Babysitting Blues
When I was a kid, I had babysitters. Some were good, some were bad, and in retrospect I’m not sure how any of them managed my two younger sisters and me. I don’t remember us as well-behaved, docile children who played by ourselves.
After my husband G. Grod and I had Drake, now 3yo, we were dismayed to find that babysitters weren’t inexpensive, ubiquitous, and plentiful. G. and I live far from our families (a choice about which they have every right to complain about, and they do), so the usual grandparent and sibling support isn’t there for us on a regular basis.
Instead, we took friends up on their kind offers of help, and began to swap childcare with other families. Finally, though, a trusted friend recommended her cousin, and we had an experienced, reliable college student who could care for Drake, and also baby Guppy after he arrived. Alas, like any personable, intelligent and capable person, she is often busy. I’ve begun to explore other options, and found a handful of resources that I hope will make things clearer:
There are several online sitter reference sites.
National Child Care Information Center’s Children Home Alone and Babysitter Age Guidelines
American Red Cross offers babysitter training courses
“‘Tweens,’ working parents, and summer plans: U parents share approaches to planning for their 8- to 12-year-olds,” an article from UMN News