Questions to ask prospective babysitter

DF & I are thinking about having our first night out alone since DD was born (yay!).
Saw a flyer in McDonald's today advertising baby sitting services so called her when I got home (normally I wouldn't go off a flyer, but it sounded a lot better than the other notices I've seen advertising baby sitting services!).

She is coming over tomorrow to meet & greet, but I don't really know what I should ask her. The flyer said she has Cert III in child studies and is experienced. she sounded like an older lady on the phone (I'd have a wild guess of 50+...she sounded a bit grandma-ish), which I don't mind but DF seemed a bit put off by it...told him I would rather an older person with lots of experience than someone young that has no idea what they're doing.

What should I tell her about DD? I want to give her enough info, but not make it seem like she knows nothing ITMS. Or should I just let her ask questions about DD? We would only be a few hours (DF wants to go and see Rodney Rude's show at the RSL :rolleyes: ), not sure what time it starts but she would have to give DD a bottle and put her to bed, maybe dinner before. How much should I expect she'll charge? She didn't give any indication over the phone, said she would have to work it out, so I'm not sure if she has done any babysitting recently..I have no idea of a rough hourly rate...

hope she is nice and DF agrees, and hope DD behaves! She hasn't been with anyone else without me, apart from when I went to the movies with my mum when she was a few weeks old, and a month or so ago when MIL took her for the morning.

I would ask about her experience caring for children, what age groups, duties, timeframes etc. Also references. You might want to ask if she has police clearance and/or working with children check.
Ask what she would do with your daughter - gives you and idea of her approach.
Also ask what she'd do in an emergency, and whether she has any first aid training.

Umm, I think generally you want to have a good chat with her about all this, and just whatever to get a feel for her as a person adn see if you're comfortable leaving your daughter with her. Introduce her to your DD and just see how she interacts with her also - you can get a good feel, very quickly for whether someone truly loves kids or not. Can't fake it! And your DD's response to her can also be a pretty good indication of how good she may be with kids.

Def ask about a working with children check & first aid, these are mandatory these days for ppl working with children.
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I used to do a little babysitting (until I told the parents I was pregnant and they all dropped me :() I charged 15 per hour to care for one child but this is low. In Bris the going rate is/ used to be anywhere from 15 to 25 ish an hour.
What Marcellus said.
Definately ask about the security check, she should have a card of some sort. Maybe do a google search and see if you can find out what it's called and if you can find a picture of one so you know what to look for.
I'd also ask to see a copy of her certificates.

Good luck, I hope she's just what your looking for. :)

urgh Rodney Rude :sick: lol

It's called a working with childrens check card and is green, will have her photo on it too :)
Good luck, hope she is great and you n hubby can have a fun night out :)

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urgh Rodney Rude :sick: lol

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I know :rolleyes: I don't really want to go, but I know DF wanted to, and maybe a night out baby-less will help our relationship a bit! Maybe I can catch up on some sleep instead :lol:

thanks everyone :) I didn't know about the working with children check..I knew childcare workers had to have it, but would a regular babysitter be required to have one? I just don't know how long ago she did the Cert III, I'd assume they'd have to have one to complete that, and I get the feeling she might be a retiree :dunno:

Hmm yea I'm not sure, I do know though that anyone who works with our in the vecinity of chn has to have one, dh dad has one and he works with the grey army which is a handy man business like jims mowing. If she us doing it cash in hand she may not have one, guess it depends too how long ago she dis her cert 3.

I think the questions already stated in posts above are great.

I think you will get a "vibe" about someone and you will know instantly whether they will gel with your family. I did a lot of babysitting in my teens and early 20's and still have keys to some people's houses. A lot of these families became like 2nd, 3rd, 4the families and their kids mean a lot to me. I also stopped babysitting once I had DD but I would love to do some again. I miss it.

With the age thing, it is entirely up to you. I can tell you now that as a young babysitter I was so enthusiastic, was really hands on with the kids and helped with homework, read stories, played games, cooked dinners, even drove them to sports training, etc but they also knew the boundaries and respected me a lot. On the other I know that when I saw DD's carers at childcare were mums of much older kids, I had a moment of, "I wish DD had some young carers". Was a silly thought as her carers are the best thing ever and just have a certain way with her that I love.

So basically after all that waffle I am saying that just see what you think when you meet her.

Also in regards to working with children clearance, can I just say that I am a teacher (NSW) and I have had this check done and I can asure you that I am all clear but I do not have a little green card that states this. Maybe I should ask my boss about this.

Gavin de Becker recommends that you ask prospective baby sitters if they have ever abused a child. It's the unspoken question that every parent wants answered. You will learn as much about her from her reaction as from her answer.

She has been and gone, and I thought she was quite nice, she interacted well with DD (although at first DD just burst into tears but she does that with everyone so I wasn't surprised!). she was only here for about 40mins/an hour and by the end she was playing on the floor with her and DD even smiled and waved goodbye to her! I thought she was great, but DF didn't really like her, although he won't tell me what it is he doesn't like :rolleyes:

She used to work at a preschool and got her Cert III a couple of years ago, she has an adult daughter. I think she would be great. DF said he would prefer someone younger, but I don't see why...I would much prefer an older person who has had kids of their own and knows what they are doing, than someone who just has a piece of paper saying they can do it. He said but that's the problem, what if she does things differently? i don't think it matters, she's only going to be here for a few hours and will only need to put DD to bed, I don't see how that can be done very differently if I explain to her how I do it! Most of the time she goes straight to sleep anyway. Oh and he mentioned she has a lisp...WTF would that matter?!?

I hope he changes his mind because I thought she was very capable and seems to love kids. I've posted an ad on a facebook group for this area so will see if we get any reply to that..I hope we don't because I think this lady would be fine. Or am I not thinking about it enough and should be more wary of strangers?!

Did you ask Onyx's question? It's funny, I never would have thought to ask someone outright like that, but it's actually probably a really good idea.
Maybe talk to your DF a bit more about why he doesn't like her? Perhaps he's picked up on something? Or maybe he's just uncomfortable about leaving your DD.

It is generally a good idea to talk to more than one person, if only for a bit of perspective. You might think she's good, but then talk with someone else that seems perfect, kwim?



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Did she have references?