I don’t know about you, but I have had the hardest time finding babysitters. It’s funny that before I decided to become a mommy I was such a social butterfly and had more friends than I could count. I remember at least 5 of those friends saying, “anytime you need a babysitter, just give me a call.” I also remember calling said friends and being told that they were too busy going to all the parties I had been invited to. Now I can count my friends on one hand … Why? … because I CAN NEVER FIND A BABYSITTER! Two years later, I don’t get invited to many parties anymore because I’m sure people just know by now that I won’t be able to make it. BOOOOOOOO! Now that I have 2 minis still in diapers, it’s twice as hard.
So, I’m having to interview people that I don’t know from Adam to take care of the most precious things to me. It’s even harder remembering which babysitter charges what rate, or is comfortable with what ages, or is available on which hours/days, or if a sitter can stay with them overnight, etc. When I started interviewing for help, of course I went online doing research on the best questions to ask. I wouldn’t say I’m a control freak, but I do want to know who is looking after my girls (mostly because they are so young and dependent on whoever is caring for them). I want to know if they aren’t comfortable helping with baths and bedtime routines, or if they’ve never taken care of a child under 3 years old. I want to feel comfortable leaving the minis with someone over night and that if a fever spikes, they will know what to do, or that if there is an emergency they will be able to get the minis to the ER without getting into 10 car accidents on the way.
I must have read through a dozen websites, all with great questions. But none of them had everything I wanted on it. So, in RHIH fashion, I made my own. I tried to get it down to 1 page. I usually print mine out a page at a time, that way I can print on the front and back of 1 page. I keep a hard copy in a file so it’s easy for my husband to find if he ever needs help in a crunch while he’s with the minis. I also scan a copy into .pdf to keep on the hard drive (and gets backed up on an external drive service we use in case the computer crashes) in case the hard copy file ever gets “lost”. That way I don’t loose this very important list.
Click the image to get your free printable Babysitter Application in .pdf
Oh sure, I know it’s not fool-proof and I make no claims that it is, but at least I would have all the information I need to run references and background checks if I felt the need. 😉
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