This piggy backs on my last question. I do have one girl who applied to the full-time position that looks like she may work. It was the only response I got where her wording was correct, she used punctuation and capitals appropriately, and just sounded smart. Which is something I obviously want for me kids. I need to do what I need to do for my family, but I really worry about leaving someting that is good for something that may not work out, when my kids are involved. So have you left a sitter you loved because you basically had to and regretted it later?
Okay, let me just add that I know it sounds bad when I say I want them to be intelligent and well spoken. Some of the responses I received were very poorly written and looking at the profile pictures and more, they obviously were not the kid of people I would want around my kids. I do not expect humans to not make errors...I make plenty. But when I am paying someone to watch my irreplaceable children, I want only the best. Which is why I was asking if anyone regretted leaving. I really have to do what is best for my family...but I do not want to regret anything.
Cost is not the issue here. I can more than afford my current sitter. Problem is that I need someone to get my older two on and off the bus. They are 8 and 6. I will NOT latchkey them. I do have a neighbor that is going to get them on for me until I find something permanent, but I am having no luck finding someone for only about 90 minutes in the mornings. (Current sitter will not do before and after care. She is looking for someone to help me also, but with no luck either. School does NOT offer before or after care either.)
Jo W - my mistake for doing that, it was on my Smartphone. For whatever reason, you responses are NEVER helpful or insightful, you are rude to everyone you respond to. I obviously want someone intelligent to watch my children, sorry you do not feel the same way. Please do not respond to any of my questions if you are going to reply in a nasty manner. You are not helpful, but rather an annoyance.
I have had parents leave my services for various reasons and then want to come back. I've had a few that did it multiple times. I let them and regretted it. Eventually, I just got to the place where I said enough is enough. If someone leaves they can stay gone. The only exceptions are if they lose their job and get another or if they have another child and want to use me again.
We left a sitter we loved just this summer. I am going to transition to working from home part time, while taking care of my infant son (4 months old). My 2 older daughters will be in full day school. I am very nervous!!! I don't know if it will work out! We have had our sitter for 4 years. She was WONDERFUL. She took great care of the kids, always left the house clean, always took them out and did stuff with them. Even people I did not know would comment to me when I saw them in the library with my kids, that they had seen the sitter there with the kids, and how awesome she was! (We only had her 3 days a week, I never worked full time). I am very excited to be able to be home for all 3 of my kids. I am very excited to be able to be taking my kids to and from school. I am so happy to not miss any of their lives...I really hope it works and I don't regret it! I have to still be able to make decent money from home. I do sales. I sure hope I can produce at a good level. Good luck to you. As a note, being smart and good grammatically is not NECESSARILY the most important quality, IMO. Our nanny was foreign, she did not write well in English and spoke English but not perfectly. But she was wonderful.
EDIT: I was thinking you wanted someone for full-day care. A couple of hours after school is different. Finding someone who is reliable, safe, experienced and capable of helping with homework is great! No, I don't regret leaving our former sitter, but I sure do miss her!
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We recently (as in yesterday) transitioned my son from an in-home daycare to a preschool center. We had many reasons and second-guessed ourselves right up until my husband picked him up yesterday. He was grinning ear-to-ear and asked if he would get to come back. Whew.
It really depends on why you decided to leave your sitter. For us, there were many reasons. Some were educational- my little guy is really ready for more structured learning and had mentioned that he wanted to read more books and do more numbers than they were doing. Some were logistical- the daycare is 30 minutes out-of-the way for my husband and she closes quite a bit for vacation, which is really not possible for us any more. Regardless, it was a difficult decision and one that we really thought about before making a final choice.
We also had something really great to "go to" before we left the other situation. That may be part of your concern here. She has good ELA skills- great. That doesn't mean squat when it comes to childcare!
Before you agree to something long-term, have a two week trial period. Have her come for a few hours and see how your children do with her. See how she does with them. If she's not "the one", you will know very quickly!
You don't say why you'd need to leave your current sitter.
I'm guessing that cost might be the issue. In that situation, I really think I'd do everything I could, and cut elsewhere, to stay with the person I liked and trusted with my kids.
Your post is pretty judgy, by "just looking at pictures" of other applicants. You know nothing about them.
But, since you asked about regretting leaving...I think I would. If you can make cuts elsewhere to keep things stable for your kids, and in a situation that you feel good about....do that first.
This is funny cause I was looking to do a job like this-just for a bit of extra cash for us. I don't live close enough to DC to do it (if that is where you exactly live), but where did you post your job so I can possibly see if there are others that are looking for a similar sitter situation?
BTW, I don't think you are being too "judgey" at all. It does NOT sound bad that you want them to be of an appropriate intelligence level and such. You can never be too careful.
