Babysitter references - what to ask

[MountainDew]

We have found a babysitter for regular care we are happy with. She has given me contact numbers for 2 references. When I phone them what do I ask?

I have never done anything like this! The babysitter is a local 20 year old, she is a student and has a Saturday job. The referees are her Saturday job manager and a woman she has babysat for before.

I can't get beyond 'so, is she alright then?'

Any help appriciated!

You can ask about reliability, time keeping, how she meets with expectations wrt tasks, if they feel she can cope in an emergency, would they use/hire her again.

The Saturday Job
Assuming it is not involving the care of children, I would ask about things like:
time keeping/reliability, amount of time off sick, are they trustworthy... what do they do in their job, cash handling?

With the babysitting one:
Cover the time keeping/reliability again. Clearly they must trust her to care for their children, so ask about the children - how old are they, do they like her, are they in bed when she arrives or does she do stories before, bathing, preparing food? Will they be using her again... if not why not?

I knew I could rely on Mumsnet! Thank you, it is so obvious now. [Blush]

Thanks again!