It is all too easy to get overwhelmed when you first start looking for a baby sitter for your children. Chances are that you are going to feel more than a little uncomfortable the first time you leave your children with someone new. There are mistakes that many parents make when it comes to looking for a sitter for their children.
Some of the most common mistakes parents make include the following:
- They assume that a neighbor or friend is trustworthy.
- They do not look for references or experience.
- They do not do a background check on the sitter.
- They are in too much of a rush to get a sitter.
- They are too intimidated to ask personal questions of the sitter.
All of these mistakes can lead to bad consequences for you and even worse, for your children. You can avoid these mistakes by looking for a quality baby sitter the minute you have a baby, even if you are not ready to leave him or her alone. The more time you put into this effort, the more prepared you will be when you do need to hire someone for child care.
Never assume that anyone is �trustworthy� because they are a neighbor or a friend or even family. This can be the biggest mistake a parent can make because it stops them from asking questions, prevents them from doing a background check and even asking for references. Your mother may be trustworthy but the kindly neighbor down the street who you just met may not. Never assume anything when it comes to leaving your children with strangers even if they seem like a very nice neighbor.
Not checking references or asking for experience is another mistake that can easily be avoided. You would not even think of hiring someone for a job of importance without checking their references, so why would you hire a baby sitter without checking references? The reason that many parents skip this step is because they wait until the last minute to hire someone to look after their children. If you have several babysitters who you can trust and whose references you have already checked, you can alleviate this common mistake.
If you are planning long term child care, especially for an infant, you want to do a background check on the baby sitter. Most companies today do background checks on any potential employee. You can find out if someone is a convicted felon for $50. It is well worth the money for this peace of mind.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when you are looking for a sitter is that you wait until the last minute to hire someone. Then you end up taking whoever you can get. If you have children, chances are there is going to come a time when you need to hire a babysitter to take care of them. Have several babysitters who you have checked out in mind before the time comes when you need to hire a babysitter.
Finally, many parents are under the assumption that it is not �polite� to ask too many personal questions about the person with whom they are leaving their children. This is another mistake that should be avoided at all costs. You owe it to your children to ask as many questions as you can about the person you hire for child care. Do not feel intimidated when it comes to asking questions and getting all the answers you need in order to feel comfortable.