Ad hoc help

[KCpip]

I’ve got two daughters, 6 and 4. We get regular help from my mother in law so I can work but now the girls are getting a bit bigger and could be left with someone else I’m starting to find there are work or social events I’d like to go to. I used to ask my mum for help with this kind of one off thing but when I asked her recently she said no, she can’t cope as she’s getting older. Can anyone tell me what you do in these situations? It wouldn’t just be an evening babysitting, it might also be a school pick up, make dinner, stay for the evening. Would a babysitter do this kind of thing? Just keen to hear what other people do. I could ask my MIL but as she already helps for work I think extra days could seem a bit much. Obviously the alternate option is to stay home! But interested to hear what arrangements other families have for this kind of thing.

As a teenager and in my early 20's I used to do that sort of thing as a babysitter. It would depend on how it fitted with my college/work at the time.

We use a babysitter, she's a student. She does evening babysitting, an occasional Saturday morning and sometimes helps in school holidays. We pay her £10 an hour.

We just used sitters.co.uk

Try Bubble (it's an app). You post the hours / date you need and you get applications from sitters on the site. You can check their profiles and see their ratings, qualifications etc. and choose. Prices will range depending on their experience, qualifications etc.

Most people would use a childminder for the school pick up and collect from them. Charges are often around £5 per hour...some areas more or less....but you get back at least 20% through tax free scheme or more if eligible for other schemes. Then a babysitter for the evenings.

Post your hours freely. You can also try childcare.co.uk or care.co.uk as well. Other good ways in order to find a sitter include word of mouth etc.

Depending on your location SafeCircle Sitters have babysitters available for your evenings. All are qualified and regulated for peace of mind.

They cover Birmingham, Coventry and Nottingham.

Https://safecircle.co.uk