Hey there ladies! You all give such wonderful help, so I thought I would try again. We have two wonderful boys, 2 1/2 and almost 9 months. My parents and grandparents live in town, as well as some of my husbands family. Those are the only people who have EVER watched our kids other than my husband and I. It's now getting to the point where we need a sitter so we don't always have to rely on family and it's getting a little difficult for some of the older folk. I guess my question is, where do you start looking for a sitter? What have been your bad and good experiances?
Thanks so much!
K.
I use the DU online job board to post babysitting jobs. I have gotten several good babysitters through that site. Just go to http://www.du.edu/hr/employment/jobs.html and page down to 'student employment office'. Click on that and go to "employer login" to set up an account and post your job under childcare. It is good to have babysitters to back up family members!!
www.mothers-helpers.net/denver/services.html
Hi K., we use Mother's Helpers. It is great! All the sitters we have had through them have been wonderful and all are background checked, bonded and insured. We also put a free ad on the online job boards at DU and Colorado Christian University. We have got a couple of good sitters through there and also through our church. Mother's Helpers isn't cheap $13/hr for 2 or more kids but they are extremely professional and reliable and you can get a sitter on short notice. As an aside, I saw that someone liked Club 4 Kids. I have to tell you that my husband and I went there and checked it out and it was horribly chaotic and loud. Maybe they were just having a bad day. I might consider it for older kids but not for babies or toddlers. good luck!
I am a nursery coordinator and work with lots of youth, who volunteer their time and work for different childcare events - let me know if you want some names - they range from 13-16 years of age in the Highlands Ranch area and work with infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
An obvious way to find a sitter -- I would start by asking friends you know well if they have any sitter references to share. You might be surprised some folks are reluctant to give out names of their favorite sitters... seems silly and selfish to me, but good babysitters are apparently hot commoditites.
Once you've rounded up a few names here's what I would do. Before you actually have anyone come to babysit, ask each one to come by your home for a brief visit -- say 20-30 minutes. It's like an interview. Take that time to introduce your kiddos to the prospective sitter and just let them hang out together; watch how she interacts with them. I actually ruled out a potential sitter once by simply watching her for 5 minutes with my kids. She was just too timid for my little tornados and I could tell she would be overwhelmed by them. If the sitter is younger than driving age, you'll also get a chance to meet the girl's mom.
Good luck!
What part of town are you in? I know a couple of babysitters in the SW Denver/Englewood/Littleton/Lakewood area. I usually go on recommendations from other people. I am required (because my child will be foster before adoption is finalized) to have one who is CPR/First Aid certified and the girl I recommend the most certainly has the certifications.
I'm not sure what part of town you are in but I can recommend A+ Kids. They are located in North Denver on 44th & Zuni (right near I-70 & Federal). My son is 18 months old and started going there about a month ago. He loves it! They have three different classrooms for Toddlers (ages 1-3), Pre-School Age, and School Age. The thing I love about it is they have a daily cirriculum and keep the kids busy learning and playing all day. The rates are pretty reasonable compared to other private day care centers. If you are interested give them a call at ###-###-####. Good Luck!
Hi K.,
We love Club 4 Kids! drop in baby sitting, it's very resonable. (Orchard & Parker) We also have a neighborhood girl who started out as a "mom's helper" and when I felt comfortable I would leave for an hour, than 2 etc.
I hope that helps!
L.
www.denverjuiceplus.com
