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Parenting

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Original poster

Babysitters - How do you find them?

10 replies

ihatecbeebies · 13/04/2011 21:36

I have a 4 year old DS and don't have any family support so asking for babysitting favours is out of the window! I've noticed posters mentioning about hiring a babysitter for the night and I remember when I was young my mum hiring babysitters for us but wondered how you find them, do you just ask around, or advertise "babysitter needed" and hope a nice sensible teenage girl offers? And how could you be certain that they were safe to be around your DC....

Any advice would be much appreciated and any good or bad experiences are welcome too as I am clueless about this!

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Dancergirl · 13/04/2011 21:44

We use sitters.co.uk - they are brilliant!

You register and have to pay around £12 per 3 months to stay registered. Then it works out about £6/7 per hour depending on where you live. All their sitters are vetted and tend to be mature people who already work with children - TAs, childminders, nannies etc. You book the times you want online and they confirm by text. All their sitters have their own transport so you don't have to take them home and they're all v v reliable and come when they say!

The ONE time in 10 years we've been using them a sitter cancelled because she'd had an accident and had to go to A and E - sitters found us someone else at short notice.

And also because they are nationwide you can use them if you go away. We've used them sitting in hotel rooms up and down the country. And you've got peace of mind that you've got someone you can trust.

Original poster

ihatecbeebies · 13/04/2011 22:26

Thanks Dancergirl, I'll have a look at their site! Do you know any other ones that cost a bit less? Obviously the £12 register fee is fine but I am a single parent student so sometimes money can be quite tight!

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EvilTwins · 13/04/2011 22:31

I use a local teenage girl. She's fabulous. I pay her approx £5 per hour, though she sometimes argues that she hasn't done anything and so shouldn't get paid that much. I'm Head of VI Form at a school, though, and she was one of my students (now at a local university) so I kind of cheated... Other mums I know use girls who work at the nurseries their DCs go/went to - is that an option for you? If I need a sitter for an hour, say, to go to DC's parents' evening or to pick up DH from the station, I swap favours with mum friends - could you do that?

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tvfriend · 13/04/2011 22:34

We also use Sitters and they are great- use them in the day too. Even with the extra fees they still seem to work out cheaper than a lot of other sitters.
If you're a student, is there a noticeboard or something at your college/uni etc (assuming you're at one) that you could put a notice up on etc? Or anyone else on your course that may not have children and could do with the money?

ChoccoVersial · 13/04/2011 22:36

We are part of a village babysitting circle, so we sit for other parents, earning points for when we want to go out.

It is brilliant - it means you don't have to fork out for a sitter on top of paying for an evening out.

Do you have a group of local friend/mums who'd set one up with you?

If not, ask anyone you know with kids who they use - word of mouth is a good source. Ditto asking pre-school/nursery - the staff often like a bit of work on the side as they're not well paid.

Or are there any teenagers living locally? Often they like to earn a bit of money.

littlebrownmouse · 13/04/2011 22:40

We go to church and have older ladies and teenagers queuing up to babysit. We pay the teenagers a tenner (usually out a couPle of hours) and the older ladies do it for nothing. Do any of your DC's friend's parents have the same issue? Could you babysit for them and they for you?

Dancergirl · 13/04/2011 22:46

Babysitting circles don't really work for single parents chocco!

ChoccoVersial · 13/04/2011 22:47

Oops, didn't see the single parent bit!

Catilla · 13/04/2011 23:04

What about friends who use nannies - the nannies are usually happy to do babysitting for extra cash.
Once you get to school age, you may come across more of these, this can have the added benefit that your kids can get to know them via playdates, so it isn't a stranger in the house if they happen to wake.

Original poster

ihatecbeebies · 13/04/2011 23:09

Thanks for all the advice! I could stick a notice up on one of the boards in Uni and see if I get any calls, I'm sure there will be lots of other students eager for some extra cash! I've just moved so am new to my area and don't know if there are any trustworthy teens about. DS goes to a council run nursery integrated within the school and the teachers are paid well (a friend once applied so knows the pay is good) so couldn't stick a notice up unfortunately.

littlebrownmouse - I don't go to church but do you think they'd be offended if I asked to put a notice up?

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