Advise on what sort of questions to ask when interviewing for a babysitter

[tayroo]

Would appreciate any suggestions as I want to cover all my bases and don't forget to ask anything!

Many thanks!!!

Do they have any first aid knowledge?

Dependning on age of children - do they know the policy on SIDS?

Can they speak English well enough to convey necessary details over the phone in case of emergency.
Can you be sure they won't have their boy/friends over while you are out (unless that is cool with you)
Make sure they are not phone addicts and won't be glued to their mobile or your landline when they should be listening out for kids.
First aid things like choking, fire hazards, how to take a temperature and how to administer calpol etc.
Having your kids present is a great idea, get them to read a story to guage how interested in communicating with your kids they actually are.

Thanks for all your suggestions. My little girl is 6 months (nearly 7 months) old so I want to be EXTREMELY thorough in my interview.

I should present scenarios tayroo, that may be of concern to you and ask what they would do - you want to know that they can make a distinction between the need for a cuddle and back to sleep, needing to ring mum or needing to ring 999! Its no different to a job interview so I would say if x y z occurs, what would you do? Then if you are not happy with their response, you can tell them there and then, what you would like

and get references

and get references

oops, lots of references