f you’re a parent, you know that a great babysitter is as good as gold. Once you have someone you like and feel you can trust with your child, you never want to let her or him go - or even share with your friends and risk losing your standing Saturday night date with your sweetheart!
How do you find the perfect fit for your family? That’s where Sittercity comes into play. Launched in 2001 by founder Genevieve Thiers, Sittercity.com is an online database that lists over 150,000 babysitters nationwide in more than 30 locations in the U.S.
We had the opportunity to chat with Genevieve...
The Cradle: How did you come up with the idea of creating Sittercity.com?
Genevieve: As the oldest of seven children (including my twin sister and another set of twins!), babysitting has always been in my blood. When I was in college in Boston, I babysat for over 30 families and whenever I came home from a babysitting job, there would be a message waiting for me on my answering machine asking me to babysit some more.
But my real "ah-ha" moment was when I saw a very pregnant woman waddling around Boston College posting flyers [in an effort to find] a babysitter. She was slowly making her way from BC's lower campus to the upper campus when I ran over to her, took her flyers, sent her home, and hung them myself. While I was hanging these flyers, I thought, "Wouldn't it be great if there were one central location where parents could find sitters quickly and easily?" Sittercity.com was born!
The Cradle: What advice do you offer to parents who are nervous about finding a sitter on the Internet?
Genevieve: I completely understand this hesitation, which is why we strive to make Sittercity safe and secure.
First off, be very wary of finding a babysitter through a free online service. Often, these sites have a higher risk of hosting some unsavory characters.
Second, the most important thing about hiring a babysitter from anywhere – including the Internet – is to follow a comprehensive screening process. Sittercity's four-step screening process has helped countless parents find their dream babysitters, so we highly recommend that our users carefully screen applicants.
Sittercity's four-step process includes:
- Read online feedback. On Sittercity, parents rate and review our sitters directly on the sitter profiles, so you can quickly see what makes Susie so great and exactly why she is recommended.
- Conduct an interview. In-person interviews are best. We have a resource library for parents that helps them determine the best questions to ask during an interview, and what red flags to look for.
- Check references. Again, our library offers recommended questions to ask a reference [as well as suggestions on] how to conduct a phone call to get the most out of the source.
- Run a background check. Many of our babysitters already have background checks, so it is free to request access to the results.
