Hiring a baby sitter is one of the biggest and most important decisions you'll ever make in your life. Gone are the days when you could simply trust your child with a nice neighbor or high school kid. The current reality is that parents need to screen their child care providers carefully and make sure they are well-informed about each applicant. But where to begin? There are a few basic questions you should ask at every interview, which will not only give you an assessment of the sitter's skills but also a view of her personality and motivation.
Discipline
According to editors at Family Education, it's important to ask up front how your sitter deals with discipline. You and your sitter need to be on the same page, and she needs to be willing to enforce your house rules and deal with behavior in ways you feel are appropriate. Initiating this conversation right off the bat will let you know if you need to continue your interview.
Rudimentary Skills
According to parenting experts at Dr. Spock, you should always ask a few simple questions about basic care, especially when interviewing teenagers, to make sure they possess the needed skills. Potential questions include: "What would you feed my child?" or "What will you do when you hear the baby cry?" or "How do you give a child a bath?" or "How do you change a diaper?" This will provide a skills baseline and ensure the person is able to handle the basics of child care.
Experience
Ask potential sitters how long they've been caring for children, how many other children they currently care for and if they've cared for any other children in the neighborhood whose parents you may be able to contact for additional references. In addition, asking if they have any siblings or children in the family will help establish their track record with kids.
Preparedness
You want to feel confident that in the unlikely event that an emergency happens, your sitter will be able to keep calm and handle the situation. Ask your sitter what she would do in case of a fire, poisoning, choking or other emergency. Ask about any first-aid trainings or if the sitter knows CPR. Ask how the sitter would handle minor injuries and if any other children she's cared for experienced any major injuries while under her care. Accidents definitely happen, but hearing how the sitter dealt with the situation will be telling.
Special Skills
You need to assess that your sitter can handle any special needs your child has, whether they be medical, emotional, dietary or otherwise. If you're looking for a sitter who specializes in special needs situations, ask about their experiences with your child's specific needs. If the sitter has not worked with your child's needs before, ask if she would be willing and able to handle every single aspect of care.
Limits
Ask your potential sitter what her limits are. We all have things we are and are not willing to do, and your sitter will be no different. For example, is your sitter willing to pick up your children from school, help with homework, take them to after school activities, change diapers, cook dinner or bathe the children? Is your sitter able to stay overnight? Can she take the kids swimming? What is your sitter not comfortable doing?
References
According to Sitters.com, you should always ask your babysitter to provide proof of her skills and experiences with a list of references, both professional and educational, that you can confirm. Ask other families she's worked with if they had any problems with her care or her reliability. You can learn just as much, if not more, from other families as you can from the sitter herself.
Business
Ask your baby sitter what days and hours she is available. Ask what her rates are and when she expects to be paid. Ask about any upcoming vacations or days off she'll need. Ask about her transportation. Get this information in writing. Working these things out up front will save confusion and disagreements later.
