How to Find a Babysitter I Can Trust?

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Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Parent Q&A

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  • Trustline for occasional babysitter?

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    Dec 25, 2023

    Is it too much to expect for occasional babysitters to be Trustline certified?   A friend told me that it is a lengthy process with fingerprinting etc. but that it is the best protection when hiring childcare help. She also thought that it was expensive, perhaps prohibitively so for someone who isn't a full time professional. I want to protect my family but also build a positive relationship with future sitters.  Seeking advice from other parents/grandparents. 

    Dec 25, 2023

    Parent of two kids here, and I have never heard of having an occasional babysitter like a neighborhood teen be or get Trustline certified. You might prefer to have a sitter with a Trustline certification, in which case you'd look for babysitters who are also preschool teachers or something like that, ie, they have it already. Some of our best sitters when my kids were little were moonlighting from the toddler program they attended.

    Dec 28, 2023

    I haven't asked for that, but I did learn the hard way that I should call a couple references before inviting them over to babysit. You might have the best luck with hiring people who are current or former nannies and have already gone through the Trustline process. 

    Dec 29, 2023

    For occasional babysitters, I check 2-3 references and do a basic internet and social media search. I tend to rely on friends’ kids who are in high school or college or their friends; preschool or aftercare teachers or their friends; former nanny, neighbors, so I don’t feel background check is necessary. When I do check references, I check their internet presence as well. 

    Mar 7, 2024

  • Parent apprehensive about childcare in the Bay Area

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    Dec 21, 2016

    I moved to Oakland from Mendocino a few years ago after my husband and I were engaged.  We now have a 21-month old boy, and I am overwhelmed by the prospect of finding occasional childcare for him.  Coming from a small town, there is a certain kind of accountability that exists that I haven't found here at all....it is a lot easier to find like-minded families that you know and trust that if they recommend someone, you can be sure that person is trustworthy because if they weren't, the whole town would know.

    Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but finding childcare online through recommendations of people I haven't met is not something I feel comfortable with.  However we are at a point where I feel my son can benefit from spending time with someone aside from my husband and I, we could use a date night every now and again, and I would absolutely love to take a yoga class once/week!  I haven't found a community of parents I connect with here at all, even though we go to different parks and activities almost every single day.  So I have nobody else to ask.

    Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

    Dec 21, 2016

    How about part-time toddler preschool? Two or three mornings a week, maybe a coop where you volunteer one day a week. We liked Teeter Tots in El Cerrito for that age, Berkeley has something similar, maybe Oakland does too.

    Dec 22, 2016

    You could try joining a gym that does yoga classes and has a crèche on-site where you can put your child eg Bladium in Alameda. That would ease you (and him) in and from there you might be able to ask the people who work in the crèche if they do babysitting or if they could recommend someone. Or ask friends? Or even do babysitting swaps with friends. I too wouldn't risk using someone who isn't recommended by someone I know. 

    There is an organization called Swiss Cheese Childcare that I have tried once and they have vetted and background checked babysitters, but it's really expensive. 

    Dec 28, 2016

    Hello,I live in Oakland too. If you haven't done yet, try facebook groups. There's Oakland 2015/2016 babies group that I am part of. There's also childcare  subgroups under mamahood eastbay. And you're right it's so difficult for me to trust a babysitter without having recommendations from others too! So let me know what you got. I can recommend someone too if she's still available. 

    Dec 28, 2016

    Hi! We moved to the Bay Area from North Carolina right before my son was due, didn't know a soul and had no family in the area, so your post resonates with me. We had luck with Swiss cheese for date nights--they vet their sitters and we felt comfortable with all of them. You can also chat with them before you book so you have control of your choices. We also used care.com to find our permanent part time nanny and she was great.  Another idea if you're not in a hurry--hang around the toddler parks in Oakland and Berkeley and chat with other moms and nannies. If you mention you are trying to find someone you might make a connection.  

    Dec 28, 2016

    The downtown Berkeley Y (gym) has yoga classes and very affordable childcare on-site. 

