what do you think of sharing babysitter with unfamiliar person

[Mulder1]

Have been proposed to share a babysitter by someone we barely know at their location (as they have two children). A bit nervous about it. I will visit the place when I drop the child of course. Is there anything else I can to check second family? Can anyone share babysitting/nanny experience - did it went well?

Given a babysitter is typically for evening care in your own home I assume you mean nanny in which case nanny shares are quite common. I think in the first instance I would want to meet the other family in their home (as that is where care will be provided) & then see how I feel about the arrangement.

I wouldn't advice leaving a child in a home you don't know.
If you mean babysitting as apposed to a nanny share?
Most babysitters only sit for the children from one family. Another child might be fine if they are familiar with the home. And most sitters would charge slightly more for this.
Will your child settle to sleep in an unfamiliar place?
Will there be any other adults around?
If your child is older and will be up not sleeping , then how can you risk assess for safety if you haven't been in the home. Do they have stairs that are dangerous, medication in children's reach, pets, open fires, etc.
Don't assume that because the other family have children everything will be safe. All families have a different idea when it comes to safety. As a nanny I have worked in homes where there have been hazards that the family had ignored.
I would suggest meeting the other family and looking around the home.
I'm assuming you know the babysitter already?

I wouldn't leave my DC with anyone I barely knew. My DC are late teens so it is not an issue. When they were little I was lucky to have a lot of babysitters. My brother once considered an arrangement similar to your proposed one and was told in no uncertain terms by our parents that no grandchild of theirs was being left with a stranger.

Some people are more relaxed than others. When I am faced with those type of dilemmas I always ask myself would I be able to defend my decision if something went very badly wrong.

I will be interested to hear other posters' views.

Do you know if the babysitter knows that the other family plan to invite a strange child to be cared for? I have had this myself and know others who have found that one family is trying to save cash by having another pay some or even all of the babysitters fee by adding their child(ren) in to the job without asking. It isn't fair on the babysitter to add a strange child (who may well and understandably be unsettled and fearful in a strange place) without prior agreement and indeed extra pay. I would steer well clear.

A nanny share would be a completely different scenario, but you do need to be clear which you are talking about.

Don't do it if you don't feel OK with it.

But I don't think it's a crazy thing to do. It depends on many things obviously. If you really meant baby sitter. The kids will probably be sleeping? I have often babysit for extra children if friends of the family I worked for had a baby sitter issue and it went alll well.

How experienced is their babysitter? How long have they been using her? How old are the kids? Do they know each other? That is more important than what house the babysitting will take place IMO.

Thanks a lot for advice, really appreciate it! Good point on house risk and children. Yes, it is babysitter sharing, as I am talking about several hours 15:00-19:00 for my 5 year old boy. Babysitter is unfamiliar to us, they say she is a student about 23 or so, which is good as she probably linked to some university which means more trust i guess. I wonder how HMRC tax declaration would work for sharing ... do i just pay other parents and they declare the whole amount? Thanks again!

She isn't a babysitter with those hours, I don't think. More of an after school nanny.

I would suggest that a gross salary is agreed with her which is paid in the agreed proportions directly by you and by the other family (this might not be 50:50 as care is at their house and they have more children) - and you are both liable for your pro rata proportion of NI.

Agree that this isn't babysitting; it seems to be after school care with a shared nanny.
Is it a long term arrangement?

BlackandGold, it depends if I we like this nanny. But we are looking for long term. Thanks! Still, sharing nanny sounds interesting for us as we cut the costs great time