Thoughts on Sittercity

Hello,
Like you I was leery of sittercity.com, but was more desperate since I don't have any family nearby. About 18mos ago, I joined and have used 3 different sitters and been very pleased. All 3 were college students (in their early 20s).

There are definitely plenty of flaky-seeming candidates as well, so you'll have to look through lots of options before deciding who to contact.

Coincidentally, I stumbled across my hair stylists sister on sittercity.com, who we've now used and really like. You may just find that once you join, you'll find someone you know!

Good luck,
K.
Mom to Aaron, almost 3!

I have used sittercity and found 2 good sitters.

I liked it because you can screen them. Also, most of them already have a background check done, so you don't have to pay to do it.

I also like it because you can sort pretty specifically - by location (zip), age range, experience and pay.

The other thing I would do is call the PTA of the neighborhood school that's by your house. They might know of one of the teachers at the school who would be interested in babysitting over the summer when they are out of school.

Good luck.

I provide in-home childcare & most of my families found me on that website. There's another great site as well that many people use: www.care.com That site is wonderful too. It has all the same options as sittercity. As a provider, I don't see how it is on the parents end, but my current family found me on care.com and said that she really liked that site.
Have you thought about asking your local school?? I know that my school will give out referalls of parents who are offering childcare...Just another suggestion!
No matter which resource you use, ALWAYS go with your gut...If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't!
Good luck!!

I used it to find my last sitter. She was great and I hope she is still available if we need a sitter in the future. I would also have no problem using Sittercity again. You also do get a discount by going through this site.
What I liked is you setup the job description and get response from those interested or you can look for someone. Some have backgrounds done on themselves as well. There are some that do not followup but that shows lack of responsibility and I wouldn't want that person anyway. You do have to interview and decide yourself though.

We used to be members of Sittercity, but canceled the membership because we don't get sitters often enough. I have to say that the one experience I've had with sittercity and the baby sitter we hired from there, was great! She was wonderful with our little guy and he had a great time. I liked that they do background checks (on some sitters), but the thing I liked most is that they post "user" reviews. Very helpful!

Used it several times, and it's great. They even list background checks for those who have it complete. I've found several wonderful sitters this way, and it's a bargain price of the peace of mind.

We found our sitter through sittercity. We were very happy with the experience. I would definitely recommend it.

I am in the midst of a similar situation. I am using sittercity and would agree with the person who said you have to do the leg work. I have actually been at it for a few months (off and on - it's an exhausting effort!). Have had no shows, no call backs and 1 person who backed out of the job the day before she was supposed to start. So, there are good people out there and there are also flakes who can waste your time. I'm kind of neutral on the site. Haven't had the most pleasant experience, but nothing has been excessively terrible. Good Luck and be patient!

I serve as a parent team for a new online upcoming company, CareNovate.com that will offer not only child care services but pet, office, home, educational and more. I like it because they have a diverse parent team (includes social workers, direct care workers, retired nurses, etc) that will approve all applicants and most care givers will have background check services via the site. They are to be cost effective, in other words cheaper than the rest while maintaining quality

The site will be launching later this year and i think it will be awesome
check out it http://www.carenovate.com or http:www.carenovate.com/blog
http://www.facebook.com/cnovate

N. Ogum

I have been absent from what used to be mama source for a while, but it is fun to be back. I have two things to say, sittercity can be a great option, if you are very careful. Sites like Sittercity do not have a regulatory agency screening applicants, so you must rely on your own "gut" instincts, which serve we mothers well, but I've seen too many Nannycam scares to be overly trusting of people I don't know well. Not to try to scare you, but I know that there are several companies that actually screen applicants and make them get background checks before they can be hired out as sitters, if you are looking for a full time sitter, I would recommend going that route.
Anoter option is to check summer camp rates at local child cares, or through the park district. Any person working at these places has been given a background check and gone through a face-to-face interview process before being hired to work with children. This way your children will have other kids to play with and a fun safe environment. I know Daycare may make some people baulk, but I do run a christian childcare so I know first hand that the good ones are great places for kids to be at over the summer and school year. (The GOOD ones). It doesn't hurt to call around and ask summer camp rates, often even if you have two children the cost is comparable to paying a good nanny between $10-and $15/hour.
Good Luck

Hi L.,

I've used Sittercity twice to find babysitters. Our first babysitter was wonderful, and the second one (whom I just hired recently) has been good so far. The nice thing about Sittercity is you can read reviews, run background checks, get references, etc. I know it's scary thinking about letting a stranger into your home, but I would definitely recommend Sittercity.

Best,
R.

We found our nanny on sitter city and she is working out very well. However, I actually contacted her bc I liked her profile (she did not officially "apply" to my job posting). I did get A LOT of applicants...and I interviewed almost 40 people over the phone. Most were not what I was looking for. I brought a handful in for in-person interviews. I did have two no-shows, which was incredibly unprofessional. The bottom line is that there are good candidates out there but you need to do the legwork (versus a service who will do it for you). Good luck - you are fortunate to have had family willing and able to assist.