    Jan 1, 2017

    I suggest contacting Mills College School of Education to see if you can post a job there; they have a lab school on site, and their grad students at the school of ed have experience working at the school. Our experiences with their grad students have been fabulous. You might also check out Montclair Community Play Center in Oakland. They have a toddler play time in the afternoons that's a great way to meet other families, and it's a good way to ask around about babysitter recommendations. UrbanSitter is also a way to find sitters that have been booked/recommended by Facebook friends and others in your network. We found our sitter this way. Kindergym with Dawn (just google it) is also a good place to meet other parents and exchange childcare intel. Good luck! 

    Jan 14, 2017

Archived Q&A and Reviews

I just moved here - how can I find a babysitter I can trust?

March 2013

Hi all of you helpful people! We are new to California - just moved to the Montclair area of Oakland - and have no friends or family here. We would like to find a trustworthy babysitter, just for our adult nights out every once in a while, to watch our 3 year old. But we don't know anybody that can provide a referral - our neighbors don't have kids (or have grown kids), our co-workers don't either, etc. There are sometimes listings on the BPN newsletter for babysitters, but we still aren't sure they are people we could trust. Any advise or resources out there you folks know of that could help us? How do we best find a Friday-night type of babysitter that is capable, honest, trustworthy, etc?
Thanks very, very much!
Kim

We were in the same situation. We waited, figuring eventually we'd find someone's through referrals but finally took the plunge when our need for alone time won out over our fear. We found someone here on BPN, asked her for an interview, called her references and set up a time for her to watch our daughter. We set up a short time period, stayed local and came home early. And yes-were nervous the entire time. But I'm so glad - she's wonderful! She's a nanny during the day, a little older (not the college or highschool age kid), and extremely reliable. It's been a year and we're very happy with her and hopefully won't have to find anyone else again. Shannon

Start looking where the kids are - nearby preschools or elementary schools or after school programs. Ask if they have a bulletin board or email newsletter you can post on. Often you'll find that there's staff who are looking for the odd sitting job, or someone has a favorite sitter who wants more clients, etc. Mom of Two
We joined a Mom's group and there was a babysitting co-op as part of the group. That worked great for us. Later after we made some close friends, we did ''swap-sits'' with them. One night one family would watch all the kids and the other parents went out and then another night we'd swap. Our kids are 16 now and we never used a babysitter. We felt much more comfortable with a parent we knew watching them. -parent of teens
You could try sittercity.com. I believe you have to pay to become a member (my husband's work pays for it) but I recently found a great (so far) sitter on there. Most of them don't necessarily come pre-screened but I got references from the candidates and probably found at least 3 or 4 that I would have been happy with.
We have used and like care.com. It does cost a nominal fee, but you can get a lot of good information about the babysitters on that site. We also get the babysitter to come over several times while we stay at the house and do other things to get a feel for the babysitter. anon
Try your local YMCA, Care.com or Sitter city. Make sure that she is trust line certified, CPR first aid and Spend time with her and the kids. T. P

Hi, as a person who has worked in childcare for many years, I can tell you how people have found me and how they screened me as a babysitter or nanny. Generally they posted on BPN what they were looking for, for example: occasional babysitting for baby/child that is X months/years old. Saturday nights, generally 6-9pm. Their neighborhood location, and anything else that is relevant (we have a dog, we live in a tiny apartment, we are right near the 65 bus line, etc). I replied with an email about who I am, my experience, background, and training. They emailed me, maybe asked a few follow up questions, then asked if I could meet them for an interview. They usually ask me to bring my references with me to the interview.

Families either have me come to their home or a nearby cafe for the first meeting. They ask questions, let me ask questions, and such. I provide them with my list of references, which they later call. Then I hear back from them that they'd like me to come babysit, am I available on Saturday next week?

I've met some great families this way and developed long term relationships with them. I've also met some great families because happy clients told their friends about me (with my permission) and the friends called me. If you have friends in the area, or neighbors with kids who seem cool, ask them if they know of anyone who does occasional babysitting.

