5 Ways to Find A Great Babysitter or Nanny

Posted on 12-04-179-09-24 by Elise Jones

Finding a babysitter or nanny you can trust your most precious jewel – your baby – can be challenging. Here are 5 ways to conduct a babysitter or nanny search in your area.

Synagogue or church groups often know of good babysitters and nannies from other parents.
Ask everyone you know especially other parents who have had or have nannies.
Ask your pediatrician whom parents will often contact when they no longer need a full-time nanny or babysitter and want to share an excellent caretaker with other families.
Use an agency.
Use Mommybites Nanny Board

Pediatrician and Mom: Dr. Gina Lamb-Amato
Most important is that you meet your potential caretaker with your baby so you can see how they act towards your baby. If they are engaged with your infant and show a sincere interest and care for your baby that is a good sign. If they do not pay attention to your baby and only speak with you then you want to find someone else. You want to make sure the caretaker is certified in Infant and Child CPR. You also want to check their references. Finally, you should write a job description of what you want your nanny or babysitter to do when caring for your infant. Always remember your most precious gift is your baby which your caretaker should also feel and understand too.

Mom: Sara Pinto
We haven’t had a babysitter yet as she’s still a bit too young (we just schlep ger around with us) and we’ve actually enrolled her in preschool starting in January rather than hiring a nanny BUT we did have a night nurse for a few weeks when she was born. The best way to find a babysitter/nanny is word of mouth from someone you trust and has the same values as you do. If you have a friend(s) who is raising a child the way you want to raise yours, ask them for recommendations. That’s how we found a night nurse. If you don’t have anyone to ask you can visit various websites, blogs, etc for names of individuals, agencies, etc. Just make sure they are trusted sources. Check out the Mommybites resources section! You could also go to your local park and see how the nannies are interacting with the children. If there is one you particularly like you can ask her if she has a friend looking for work; chances are they’ll have the same type of character. Obviously, you’ll want to interview the nanny/babysitter so have a list of questions ready. Go with your gut instinct, it’s usually right.

Mommybites’ team: Laura Deutsch
Finding a babysitter or nanny can be very stressful. You are hiring someone to be your child’s caretaker so you obviously want to be very careful and thorough with all of your screening. In my opinion, the best approach is through a personal reference. If a nanny has worked for somebody you know, or even for a friend of a friend, you are starting off with a trusted recommendation. I remember starting the search for my nanny when my daughter was 6 months old. I sent an email out to all of my new mom friends and also to friends who didn’t have kids (they know people who might) telling them that I was looking for a nanny and to let me know if they knew of anyone who was looking. Low and behold, a woman from my playgroup told me her college friend was looking to find her nanny a new job since her kids were older. A few weeks later she became my full time nanny and I have had her now for over 5 years! So my first suggestion is to put out the feelers to everyone you know. If you don’t have success that way, you should look on local community boards, etc. from trusted websites as they often have a section that lists nannies/babysitters looking for work. For example, if you live in the tri-state area you could check out our nanny listings as a great way to start! One thing is for sure – make sure you get at LEAST two references before you hire anyone, but three or four is even better.

Dr. Gina Lamb – Amato MD

Gina is a general pediatrician and developmental pediatrician. She has a masters in child therapy, performing office and home consultation for newborns and parents, office and home developmental assessments, school consultations and parent child playgroups where play and art along with baby massage and other techniques are used to help parents bond and support their child’s development. Formerly, Gina was the Director of Pediatric Special Medical Needs before she went into private practice where she cared for medically fragile infants and children. She is also a Early Intervention Pediatrician for Early Intervention which assesses and treats infants from age zero to 3 years. She has extensive experience in Early Head Start programs which work with infants from prenatal to 3 years of age. She is the mother of a beautiful daughter and the joy of her life. She is also an artist.

Sarah Pinto

Sara has one daughter who is 2 1/2 months. In her professional life, she is the Director of the Professional & Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division at the Association of American Publishers.

Laura Deutsch

Laura Deutsch is the original founder and creator of Mommybites. Since first starting Mommybites in 2006 by handing out post cards to fellow moms on the streets of Manhattan, Laura has continued to use her business savvy, dedication, and creativity to cultivate and grow Mommybites in its flagship city of Manhattan. Prior to founding Mommybites, Laura worked as a middle school math teacher at The Dwight School in Manhattan. Laura holds her BA from Binghamton University and her MA in Early Childhood Education from Hunter College. She currently resides in Summit, NJ, with her husband, Brian, daughter, Ava, and son, Jacob.