the Hourly Price of Baby Sitters

I have three kids, ages 4, 6 and 8. My husband and I overlap work once in a while, so we sometimes need a sitter for a couple of hours. We've hired a high schooler to come to our house (often with only an hour's notice) to sit with our kids, play with them, help with homework, etc. until my husband comes home. We don't expect her to clean our house, but we do ask her to help the kids clean up any messes that were made while she's there, and ask that she cleans up after herself if she eats while she's there.

Our sitter has always provided great care. The kids adore her and ask if Mom and Dad will go out simply so she can come over. Our house is always cleaner than we left it, our daughters generally have their nails painted (which is okay with us and they love it) and she plays video games with our son.

Before we hired this babysitter I spent several months getting to know her and her family. I watched her interact with her brother and her mom, talked with her mom about her behavior at home (without her knowing I was considering hiring her as a babysitter) and gave her time to interact with my kids. I talked with other neighbors who had used her in the past and they all spoke very highly of her. I don't recommend hiring anyone to care for your children until you've seen them interact with children (either yours or someone else's.) I have had some pretty scary babysitter stories in the past, and am very careful about who I allow to watch my kids, and even who I'll allow in my home.