Choosing Child Care
Finding a babysitter
The university maintains a list of students seeking jobs, and this is a great resource to help you find potential babysitters. Of course, you will want to select carefully, looking for a responsible person who will be a match for your child’s needs. To find the right fit, interview potential babysitters and always check references.
Interviewing Sitters — Here are some sample questions for interviewing potential babysitters:
- Tell me about your experience with children.
- Why do you want care for my children?
- What would you do if…? (Use examples of things your child might do)
- How do you handle a child who is not cooperative? (Examples will be helpful here, too.)
- What do you think about children and television and video games?
Checking References — Here are some sample questions to ask a sitter’s references:
- How do you know the applicant?
- Is he/she responsible and reliable?
- Are you comfortable with his/her maturity as a child’s caregiver?
- How would you describe his/her attitude toward children?
Other Babysitter Resources
The following Web sites provide some great resources for locating and selecting babysitters.