I feel that Sitters has a place in the market. They can be very useful for parents who do not go out very often, and whose children are old enough not to be that bothered about who is caring for them.
However, if you intend to go out on a regular basis, as with any form of childcare, having consistancy of carer is very useful, especially if your children are young.
I chatted with a parent recently about this subject and here are some things that were mentioned:
- used 6 times and had a different sitter each time, which didn't help with young child's bedtime routine.
- found that a lot of the childcarers liked the child to be already in bed asleep.
That was just one parents experience though, and I expect it does differ from area to area quite a bit, as to what the childcarer providing the babysitting is expecting. Any babysitting agency, especially one as big as Sitters, can not control each 'sitter' they have working for them, thus some will be great... while others will let the side down.
As with all childcare, you compare things on the level of service provided, the cost, and other factors, including how much your children like a particular childcare provider. Sitters fills a gap in the childcare market, making it easy for parents to find a babysitter at quite short notice. To provide that service they rely on a lot of staff, who while vetted, may not all provide the same level of service, thus when a sitter fails to meet your requirements, then make sure you let the agency know.