Babysitter...what would you do?

[DisGin]

On our next disney trip, we will have 4 kids (7,5,3,9mos). It will be our last Disney trip for probably at least 3 years. We are planning on staying at BLT. We would really like some help with the kids, not only from a riding standpoint when the bigger ones want to do rides the little ones can't do, but also for a couple of adult only dinners and maybe just an extra set of hands at non-adult only dinners. We have never gotten a sitter at Disney before, but we'd really like to experience some of the signature places. So, here are our options. MIL, who is great with the kids, but won't be able to keep up at our pace. Sister, who isn't as good with the kids, but they enjoy her. Possibly a cousin, who is even less good with the kids, but has her own annual pass. We would pay for whoever we brought for 100% of the trip, unless they want souvenirs or something. That would be a significant cost. I would also feel slightly guilty for basically using them as a babysitter even though we're paying and I would be clear about expectations up front. I wish we had a trusted high schooler we could bring, but we don't. Do I have any other options? Are there any good options at Disney? I normally wouldn't use Disney as a time to take a break from my kids, but I just don't want to take them all to California Grill, or something equally as nice ya know? We've been 4 times and it's usually all about them, I just want to get a taste of the other side of Disney.

 

[kohlby]

Based only on your descriptions, I'd take sister since she could keep up with you and the kids enjoy her.

 

[BellsFam]

I'd use the sister...

Even if she's not great with them but they like her. You want someone who will go at your pace and typically grandma doesn't do that.

I've been the "take along baby sitter", be clear about what you are paying for and not and sleeping arrangements, i.e. I wasnt expected to stay awake if the kids were sleeping and mom and dad were gone for the evening. I also was given time to myself to do what I wanted, every day.

Make sure the person you pick knows that hey we're in the park one has to potty and sitter is either expected to take them or stay with the group.

If your doing dinner have plans for the kids and sitter for what they can and can't do, i.e. Mom and dad are going to dinner, sitter cannot leave hotel room or can but no pool or can but don't leave hotel or here's extra money for the arcade, room service, etc.

I understand your busy planning what you do without the kids, but too often (and not you) mom and dad had NO plan for kids and sitter and I'd have to pay oop for meals, souvenirs, etc. for us, (yeah they reimbursed but it's the principle)... You feel used at that point a little.

And yes, ESPECIALLY with a free trip you can get used! I've had moms say "well I'm PAYING for you, you can be mom for a week!"

 

[DisGin]

Thanks, @BellsFam. Those are great tips.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

You could hire a sitter from Kids Nite Out. They are the Disney authorized sitting service. They can do in-room and in-park sitting services. For 4 children, I believe it's $26 per hour, plus you would have to purchase their theme park ticket. You'd have to crunch the numbers, but this might be a cheaper option than paying for flight/room/food/tickets for a family member.

 

[Thing 1]

Which of the choices do you have the most trust in? Responsibility for kids at WDW is a huge deal, especially little ones. How old are the sister and cousin? Would you be ok with leaving either of them alone with all the kids in a strange hotel room or somewhere like the arcade? I would tend to choose your MIL. I can't image you will tour too fast of a pace with that many little ones and it might be more than worth it to slow down a bit to accommodate her. Maybe she would want a bit of down time and could take the baby back to the room for a bit of a rest. The more comfortable you are with a sitter, the more you will be able to relax and enjoy some adult time.

 

[DisGin]

Cousin and sister are in their 40s, so they're responsible. Although, I doubt anyone besides me would be comfortable taking all 4 of my kids out in public. The only time they'd be alone with all 4 would be a couple of adult dinner nights. Even then, I'd likely put the baby down before we left. I guess I'll have to think on this some more. Hiring a sitter actually seems like the cheaper option. I guess part of me doesn't want to spend every evening after the kids go to sleep with my MIL. I mean she's nice and all, but that's just a lot of togetherness. Maybe it's time to put on my big girl pants and suck it up.

