Question for parents---finding babysitters

[disfan07]

How do you usually find your babysitters?

I am not actually looking for a babysitter. I am the babysitter looking for families to sit for. All of my previous families I have sat for have found me thorugh my synagogue. I am leaving for school in about 5 weeks and I know very little about the area and I dont know anyone there and I would love to find a family or 2 to sit for on the weekends but I dont know how most parents find sitters.

I would love to hear from some parents on how you go about finding your sitters.

 

[NMAmy]

Are you going to college? Tell your professors that you're looking for babysitting jobs and you have references from other families. Ask them if they can pass your name on to colleagues with little ones. I've worked at a college for many years and when dd was young, I was always thrilled to get trustworthy college students to babysit. Now that dd is grown and off to a different college herself, I have trustworthy college students dog sit for me.

 

[LBAK]

I always posted something in the education department or the student center. I am very close to a major university and there is always an college student looking for a weekend job. Ask your advisor to keep her ears open for you. You can try posting on Craigslist too. Have a great time in school!

 

[Northstar]

If you can make a connection through a synagogue in your new location, that would be great because the families who might want to hire you will know how to find out whether you're reliable... you have roots and connections that they can check out. Call the rabbi in the new synagogue and see if they might have a bulletin board or similar way to advertise your availability.

If there's no synagogue there, or as another route, see if your school has a chaplaincy office. Call them up and ask if they could recommend you to families, or if they have ideas where to get jobs.

Also, check whether there's a student employment office. They often maintain a list of odd jobs in the community (off campus), and people in the community sometimes call looking for someone to employ. They might give you some leads.

I seriously would not advertise on Craigslist. Not worth the hassle of contact with scam artists and crazies.

 

[barkley]

kind of o.t.-but as another source of p/t income, have you ever considered offering yourself up as a tutor?

i did this in college and made 5x per hour what my friends made babysitting. i limited myself to elementary aged kids for math, english and reading, and let the local elementary schools (private and public) know i was available (when parents would call and ask for resources). the tutoring was always done in the parent's home (same as babysitting), and it basicly came down to meeting with the child once or twice per week and doing either their homework with them or reinforcement work their teacher provided.

we live in a university town and it's surprising how few of the college students have caught on to this revenue stream, but those that have are well paid and in demand.

it's something to consider (if you get along well with kids anyway and have experience sitting, the likelyhood is you've already had experience doing homework with them so this is just expanding on that skill).

 

[Mickeypooh99]

Have you registered on the website sittercity.com? Its a site to match sitters with parents.

 

[bettymae1121]

All the moms in my area use care.com to find sitters. Good luck!

 

[golfgal]

Most colleges will have a board somewhere to post this kind of thing. I know the school I attended had a list of students that were available for babysitting, etc. When you get to school just ask your RA, he/she will help you get the info you need.

 

[scottishduffy]

When I was in college we had a college newspaper, as well as an announcement/employment board in the middle of our student union. I wanted a family to work for so I cheked the announcement board in the union and the ad section of our paper (parents looking for college kids look there!).

I found two families on the announcement board. Interviewed both and picked the family I felt was a better fit for me.

After I had been working for this family for several months they started lending me out to the rest of their family as well. Also, most families like to look for either education or nursing majors. So look at announcement boards within those colleges if your school is very large.

 

[jodifla]

Have you registered on the website sittercity.com? Its a site to match sitters with parents.

Yes, this is the easiest way. I post a job, and I have at least a dozen applicants.

 

[Mkrop]

We live in a college town and most call the University and talk to the student employment office, then it is word of mouth. I would hook up with your local synagoue. We are Catholic and there is great networking that happens amongst our church.

Good luck in school.

 

[RadioNate]

Have you registered on the website sittercity.com? Its a site to match sitters with parents.

We just moved to a new city and I'm using sitter city. I think I have 5 applicants for my current job. I'd really like a college student. I've gotten a lot of grandma's. lol

Any chance you are going to college in Denver?

 

[Minnie824]

try enannysource.com. I found 2 great sitters there. and the nice thing is (well, for you) its free for the nanny/babysitter to register but the family has to pay. They also do a background check for the family as well.

 

[Hillbeans]

I used Craigslist to find someone initially, and then I interviewed them and saw them interact with my children. This was a few years ago, and DH and I don't get many date nights with his work travel, but it's worked out well.