how to find reliable safe babysitters?

Hooray!!!! My life will soon get a bit better!
My dh FINALLY is okay with us having non-family watch our kids
as in a Regular babysitter!!!

This is a milestone since family lives far away.

So, um, how do you find those wonderful babysitters that are worth a pound of gold???

How do you find someone willing to put up with the crazy "terrible" twos and 2 kids at that?
I don't want to "steal" from any of my other local TwinMommies because chances are they are needing to be out when I am too!

 

You can always use an agency who will do background checks for you. You're paying for that service though but then you know you have a more reliable source. I would ask other moms in your neighborhood and friends who they use and go with their referral...if they use someone, you will probably feel more confident using them as a babysitter too. I often find other mamas have the best advice and referrals than anyone.

 

I didn't read your entire post...about the "stealing" I personally wouldn't worry about it...you can totally share babysitters! Not everyone goes out EVERY Fri. or Sat. eve...or you can try to swing a date night during the week...and if you get several referrals and have a few backups this probably won't ever be an issue

 

Just wanted to clarify...I'm in two local chapters of NOMOTC & my twinmommy friends are chances are going to the same nighttime meetings or gatherings. A few are in the same boat as me.

I can't wait to have a life again! I need sanity! And find my identity other than "mommy" and "chief household officer".

 

I hear you! What about teenagers in your neighborhood? Last summer our neighbor's daughters came over and babysat. We did everything--fed, bathed, put the kiddos down--they came as soon as the kids went to sleep and we could sneak away for dinner and a movie. The girls read and watched tv...piece of cake for them and I could text them as often as I wanted to check in...plus they charged a LOT less than an agency or someone who regularly babysits...just a thought. I'd ask people outside of your close circle of friends for recommendations then too

 

I would still ask my twin mom friends... My babysitter is a nanny for triplets in my local MoM's group. The family she nannies for has family that watches the kids on evenings and she works for them during the day so she's free for me when I need her for an event at night. It never hurts to ask because they also may have a friend that they know of as well.
Good luck and Congrats on finally being able to get out!!

 

I'm in the same boat... I actually got a great recommendation from a twin mommy friend.... and I use that babysitter/nanny during the day while I work, but most of the times that I need a babysitter for night time its for the twin mom meetings! and my friend uses her... ugh! anyway, I need to get a backup too! good luck!! I do agree that if you get several recommendations hopefully one won't be to booked with the night time twin meetings.

 

I went through sittercity.com but you have to pay to use their site if you are posting a job or want anything on the sitter besides age/school/sex/religion/availability. However, the $25 was worth it, in that they ran a background check on the selected person and I could read other's recommendations on her. The sitter list also shows people that have experience with multiples/infants/older children.

I still have her phone number and email, so I would use her again. But I dropped my subscription because the times that we go out without kids are about once every 6 months and $25 a month for a year to be used twice is too much $$.

 

I use teenagers from church. Then I know their families and see them weekly at church. My kids love to see their baby sitters other times. When mine were little I sometimes had 2 siblings come together and it made it not so crazy for everyone.

 

I went through care.com. You have to pay, I think it is $27 for one month, but I only ever needed one month to find a great babysitter. I have 2 fantastic sitters that I found through care.com who have been with our family for well over a year (one works Tues/Thurs, one works Fri). I also use recommendations from our neighbors - just this evening, in fact, my next door neighbor's nanny watched our girls while we were out at a work function, & the girls were perfectly happy with the situation, because they see her around so often.

Hope this helps - good luck in your search!

Oh, & I forgot - we live near Emory University in Atlanta and the medical students have a group who "babysit for a cause" ; they donate any babysitting money to disadvantaged communities, free clinics or use as fundraisers for their service learning activities. If you live near a University with a medical school, you could check and see if they have something similar.