Babysitting sources

[Elizabeth]

My husband and I would like to go out every once in a while. We’ve had a hard time finding reliable babysitters. Where are readers finding their babysitters?

Thanks!

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[pbgirl423]

I wish I knew! Thanks for posting this, as my husband and I are wondering the same thing. What happened to high school girls babysitting? Maybe someone knows of a resource where we can find out more information.

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[WSB]

During the once-a-year occasion we needed a babysitter in recent years – we called a Seattle agency called Annie’s Nannies. Very pricey to do it that way – high hourly rate plus usually some sort of fee for being a “non-member” since we just didn’t need to use them very often — but I can tell you, we had absolute peace of mind. The people they’d send usually had a regular nanny gig the rest of the time and were moonlighting on the occasional weekend night.

One other thing to be aware of is that some of the local city-run community centers have “Parents’ Night Out” once a month — Alki had one just last night, for example — where for a really low fee, an elementary-age child (I think the range is usually 5-10-y-o) can be dropped off for the duration of the event (5:30-10 pm, often) and be cared for in a group setting.

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[Bernicki]

We’ve been lucky to have teenaged girls as neighbors in both houses we’ve lived in since we had kids. It’s a short window, though; they usually start sitting at 13, and by 16 they’re so busy with homework and dating that they are less available. Then, they’re off to college. (That’s been our experience.)

Do you know other parents nearby with kids about the same age? We’ve had great luck with “swaps,” i.e. you watch our kids this Saturday, we’ll watch yours next Saturday. This solution is really nice, because the babysitters are adults, and it’s free.

I’ll post again if I think of other ideas. I can’t think very well right now, because my children have seen me sit down at the computer, and that is their signal to come bother me.

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[WSMom]

I will be at the Handbags for hunger event tomorrow afternoon. I have a son and daughter who babysit and I’ll be happy to give you contact info once we meet if you’re interested. Another good idea is to have Seattle Lutheran High School put a notice up on the jobs board. I’ve noticed other families advertising for babysitters in this manner.

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[Author]

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