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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Can someone please share their babysitting experiences

2 replies

Abs8 · 29/02/2024 18:07

I'm considering hiring what I think would be a 'babysitter' to regularly look after my three year old during the evening and possibly some overnight stays. When I say regularly I'm thinking maybe once or twice a month. Id possibly be looking for care during school holidays/after school in the future. I'd hope for someone that my daughter would build a relationship with and feel comfortable with. How does babysitting usually work when it's a paid for service? Do they spend time getting to know the child/family first? Or does it sound like I need a nanny? I'm new to this and have no idea where to start looking 🙈

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nannynick · 29/02/2024 21:18

during the evening and possibly some overnight stays.

That would be babysitting in my view. It is not a commitment, you would make a booking each time and they would say yes or no to accepting that booking.

Id possibly be looking for care during school holidays/after school in the future.

That would be nannying in my view. It requires commitment. You are likely to want it to occur on a regularly repeating basis.

Do they spend time getting to know the child/family first?

I meet families first, visiting for maybe an hour or a bit longer, so I get to know the child/children, how well I get along with parents, and get a feel for the location, car parking, ease of travel to/from.

Then I would start doing the occasional evening, which then may become the occasional daytime.

Childcarers will have varying availability, so someone who does evening babysitting may or may not have any availability to do overnight or daytime care.

Abs8 · 29/02/2024 21:48

@nannynick thank you so much for your help!

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