How to hire a sitter?

As a single parent I would like to possibly hire a teen or college age student , or older person to be an occasional sitter. I plan to work 2:30 to 11pm, or 11p-7a and maybe days on the weekends and have a sitter for special outings. I am by no means rich but what is a reasonable price to pay/ offer. What should i look for ? what should i watch out for. I am kinda nervous about this but i prefer someone to come to my home after i have had a bad experience with sitters in their homes. I use to have todrag my kids out in the winter to sleep with relatives, friends who ever was available. I don't want to do that b/c my kids need a normal life no matter how crazy mine is I am trying to balance work, college and 3 kids.

Answers:
Whoever you hire check them out ..do a background check. Have them come to your house and have a list of questions for them to answer. Have the children meet them and see how they interact with them. Check out their references.

Other Answers:
Run a classified ad, and interview everyone who calls in response to it. Then compare everyone's answers to your questions, and decide at your own pace. Maybe ask a good friend to help decide. Or post a question that would help with your decision.

Here we go:

I'm a nanny/sitter. I am a full-time college student. I have been babysitting since I was 7. I plan on becoming a doctor or a college professor. I love kids. I have great refrences. I've never drank alcohol or done any type of drug. I've never been arrested. I have been CPR certified. I have an excellant driving record.
THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WILL GET WHEN YOU HIRE A SITTER. This is me. This is what I tell my employers. But you won't always get lucky. Be wary of everyone.
I'll try to give you some helpful things to look at or do to find a nanny/sitter.
I'm am usually hired through word of mouth, meaning : 1. Ask your neighbors and friends. They might have someone in mind.
A classified ad is an okay thing to do, but make sure that you say that you need a RESPONSIBLE person. That atleast helps the sitters know that you are really looking out for your kids.
There are agencies in most counties, so you might want to try them.
Also, the job I'm at right now hired me off a site. There are MANY out there. Some are good, and some aren't, but it's worth a try. Search through their availible people, and put your family on there so that sitters can contact you. This is the site that I was hired off of: www.Nannies4hire.com

When you finally find a person that you think you may be able to hire:
~ ask for references. If they haven't babysat EVER then they shouldn't be hired especially if you're going to be gone for more than 3-4 hours (they won't know how to handle situations and will have to get you at work).
~ ask them a few, 'if/then' situations. The main on being, 'If Suzy was misbehaving and you had told her a few times to stop jumping on the bed, then what would you do?' Make sure that yours and their views on punishment work together. (I personally use the timeout system)
~ have them meet with the children. But only AFTER you are almost positive that you are going to hire them, pending the interaction with the children. They should be HAPPY to see the children, not glum about them at all. Make sure that they seem interested in the children, that they aren't going to just make the kids sit on the couch all day while they watch tv or use the phone (it does happen).
~ leave this person with the children for a couple hours, while you run a couple errands, to make sure that you and the sitter and the children will be oaky with this. The sitter may decide that they really can't cope, or the children don't like them, or something like that.
These are ALL things that I've been subjected to, and I expect it with EVERY FAMILY it interview for.

Payment:
Every sitter is different. You may be able to make special arrangements with your sitter to keep the price low. I personally charge $7/hour (which is a little low), and then I drop my price to $5/hour after 8 hours (which is EXTREMELY cheap), and then when I am there overnight and because I sleep while the children are sleeping I only charge about $30-40 for the 8-10 hours...
BUT, expect to pay $8-9/hour... with no extra reductions for more hours or anything.

I hope that this helps you!
MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN TRUST THE PERSON WITH YOUR OWN LIFE, BEFORE YOU TRUST THEM WITH YOUR CHILDREN'S.
Source(s):
Life Experience

Ask your friends, and see if they have any good recommendations. If not, run an ad on the newspaper, and then once you have people calling wanting the job, give them a little interview and see if you like them, and if you feel comfortable enough to welcome them into your family. Also, try to stick with the same sitter, your baby or child will be more comfortable with them.

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How to hire a sitter?

Pregnancy & Parenting