Advice: don't ask the babysitter/nanny for references before s/he gets a chance to meet you - we need to screen you just as you screen us. I dont want to give out my clients' names and numbers to someone I havent met and determined is a likely future client. It's important for me to respect my current clients. This has only rarely been requested by potential clients, but I think it's important for parents to understand.

Good things to look for: ideally the person works in a legitimate job with children that requires fingerprinting and a background check. Or has been checked through an agency that does this. Experience with the age of your child. At least some training in child development. More experience than just raising their own child - childcare involves working with clients, the parents, and not just doing things your own way. And working with just one child is very limited experience. I hope this is helpful. K M

Hi Kim. We also live in Montclair (not sure which side you're on, but we're up the hill from Thornhill school). Our current nanny, whom we love, might be willing to take on extra babysitting, although she often stays late with us on Friday evenings. We also love love LOVE having our teenage neighbor babysit. She is wonderful with the kids, is very responsible, and cleans up everything. She has a lot of babysitting gigs already but would probably take on more. I don't want to post the name/contact info of either of these people, but feel free to e-mail me off list if you'd like. Tamara

Ready for a date night but don't know anyone we can trust

Feb 2006

I am trying to figure out how to start having an evening social life again with out my kids (almost 3 and 7mo olds) We so far have only trusted good friends with our kids but these are adults with jobs and lives and sometimes kids. Needless to say its not working out so well. My husband and I hard ever go out. What do we do? Are there trusted nannies that babysit? How do we find someone and actually trust them if they are someone new to us? Help! House bound lisa

Figure out what you want, questions you want to ask. Bananas (located on Claremont) is a GREAT resource for all kinds of hand-outs on ALL kinds of childcare issues. Place an ad on the Childcare forum, or look in the files at Bananas, stating what you're looking for. Maybe join forces with another family or two so you can all rotate on one evening sitter and get each other's opinions. When you find someone you like on the phone, ask for references, call them. Have the sitter come to your house for a casual interview/hanging out/meeting the kids time. Have the first paid sitting session be while you're in the house - you and your husband should ''be busy''(clean a closet, do some gardening, tackle a project, etc.) while the sitter is the primary ''go to'' person for your kids. If all is good, have the first time you are out of the house be short - a walk, a cup of coffee, a browse in a bookstore. No one says you should just jump into the deep end. Mama

Hello, Moving to a life that includes the words, ''social life'' is very exciting... Having both a babysitter, nanny and as a parent I see how hard this step is for you. And know that there are people out there who just treasure children and can take very wonderful care of your little treasure while you go out.

The first things is to really just keep your eyes open. I mean at the park, market or wherever you can meet friendly folks who seem engaged with your child. See if they are interested in occasional childcare and then see if they want to come over (when you are there too) and have a little play time date. This way the best judge your little one and your gut can have the time to adjust to one another and see if it is a good fit. Of course this time should be paid for as this is most respectfull of any babysitters' time.

I know that other will post these suggestions too but Craigslist, here at BPN and also Bananas all have posts/referals for babysitters.

You could see about doing a swap with some other friends, families and parents using a system of points to keep everyone covered for their respective nights out.

Last but not least posting to the areas mentioned above as to what you are looking for will help draw the ''Mary Poppins'' you might be looking for. I found that places like Mills College have many eager babysitters who are also in school to learn early childhood education and would be a great resourse too.

All in all this is good for you and your family to have adult time makes for a much healthier and happier mommy, wife and human. Good luck! Mother to 19 month old boy

This is always a tough one for parents, leaving your child with a complete stranger and trusting that the caregiver will take good care of you child. Friends and family are one option (which sounds like you've already tapped). Another option is to ask around for a recommendation, maybe a friend or acquaintance with children can recommend a babysitter? Then interview any potential sitters. Then the first time they watch your children, you don't really go out. Rather you stick around to see how everyone interacts with each other. Or if you feel comfortable with how things are goign, maybe go out for a short time to get a coffee or something.