for 5/6 pounds an hour plus Netflix and snacks!

I've always paid for sitters

It’s not I don’t trust paid sitters. I’m just new to it and my 2 year old wakes up at about 20 and has to be settled back, I’d worry about her with someone she doesn’t know too well. There’s not many people she knows well enough due to lockdown!

It’s crap but you’re not the only one in this position. We have no family to rely on for childcare either. My MIL had them overnight for the night on two separate occasions while we had a night out and stayed in a hotel. And my Dad looked after them for 4 days when we got married.
That’s 6 nights in 15 years !

If you’re desperate to get out pay for a professional sitter.

I’m planning to use Sitters when we go out (so far after a year of being locked down together we are both keen to go out on our own!). They use people with childcare experience not teenagers looking to make extra cash.

my 2 year old wakes up at about 20 and has to be settled back, I’d worry about her with someone she doesn’t know too well.

It’s helpful to think ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’. Your child wakes up, and won’t go back to sleep for the babysitter. Well, does it really matter if they spend an hour watching CBeebies till you get back? It’s not the end of the world when it’s not every night.