(no subject)

[rivka]

I finally stopped ignoring the fact that someday I will return to work, and posted an ad for a babysitter on Craigslist. In the 24 hours the ad has been up, we've gotten six responses. Two of them are from my imagined target market - students looking for a part-time job compatible with classes. (One of them will be attending the Maryland Institute College of Art, right up the street from us, which would certainly be convenient.) Two of them are from people who seem to be looking for summer employment only. One just finished her doctoral fellowship in psychology, for God's sake, and why she's interested in a babysitting job is beyond me. And the last is a Chinese university professor whose husband works at Hopkins. Why she's interested in a babysitting job is a little more explicable, but it still seems like a bit of a mismatch.

I plan to set up interviews for next week. I don't have a very clear idea of what I ought to ask, though, so I am turning to my handy friends' list for help. How would you hire a babysitter?

Questions I've thought of so far:

- What's your past experience with infants? What were the infants you took care of like, and what things did you like and dislike about caring for them? (Partly I'm curious about whether they'll seem to be good observers of infants, able to speak about their temperament and so forth.)

- What do you think are the most important things that a baby Alex's age needs?

- What would your approach be to a crying baby? Are there times you think a baby should be left to "cry it out"?

- What do you do when you get frustrated with a child?

- Have you taken infant CPR? First aid? Developmental psychology or child development courses?

- What's your schedule like for the summer? For the fall? If we hire you, how long a time period can you commit to? Are there any times you won't be available - for example, university breaks?

What else should I ask? What should I be looking for?

Comments

[saoba.livejournal.com]

Does he/she drive or have other reliable transport in the event of an emergency? How would you and the sitter handle sick days, be they Alex's, yours or the sitter's?

I'd watch how they talk to and about Alex. As you know, Bob, I am a huge fan of talking to infants and toddlers as if they were actually people, and I've seen a lot of people who talk to infants/toddlers as if the ywere rather dim pets.

How do they feel about reading to Alex, playing music for her, other enrichment activities?

Probe a bit to see how sure you can feel they'll respect your parenting choices. Ideally, you end up with a sitter who offers an informed opinion but understands you are the parent andthe final say is yours. I've seen sitters who undermined parents' choices and it's not pretty.

A lot depends on how long they can commit for. Alex is little enough that changing sitters if the need arose would not be too horrible for her, though stressful for you.

My long stint of caring for the Divine Miss L was a bit of a fluke. I flatter myself in thinking perhaps it was a lucky thing for us both. She was a joy to keep, and I did my best by her.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I sure wish we could enroll Alex in Miss Barbara's Boot Camp For Babies. Anything else is second best.

[saoba.livejournal.com]

Where's those darned transporters when we need them, any way?

I'm deeply honored to think you would trust me with Alex, given that you have already seen my handiwork. *grin*

[thbeatnik.livejournal.com]

Probe a bit to see how sure you can feel they'll respect your parenting choices. Ideally, you end up with a sitter who offers an informed opinion but understands you are the parent andthe final say is yours. I've seen sitters who undermined parents' choices and it's not pretty.


I'd agree wholeheartedly with this!