 

[quagmire0]

Father of 4 here as well - almost the exact same ages, too. Only one I'd really worry about is the 9mo, but I think that that age they should have a pretty good routine down already. Honestly, I'd probably go with the sister and do the following: 1. use her mostly for those private dinners out. I think the older kids will pretty much entertain themselves and each other, so her job will be mostly to take care of the 9mo and get them to bed. 2. In the park, I'd probably lean towards doing child swap more and always having a parent with those kids not riding at the time. If your kids are anything like mine, that 3 year old is a handful and that 5 year old is a flight risk. Combining them with the 9mo and an inexperienced adult or child could spell disaster - or at least a lot of drama.

 

[roseaster]

Personally, I would go with Kids Night Out. Technically all but the baby could go to one of the kids' program places, my kids loved those, but the baby puts a hitch in it. Unless you sent the older ones to the kids program and just hired a sitter for the baby.

I see a lot of hassle and expense in taking along a sitter. As a sitter I would expect my own room, plus you will have to pay for the sitter's transportation, meals, and park tickets. Plus there is always going to be the expectation, especially if it is a family member that they are more than "just a sitter." I'm thinking KNO would be a more economical option.

I never had an issue managing my own kids in the park, even when they were little. We just split up when the bigger kids wanted to ride something the little ones couldn't. One of us would either take the little kids for an ice cream or a treat or to a ride/attraction they could do.

I would just hire KNO or do a combo of KNO/kids club (you will have to crunch numbers) for the nights you want an adult dinner. It may be cheaper to take the bigger ones to a kids club where they feed them, rather than leave them with KNO AND buy them dinner. IDK.

 

[kboo]

I would crunch the numbers and probably do KNO and kids clubs too; the sitters are very professional and DD loved them. We do a few "grownup" nights w KNO on each trip now.

 

[MinMou]

My MIL once complained about being brought along on my SIL's vacation "just to be a babysitter", so my first choice is to hire a sitter for the adult meals. If hiring someone for all the dinners you planned turns out to be too expensive, then I'd say go to fewer grown up meals and eat more meals with the kids. I totally get wanting to have a dinner without having cut up food or play referee, but before you know it, those kids will not want to eat dinner with you and the tables will have turned.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I love the idea of the kids clubs for the older kids (my DS8 LOVES the clubs), but it will cost you more money. KNO will charge $26 per hour for 4 kids, whereas most of the the kids clubs are $15 per hour, per child (Sandcastle and Lilo's are now a flat $55 per child rate). You may want to check into the kids club at the Dolphin though. I'm not sure where you want to eat, but if you eat at one of the Swan/Dolphin restaurants (which are AMAZING! especially bluezoo), you get 2 hours of free child care at the Dolphin club, but that may only be for one child. (edited to add, you get 2 hours free for each entree you order, so you would get 2 hours for 2 children free if you order two entrees. Plus Dolphin looks to be $10 per hour, but I think they only take children 4 and up)

 

[misskate28]

I'm a mother of two (DD1 is 5 and DD2 is 3) with DD3 on the way! We've almost tried it all. We usually try to get one night where my DH and I can go to a nice restaurant and do adult rides (when I'm not pregnant). My mother lives in San Diego, so a few times, she has driven up, we've paid for her to come into the park for a day or two, and she's taken them back to the hotel one of the nights to watch and she's stayed overnight. She's really fit though and can more than keep up. We've also brought along my older sister and her son and let them stay in the same hotel room with us for free for the whole trip (she bought their park tickets) and she's watched them during 1 nap while we hit up the pool and 1 date night on each trip. She's extremely helpful and willing (but snores sooo loud! - earplugs are a lifesaver). We've also brought along a nanny (the most expensive of the options) for which we paid for everything but souvenirs. I'm not very good at being a hands-off mom so I still wound up going on every ride with them in the park, doing all the bathroom runs, feeding them, etc. so the nanny would go off on her own a bunch to do stuff. Really there was no use for her in the parks. We paid for a separate adjoining room for her, but then never wanted the kids to not sleep in our room with us. Really, it was something I would never do again. I prefer the company of family and we only really want some DH and me time once the kids are asleep. We were really clear with my mom and sis about what day we wanted a night out or nap time sit and we never had a problem. They were both just so happy to be there. This trip, Mom and Sis are out, since we really want it to just be DH, DD1, DD2, and me (since it will never be just us four again). We're trying Destination Sitters for the first time so that we can have a late Valentine's Day/Babymoon celebration (did someone say Napa Rose and a massage?! Yes, please!). I'm nervous about it, but I've used Care.com locally to find a sitter that we love, so I'm not too afraid of these agencies anymore. A lot of people on the boards recommend DS and our sitter's bio seems encouraging. Of course, it will all come down to our comfort level once we meet her and it's likely that we'll do a mid sit check in plus text check ins. My recommendation is to pick the person that you trust the most, is good with the kids, and who will stick to the plan that you lay out (you don't want to have to deal with unpleasant hiccups on your vacation if they're avoidable). OP - I hope that you have fun and that your sitter situation works out well!

