Finding trustworthy and reliable childcare is hard. Doing it as a military family when you move every few years to a brand new area, where you often know no one and have zero family within driving distance, is what nightmares are made of. It can be extremely time-consuming and overwhelming if you don’t have a plan of action. I’ve done this with two moves now and learned a lot along the way. The biggest lessons are flushed out below, along with my favorite questions to get a deeper understanding of the potential caregiver, make the most of the interview time you have, and find a good, reliable fit for your family.
Ask For References
Sounds obvious, but a lot of people skip over this and you can really learn a lot about someone from the previous families they’ve worked with. I’ve found that if I text the previous family first with information about who I am, why I’m reaching out, and then pin down a time for a quick 15-minute chat that typically works best!
Utilize The Resources Around You
Ask neighbors, spouse groups, MOPS, a mom you strike up a conversation with at the grocery store, key spouses…you get my point. Ask around! The best sitters I’ve had have all been word of mouth passed on to me and most military families are willing to share their rockstar sitter info because they get it, it’s not easy finding someone you can trust every time you move.
Take Advantage Of Military Family Perks
Sittercity offers military families a free premium subscription – you can read more on that HERE. I love this because it’s a one-stop shop, you can vet, interview, review background checks, etc. Similar to interviewing for jobs, I don’t think there’s any harm in interviewing a good amount of babysitters. It gets you in the practice and helps keep you fresh on what questions get you answers that are the most helpful in deciding.
10 Great Questions To Ask A Potential Caregiver
Aside from the standard rates, references, general schedule, transportation, certifications, etc. I have included my top ten questions to ask a potential caregiver interviewing for a job with our family. These questions have the goal of getting a deeper understanding of the character of the caregiver.
After completing the interview portion of our process, I usually invite the top two candidates over to play with the kids for 1-2 hours, paid, while I’m available. I love doing this as a way to get more comfortable with the caregiver myself, give the kids a chance to build familiarity, and also provide some groundwork for the caregiver before they would be expected to watch the kids without us present. Whichever caregiver feels like the best fit is who I offer the first opportunity to. If the second candidate was also a great fit, I will often alternate care just as a way to have backups that are both familiar to my family!
- Tell me about your experience working with children.
- What do you enjoy about childcare?
- What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a babysitter?
- What is your favorite activity to do with kids under your care?
- Do you have a “favorite age” to watch?
- Have you experienced an emergency while on the job? If so, how did you handle it?
- What can we do to make you the most successful you can be watching our kids?
- How do you handle discipline? Are you willing to change that if we prefer a different method?
- What is your most proud caregiving moment and why?
- What types of circumstances would result in you contacting me? If you can’t reach me or my spouse, what would you do?
