In-Home Babysitters (daily care or occasional babysitting) 

§         Ask relatives, friends, or neighbors about good babysitters in your area.

§         Invite potential sitters to your home so that you and your children can meet them.  If you’re hiring for child care, conduct an interview just as you would at a day care center or preschool.  Refer to Choosing a Child Care Center.

§         It’s a good idea to hire teen sitters from families you know.  Knowing a teen’s parents can help you to know if she is mature and responsible enough to care for your children.  Hiring teenage boys as babysitters is generally not recommended.

§         Observe interactions with your children.  Ideally, you want a mature, responsible person who enjoys being with your children.

§         Verify personal information: name, address, telephone number, driver’s license number.  Keep this information. 

§         Ask for references and check them!  Ask references if they are currently using the sitter or if they would hire this person to care for their children.

§         Discuss family rules, routines for meals, snacks, bathing and sleeping arrangements, guidelines for watching TV and computer use.

§         Discuss who the children may play with or visit and boundaries for outdoor play.

§         Be clear that the sitter’s friends, relatives or anyone else should not be invited into your home.

§         When you return home, ask the babysitter about children’s behavior and activity.  Ask about anything out of the ordinary.

§        ABOVE ALL, when the sitter has left, talk with children about their time together: how was the time spent; did they have fun; if anything made them feel uncomfortable or afraid; would they like to have the babysitter again; why or why not?