As a busy, working mom, I have really struggled with the idea of leaving my son with anyone except his grandparents. In fact, up until a few months ago, I wouldn’t even leave him in our church nursery (yes, I’m a bit paranoid). I just find it so stressful to think about leaving my 22 month old son with someone I don’t know. But between my husband’s erratic work schedule and my long hours as a nurse, we had to make the decision to hire a nanny. It took me a very long time to find the woman who cares for my son once or twice a week. I had nowhere to turn so I relied on word-of-mouth at my son’s playgroup. After months of asking other moms in our group, I finally met a mom who used a woman that was looking for more hours. She has worked out great so far, however, I would have really liked to have done some research, a background check, and check references prior to hiring her.
There is a fabulous site called Care4hire.com that takes all the work out finding a reliable babysitter, housekeeper, tutor, companion/eldercare, pet sitter and more. If my husband hired a housekeeper for the day, or a babysiter for an evening together, I’d be ecstatic. As a mom, I realize how precious time is. I don’t get a lot of time to myself and I imagine other moms feel the same way so I think this would make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift. Here is a little more information about the site:
Care4hire.com is an online family and caregiver database providing babysitters, housekeepers, tutors, pet sitters, elder/companion care and other misc. services with service to the United States and Canada.
The site is extremely user-friendly and you’ll immediately receive information such as age, gender, language, location, level of education, driving capability, experience, certifications, previous experience and qualifications, availability, and asking rate. Some listings even include a photo. I did an initial search with the free preview option and 2031 babysitters showed up in my area. Once you sign up, you’ll receive access to contact information and references, as well as sample interview questions, a sample reference form and a sample contract. Care4hire.com will also assist you with connecting to your caregiver on a personal level. It’s only when you become a mom and your time is no longer yours that you truly appreciate a service like this. If you sign up for one year of service, you’ll save a ton of money (the cost is $81 which makes it $6.75 per month). If you prefer to go month by month, the first month is $29,99 and each month thereafer is $9.99.
Here are some tips for finding a caregiver from the company:
1. Do a background check on the caregiver that you hire. Definitely run a criminal background check. If the caregiver will be transporting the children or doing errands; you will also want to run a driving record.
2. Do your reference checks. When getting phone #’s on the references; we highly recommend you can call land lines – since you can track the land lines on who the # belongs to.
3. Make sure you spell out and have a detailed conversation on the expectations for the caregiver. Have the caregiver ask numerous questions as well. Communication is the best tool for a successful relationship.
4. Not sure what questions to ask the caregiver? Take advantage of the sample list of questions we have for registered members at www.care4hire.com.
5. If you do not see the caregiver often; have a notepad where you can both make notes for a communication tool.
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Hi Caryn! I just wanted to say that we have yet to use a non-family-member babysitter. And I still don’t leave my 2.5 year old in the church nursery. Those days will come soon enough…
Some people might think we’re crazy, but that’s what works best for our family. I could write a whole post about it…hmmm…maybe I will. 🙂