DEFINITIONS:

Babysitter: A person you hire to occasionally mind your children when you are away.  This person is there only to ensure your children are safe and entertained in your absence.

Nanny: A person who nurtures, educates, clothes,feeds, disciplines and loves your child on a daily basis.  A nanny’s role is vital in assisting you in raising your child(ren).

In hiring either a nanny or babysitter of course you want someone responsible and mature.  A person that will know how to handle an emergency, should there be one and a person who will make responsible decisions while in your home or with your children to ensure safety. What else is important?

3 Qualities of a GREAT babysitter:

1.  Lots of energy

2. Plans fun activities to do with your kids

3.  CPR/First Aid Certification

A nanny should also possess those 3 qualities, and more!

3 more qualities of a GREAT nanny:

1. Experience in child care (whether it is as a nanny, teacher, parent, babysitter or daycare worker–experience with children is a must!)

2.  An understanding of child development, different learning styles and an understanding of how to include education in everyday fun activities.

3.  An open communicator.  You want someone who is comfortable giving you feedback about your children and working with you to educate and nurture them in a way that is best for them.

So on the other side, what is a babysitter or nanny looking for in an employer?  In one word, I would say, thoughtfulness.

3 Things that make a GREAT babysitting experience:

1.  Money for take out or a meal already prepared for kids and sitter.

2.  A cool activity to do or movie to watch (especially if it’s a late night job) with the kids.

3.  A blanket and some snacks.  I remember as a babysitter, the kids go to bed and you sit to watch tv and it is always cold!  Leave a blanket and some snacks where she doesn’t have to search for them.

3 things that make a GREAT nanny experience:

1. Appreciation and occasional praise or thanks for all that your nanny does.

2.  An occasional, unexpected hour or 2 off.  This is especially important for the nannies out there that regularly work over 40 hours per week!

3.  Paid vacations, sick days and some kind of contribution to medical insurance (which you can likely offer tax free–more in a future blog).

Hiring a nanny or babysitter is complex for many reasons.  In future blogs I will touch on some of these topics from both points of view and hopefully give you all perspective on the others feelings and needs.  As a parent you are sometimes blinded by your vision of what you need, your fears of hiring someone to care for your children, your guilt about leaving them, or even your busy schedule.  As a nanny you are sometimes blinded by your education and experience, making it difficult to empathize with the parents.  I hope this blog will give both sides of the story and make it easier for each to understand the needs of the other…making for better communication and better sitter or nanny/family relationships…which make for happy, healthy kids!

Finding a babysitter online is similar to shopping for most items and services. There are pictures, descriptions, testimonials, ratings, references, and sometimes videos. After you narrowed down your search to your neighborhood, the next step is finding a sitter with a background check. From there it is time to start calling sitters and interview.

The process varies, but typically parents pay a membership fee for access to wide variety of sitters. You can start here by entering your ZIP code in the search box to the right of this article for a list of sitters in your area.