How do I find a good babysitter?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-13-2006
How do I find a good babysitter?
7
Tue, 11-28-2006 - 10:11pm

I've been fortunate enough to have a wonderful MIL who is great with the kids and is able to spend a lot of time with them (and has since they were tiny). She has been one of the few people who has always been there for me when I needed to get out, attend a function, or spend some time with DH. Lately she has been unavailable for various personal reasons and I find myself wondering how in the world to find a sitter to take care of an 8 yo Aspie, his 6 yo button-pushing little brother, and two girls under the age of 2.

I can't imagine leaving them with some unsuspecting teenager. I have a few friends with older kids who know mine, but they all work or go to college. How do you find the 'right' people to care for your children?

Melissa

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 11-28-2006 - 10:20pm

Actually one of the best we found was a teenager who happened to be the older sister of a boy with BP. We had respite as well but they couldn't handle the kids as well as this teen. She has gotten too old and has a real job now.

Other than that one find this has always been a problem for us. We even have respite provided by services and it has been an absolute struggle. Honest, I use my mom, inlaws on rare occasion or don't go. I will be using a respite worker for Mike in the spring so I can go to class and I am PRAYING they are consistent. Otherwise my mom will do it.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Wed, 11-29-2006 - 12:35am

I kinda posted about my experience finding someone to watch Isaac in another thread so here's my cut and paste cheater version of a post (lol):


Some of the best advice ever given to me was to call Social Services and ask about waivered services.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-22-2003
Wed, 11-29-2006 - 9:39am

Boy, I wish I had some magic answer to this question, because I could SURE use some help myself! LOL Seriously, it's a problem...it's a huge problem. My in-laws live about five minutes from our house, but are always "too busy with church activities" to help us out with the kids. My mom, who would LOVE to help us out, lives three hours away. :-(

We've had a couple of teenagers who live in the neighborhood that were awesome with our kids...but as others have posted, they got too old for the job. (And their family is well-off so they never really needed the money, KWIM?)

Our state doesn't offer PCA's or anything even remotely similar. The waiting list for respite services is a mile long, and the providers are underpaid, underqualified, and IMHO, incompetent.

Needless to say, DH will be going stag to his company Christmas party on the 9th. (Not such a bad thing though as I don't particularly care for the majority of his co-workers.)

Amy

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-13-2006
Wed, 11-29-2006 - 10:13am

Debbie,

Thank you for your post. I'd like to learn more about county services for my DS. The system is so confusing that it makes it overwhelming to try to navigate. Do I just call the DDD in my county and ask how they can help me? These things usually end up in phone call after phone call, trying to find the right person or organization. I've gone through a state program called Value Options (Medicaid) before and gotten short term help (psycholgist home visits which ended up not working out), plus they paid for a three week summer program for DS. During their last visit they said they were "closing our case" because they didn't see how else they could help. Basically, they didn't want to pay for anything else. I can reapply, but don't know if I want to go that route again.

Also, if we do qualify for some kind of respite or personal care for DS, will they watch the other kids in the family, or just the special needs child?

Thanks,
Melissa

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Wed, 11-29-2006 - 10:53am

I don't have any experience with it, but I wonder whether a local mom's club might be able to provide recommendations?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Wed, 11-29-2006 - 1:32pm

hey Melissa


Yeah, I could just call the county.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2005
Wed, 11-29-2006 - 3:37pm

I haven't read all of the replies yet (short on time). But I just wanted to say, when ya'll find the answer to THIS question please let me know! LOL

We actually moved trans-state to be closer to my parents and home town (wherein live LOTS of people I've known for 20+ years and trust with my children) just to get better child care. Or heck, ANY child care at all. We're happy with our decision, but I can't imagine that it's the best answer for every family.

~Candes

APOV on Autism