 

[monorailsilver]

I never used a sitter/kids club since we take our kids with us everywhere and if one couldn't go on a ride we'd take turns sitting out, not a biggie for us, but that might not be the case for you, to each is own, right. I *only* have 3 kids but I would use the in room sitters I guess. I would assume it's cheaper and you are not tied down to a family member you brought with you for the entire time.

I think you could handle your kids at dinner at home so I would think Disney would be no different or no different then going out to dinner at home with them. I mean the 7&5 yo should be behaved and when I took my almost 3 yo she basically followed the lead of my older 2 who were 7 and almost 5.

Or another option down the road is to take a quick weekend trip of no kids and just do restaurants, it might be cheaper then bringing the family member.

Or not having the family member the entire time, maybe just the first few days and you and dh can do all your signature dining places then.

Good Luck!

 

[powellrj]

I know most people won't agree with me, have you considered leaving the 9 month old home with grandma? You would only have the 3older ones and they would be easy to take to the parks. Our kids were really spread out age wise and I would take the older ones in the mornings and dh would take the little ones and we would meet for lunch and spend the rest of the day together. Get a sitter a few nights.

 

[Lupeix]

I am going to a conference in July and taking grandma and 2 kids. I hired help for grandma through Extra hands:http://vacationsitterfl.com

I've had people recommend them to me and so far they have been extremely professional. They are also cheaper than the competitors.
Using family as help is tricky, specially if you want things done a certain way. Besides you can hire them just for the times you want.

 

[mom2grace]

Have you considered an adult only trip? A long weekend?

I also agree with leaving the baby at home. We left our 3 year old home when we took our 5 year old.

 

[krm222]

Honestly we just got back with a just turned four year old and a nine month old. The nine month old was BY FAR the easiest of the two because if she got tired, she slept whereas my son would get tired and go bananas! And she was a huge hit with CMs and characters: everyone was waving at her and blowing her kisses. Photographers were coming over to take photos! It was really fun to watch her reaction to being a little superstar!

All that is my way of saying that personally I wouldn't leave any of the kiddos home! In my book it's not a family vacation if the whole family isn't there.

That said, my husband has made it clear that we will never do Disney without some other family members coming with us for help. Luckily my parents have been willing twice now and are interested in a third time. It's nice to have an extra pair of hands to help get everyone ready in the morning and my dad never rides thrill rides so he'd camp out in the shade with the stroller.

I think as long as the expectation is laid out in advance (i.e. "We have dinner at X on X night at X o'clock. Would you mind watching the kids?") it can be a fun trip for everyone.

 

[krm222]

Oh and if you bring the baby you can use rider swap which is AWESOME! The older kids can ride more than once without waiting in line!

 

[CampbellScot]

i would definitely go with the sister!! Enjoying the people you are with is imperative and having someone who can't keep up the pace ends up holding everyone back. (i speak from experience. My mom wanted to help with the baby so much but she just can't do it as he's a handful and very busy! She ended up feeling bad the whole trip. Though we didn't bring her as a baby sitter. It was a family trip. But the one night she offered to sit so we could do adult stuff ended with a call about 40 minutes later that the baby was screaming and wouldn't stop...though he was sound asleep when we got back. She felt horrible. So definitely go with someone who can keep up with the little ones avoid anyone feeling bad!)