How to Find the Best Back-to-School Babysitters

Nearly all parents have faced the struggle of finding a babysitter. You want one that your children will love, you feel safe with and that has availability for after-school activities and the occasional elusive date night. Thankfully, in today’s world of swiping right and endless apps, you don’t only have to rely on word of mouth. There’s an app for that. Erin McConaghy, a former Montessori teacher and parent herself, knew there had to be a better way to connect parents with experienced babysitters. With that need, Curated Care was founded nearly a decade ago, matching Kid Experts (i.e. babysitters) with families. The service currently is available in New York City, Hamptons and Los Angeles, but we asked McConaghy to share tips for finding the right childcare match wherever you live.

Here, her best advice to help you get out of the house!

Tell us where the idea for Curated Care came from.

Curated Care was founded almost nine years ago and based on the idea that everyone’s time matters - a parent's, a kiddo’s and the talented providers who care for them. Babysitting time is such an opportunity for great experiences. So many creative, educationally trained babysitters organically infuse their unique talents and skills into babysitting time and so many families are eager to provide a better experience for their kiddos during babysitting time as well, so we wanted to create something to better connect these creative sitters and families that was modern and tech-based while still feeling curated and trusted.

I am a former Montessori teacher and also managed a premier children's facility in TriBeCa for many years. I met my business partner, who had previously created a nonprofit focused on buoying children's literacy and also has a background in production and management at art space, years ago when I was her daughter's first teacher. We both saw such value in taking advantage of babysitting time as an opportunity for memorable experiences, it's a win-win-win for parents, kids and providers.

It's back to school time, which means the craziness of after school lessons, homework, etc. If you're adding a new babysitter to the mix, what are some tips for helping your kids get comfortable with a new babysitter?

Communication all around is key. Once you've found a great fit, get your kiddos excited by letting them know a new friend is going to babysit. Before your kiddos meet a new sitter, ask your sitter to send a quick video saying hi to your kiddos that you can share with them. Once your family starts working with a new babysitter, helping your kiddos feel comfortable has quite a bit to do with how comfortable you feel. One way to help you feel comfortable is to build in wiggle room from the start as far as commitment and schedule is concerned with a new sitter. Allowing yourself to test out a schedule for a month or two and make sure it actually is a great fit for you and your crew allows you to truly make this determination based on your family and sitter’s rapport (versus sticking with a commitment for commitment's sake). If you plan to do a recurring schedule, suggest a month-long trial to make sure it's a great fit for everyone and allow everyone to be on the same page.

Additionally when starting to work with a new sitter, truly over communicate on instructions and expectations. Assume nothing goes without saying. Are you neurotic about how the toys are put away? Do you strongly prefer your child wash their hands for two minutes before every snack? Make your needs known. Acknowledge that you know you may be a weirdo but want to share all the details. Most sitters truly appreciate explicit guidance. To boot, it's far more difficult to course correct than to set clear expectations. As long as expectations are discussed kindly and respectfully, everyone appreciates and benefits from them.

What are some tips for parents to make sure the new sitter is a great match?

Pay attention to people stuff versus kid stuff.

Kid stuff, like learning about someone's previous childcare experience and specific childcare skills, is important in knowing that a potential sitter can navigate anything that could pop up during the day. For example, CPR certification is certainly a useful qualification to have, but hopefully, there is a slim to none chance that they will need to use it with your child. However, people stuff, like discovering someone's hobbies, quirks, interests, and goals, gives you insight into the type of person they will be around your kiddo and the type of behavior and experience they can offer. A sitter's interests, personality traits, and life experiences will be a huge part of the time they spend with your child and should definitely be factored in when finding someone to be with your family.

What are some questions parents should ask when interviewing new babysitters?

Experience is very valuable when choosing a sitter. A great babysitter is able to be present and available emotionally and mentally to your kiddos if they are very familiar with experiences that inherently arise when working with children (cuts and scrapes, tantrums and toddler tumbles, helping kiddos move between transitions in their routines, etc). Asking about experience and details about this experience (years babysitting, with what ages, favorite moments babysitting, what have been challenging moments, etc) will give you a better feel for their actual hands on experience.

Almost as important, though, is if you truly enjoy this person. If someone is great on paper but you simply don't perfectly gel with this person, then they're not for you. For one, you are going to have to interface with this human a lot! The easier and more enjoyable this is, the better. Coming home a couple glasses of wine in after date night is much easier if you actually enjoy the interaction you are going to have with this person. Most importantly, though, children are receptors for their parents' emotions and gut feelings. If you don't jive well with a sitter, your child will, consciously or subconsciously, pick up on this and feel similarly. So ask about their kiddo experience certainly, but find out about them as a person (background, hobbies, goals) to get a feel for who they are as a sitter and as a person.

You call them Kid Experts, not just babysitters. What sets your Kid Experts a part?

Kid Experts on CuratedCare.com are artists and teachers who incorporate their skills into babysitting and private lessons. From Broadway actors to Juilliard dancers, STEM teachers to Montessorians, Kid Experts are talented professionals, epic sitters and inspiring humans you'll be delighted to have engage with your child. They truly enjoy spending time with kiddos and are innately present when caring for them, seeking moments to maximize engagement.

The Related Life is written and produced by the Related Life Editorial Team. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest events, news, and announcements in your area, and tag us for a chance to be featured @therelatedlife and #therelatedlife.