What Parents can do to Find a Safe Sitter!

Here's a great article from Adrienne Kallweit from Seeking Sitters.  Enjoy!

What Parents can do to Find a Safe Sitter:

It is always important to do your homework when seeking a qualified childcare working to bring into your home. Whether you are looking for a one-night out or a part-time or full-time regular sitter, you should spend the time to take the necessary steps to screen a sitter and find the best match and safest option for your family. Here are some steps that you can use when looking for an in-home childcare professional:

1) Assess your need: research the appropriate pay based on your need. i.e., number of children and experience
2) Obtain qualified applicants: You will want to advertise for sitters in a multitude of locations to get a large pool of qualified candidates to choose from.
3) In Person interview: Find several candidates to conduct interviews in-person and have your applicant sign a background screening waiver so that you can conduct a screening on the applicant.
4) Level of desire: be sure that when conducting your interviews you are identifying that the sitter has a strong level of desire to work with kids and it is a passion.
4) Past Employer Check: Verify reliability through the three most recent employers
5) Verify References: Check at least three childcare related references as you want to make sure the applicant has the experience level that you need for your family.
6) CPR and First Aid: When any childcare professional is working in your home, you should verify that they have CPR and First Aid training. This can be obtained by the local red cross and will help your sitter have the skills necessary in any type of accident in the home.
7) Perform a thorough background screening. I feel this is your most important step as this will give you a behind the scenes understanding into the worker's character and how she will react in certain situations. Make sure to find a reputable background screening company that screens eachapplicant's personal character history, address history, criminal and civil records as well as credit history records.
8) Selection Process: When when you have narrowed down your candidates follow up and find out if the schedule you desire works for their availability and decide on a payment schedule
9) Set clear expectations: Once you have selected your childcare worker, you want to set very clear expectations for the sitter to make sure she has an understanding of what you expect in the home.
10) In-home monitoring: If you choose to have an in-home camera, let the sitter know it is there and use it to your advantage by getting the most productivity out of your childcare professional. You can even utilize a two-way camera that will allow you to say "Hi" during the day to your little ones.
11) Update your Lists: Always remember that there is nothing morepermanent than change and that it is more likely that you will have numerous childcare workers in your home because peoples schedules and needs change. Be comforted in the fact that your children have you as a consistent in their life and that the transition into new childcare professionals can be a welcomed change if you approach it with a great attitude.

It is important to always have a safe and smooth sitting experience when having a childcare worker in your home. This is what we strive for atSeekingSitters, to help families with the above steps as they may be overwhelming for some parents looking for someone to care for their little ones.

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