After a couple years of coddling your kids at home, you may be wondering how to choose a babysitter. By following the steps below, you can find a person that is qualified to look after your babies!

After a couple of years of deferring your life in order to care for your newborn and get the hang of one of the world’s toughest jobs, you have finally tired of being cloistered off from the rest of society. While your toddler is far from being able to care for themselves, there are plenty of talented people out there who are finally to take your child off your hands for a night so you can get back to living your life.

While there is certainly no shortage of sitters out there looking for a regular gig, some are more qualified than others. If you want to procure the best possible person for this important job, following our guide on how to choose a babysitter will get you a motivated, friendly person that is capable of keeping your little one happy, entertained and safe. Let’s get right into it…!

Get references, and then call them

Since you will entrusting the health and welfare of your child to a complete stranger, requesting references from applicants and calling them to ask them questions relating to their character is essential. Additionally, getting potential sitters to get a criminal record check from the local police department will weed out most that might steal from you, or worse.

Organize in-person interviews, and ask important questions

After weeding out those that unveiled their lack of suitability for the position in the resume/criminal record check process, it is important to delve deeper into the experiences of those that you have shortlisted.

Ask about what they would do in case your child started crying, starting choking, etc. Are they able to cook nutritious meals for your kids (if they happen to be old enough to eat solid food)? Ask them about how they relate to their younger sisters or brother, or anything else that helps you reveal their character, bit by bit.

Narrow the field, then schedule play dates with the sitter and your kids

After you have no more than three sitters in mind to be your standby caretaker, invite each of them over one afternoon for a practical babysitting test. Have them play with your child, change their diaper, cook a meal for them, and so on. Though this final step, you’ll see who can perform under pressure, backing their words with action.

On the first night that your new babysitter is due to take care of your child, be vigilant

Once you have chosen your new sitter, give them every chance to succeed and thrive on their own. Spend a solid half hour going over key protocols, emergency phone numbers, and so on. An hour or two into your night out, give the sitter a call and ensure that everything is going well, and provide assistance to help them deal with any unexpected issues that might have cropped up.