How to Find the Right Babysitter for Your Toddler

Hiring a babysitter means having to look for individuals with the right qualities that you can trust to take care of your toddler. Finding the right one is by no means an easy task, since you need to ensure that they are qualified and experienced in taking care of babies and toddlers.

Here are some tips to help you to find a qualified babysitter.

Find Candidates from Reliable Sources

Ask your close friends, relatives or colleagues if they can recommend any babysitters that they have hired before. People that you know are likely more willing to disclose what they like and do not like about the sitter they hired, and you can get honest reviews from them.

Once you have several options, you can check these candidates’ references and ask the families to elaborate more about their services, such as the problems the sitter faced while babysitting and number of kids in the family under that babysitter’s care.

Check the Babysitter’s Qualifications

A babysitter needs to be much more than just someone who has helped to take care of their younger siblings for a few hours while their parents are out. You will want to look for someone who has had first aid training and certification.

A babysitter should also know how to take care of the toddler beyond their needs inside your home. Where possible, look for babysitters who are proficient in using, fitting and adjusting child car seats correctly so that they can travel with your toddler should emergencies arise.

Take Time to Screen Through Your Candidates

Schedule interviews with your candidates, whether it is in person or through a phone call. Interviews will give you a better idea of what your candidates are like. You can also sort out the expectations of both parties during the interview.

You should also call your babysitter’s references to find out more about them. If you want to ensure that you are choosing the right candidate, you can conduct a test run before hiring them for a long-term position.

Get to Know Your Babysitter

You have placed your trust in your chosen babysitter – it only makes sense that you give them the opportunity to trust you as well. Take a few minutes to talk to your babysitter when they reach your place, and check-in with them before they leave as well.

These few minutes of conversation can help you to know more about what your toddlers are like around other people and your babysitters will also feel more important and cherished – more like a family friend than hired help.

They might be willing to help at short notice in the future!

Ask for Input from Your Kids

Check in with your kids to see how they feel about the babysitter when you return. Of course, toddlers are able to vocalise how they feel about their babysitters better than their younger counterparts.

Be sure to check for abnormal behaviours and emotions from younger babies to get a grasp of how they feel about their babysitter too.