Entrusting a child to a babysitter is a relief to many busy mothers, but it is a nightmare for some, according to the findings of a recent survey* commissioned by iVillage's new Momtourage.com (www.momtourage.com) site. 25% of the mothers polled admitted to having a negative experience with a babysitter. Even worse, 1 in 10 reported that a babysitter had in some way mistreated their child.

Other results included:

  • 1 in 10 moms have discovered that a babysitter brought other people into their home without permission

  • More than 1 in 10 mothers (12%) are not sure their babysitter could handle any sort of emergency situation involving their kids

  • Nearly half (49%) of moms do not think their babysitter would be able to conduct CPR on a child in a medical crisis

  • A third (33%) of mothers polled believe their babysitter would not know how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver if a youngster was choking

    Child care issues are not solely the concern of everyday parents, but the rich and famous as well. Respondents were also asked to choose the best babysitting prospect between Britney Spears, Jamie-Lynn Spears and Kevin Federline. K-Fed was the clear favorite between the threesome, with more than 5 times as many moms choosing his care-giving services over his ex-wife Britney, mother of two. New teenage mom Jamie-Lynn took the second spot, but many more moms would still prefer K-Fed take care of their children.

    To ease babysitting concerns, iVillage's Momtourage.com offers a special how-to on starting a Babysitting Co-op (www.momtourage.com/babysittingco-ops) and a handy Babysitter Cheat Sheet (www.momtourage.com/babysittercheatsheet), designed to help moms share their must-know family details with their caregivers.

    *Methodology: The results contained in this survey are based on telephone interviews conducted from July 11 to 13, 2008. A total 1,004 interviews were completed with 527 female adults and 477 male adults. A second survey was conducted July 18 to July 20, 2008 among an additional 1,004 respondents of which 477 men and 527 were women. In total, 2008 interviews were conducted. The margin of error is +/- 2.2 percentage points and is higher for subgroups. (Note: For the purpose of this poll, a babysitter is defined as someone who isn't a member of their family that they hire to look after their kids.)

    iVillage Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of NBC Universal, Inc., is the first and most established media company dedicated exclusively to connecting women at every stage of their lives. Ranked the #1 online destination for women with 28 million unique visitors (comScore MediaMetrix, June 2008), iVillage.com offers an authentic community infused with compelling content from experts on health, parenting, pregnancy, beauty, style, fitness, relationships, food and entertainment. The site's interactive features include thousands of message boards and a wide variety of social networking tools, allowing women around the world to connect, share ideas, and seek advice and support about everything from fertility to fashion. Established in 1995, iVillage's brand extensions include iVillage UK, iVillage Total Health and owned sites Astrology.com, GardenWeb and gURL.com, in addition to the Newborn Channel. The company, acquired by NBC Universal, Inc. in May 2006, is based in New York.