I have no family in Chicago and only occasionally need a babysitter. I've had a nightmare of a time interviewing sitters and having them either never get back to me with references or flake out on me in some other way (not showing up, etc.) Looking for a sitter online is the last thing I want to do but I need to find a few reliable people to watch our son on an occasional basis (with an opportunity to watch him more often if I decide to freelance or go back to work full time). He's 9 months old and a super fun happy baby. I've loved every second of being home with him, make all his food from scratch and play with him all day long. I'm looking for someone who knows CPR/First aid and is a non-smoker preferably with a background check. We live just north of Wrigleyville (Buena Park).
Thanks for the help!
Look into K Grace. It is a service. You pay a low monthly fee and they have GREAT sitters whenever you need one. I've used them for 2 years.
http://www.kgracechildcare.net/index.html
My old nanny, Julia, is looking for work and very good, VERY reliable and I trust her very much with my children.
You are welcome to contact her, she is available to work full time or part time, her email to ____@____.com, for any requirement please email or call with any and all questions, she will respond promptly.
You can let her know A. mentioned her to you.
Same thing with care.com ... they specifically state in their profile that they are available for care on call -- last minute sitting, but I've gotten the same excuses...have to babysit siblings that night...out of town...etc. These are girls that live with minutes of me, too, and I give them about a week notice.
I ended up just asking the women at my gym for referrals and one told me about her au pair that is available weekends. The girl actually called me the next day to ask if I needed a sitter that weekend! Anyway, I wish you luck with your search...let us know what happens!
***I should mention I use to be a sitter on sittercity years ago and we're not all bad! I don't want to deter anyone from using these sites, but just be open minded, however, cautious.
We have found all our nannies through sittercity and only once have we had an issue. K Grace is something we looked into as well but didnt want to pay the high costs. College campus job boards are also great places to find people who do occasional sitting. good luck, we have no family around either and i know how stressful it can be!
