Anyone not want to go....

[polyfan]

out with your spouse because of leaving kids with a sitter? It is probably silly but, Ijust don't like it. We have a 4 and 7yr. old. In the past 7 years we have probably only left them 5 times with a sitter for us to go out alone. We don't have any family around here so we have to use friends/ high school age kids. I could use some input.

 

[Michelle]

No. I would LOVE to go out more with my DH but we don't have a sitter either. The local Parks & Recs have "Kids Night Out" group babysitting from time to time, and we take advantage of that...our daughter LOVES it too.

I think it's important for a husband and wife to get out alone from time to time...it shows the kids that a loving, happy marriage is important too.

I was more paranoid about it when my daughter was a baby but at your kids' ages I was not.

Go and enjoy!

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

DH and I have no family near by either, so I have to rely on teenagers/freinds also. Fortunately, my neighborhood has several good kids at the right age. My next door neighbor has one more year of high school, but another neighbor is about the come of age (already knows and loves my girls). So I have been lucky.

Also, check in your area to see if they have babysitting services like Fairy Godmothers. Usually they are a little more expensive than the teenagers, but there is a certain peace of mind that goes along with them. The sitters are liscenced and bonded and have to go through certain training. In my area, I pay the service a $7 placement fee, then $8/hour, 4-hour minimum for 2 kids. I normally pay the teenagers $7/hour.

Go out and have a good time!

 

[Evil Princess]

I was a camp counselor for three years, and I babysat for many years. I was often referred to other parents by the parents of the kids who I sat for. I was a teenager, but I was very responsible. I'm even CPR certified

There are responsible teenagers out there, if that comforts you somewhat. Ask your friends, ask neighbors, and get references.

Many times a parent of one of my campers would request my phone number because their kid talked about me so much! Those were always much easier babysitting jobs, because the child and I already had a relationship and respected me. They felt safe and when they were comfortable, their siblings were too.

My babysitting days ended as I got older. I realized that friday and saturday nights were prime time for babysitting...but that killed my outside life.

 

[Micca]

We always had grandparents and trusted family members to leave our twin dd's with...then we moved. We found a couple of really nice sitters, but we always stressed when we left our dd's and they screamed. Now they are 20 I can only tell you we should have have left them with sitters a little more often than we did.