My daughter wants to start babysitting and we wanted to use care.com to help her find babysitting jobs but is it safe and are they going to use that info somehow and why would they need the adress.
I wouldn't use anything online. Some schools and most parishes keep lists of babysitters. Then when you are in a bind you call and they give you the list. The other way to get jobs is word of mouth.
I am generally the put it all out there kinda person and even I see no good coming from an online listing.
I would ask neighbors instead so she's close to home if she needs you.
I would start there at her age.
Later she can babysit the kids you or your husband work with (still nearby though).
Also I would recommend the minimum age she were to watch now is 5 years of age.
safety 1st.....I would not use internet for this.
Use your church, the teachers at her school, & you/your friends. She'll be kept busy .....
I wouldn't use the Internet to advertise. She can post something at the local elementary school or spread the word by talking to your friends/relatives
I personally...would not use any internet service, to advertise. There is a safety issue, that I just wouldn't be comfortable with. When I got started babysitting, it was offering my parent's friends babysitting services. Then, through word of mouth I found more jobs.
I don't think I'd be comfortable using care.com. At that age, perhaps word of mouth or maybe flyers in your neighborhood? She's still a kid herself so you'll want to check out any families she's babysitting for. Besides, the families that pay for care.com probably aren't looking for young teenagers... in truth, it's easy to find a teenager to babysit. People join care.com to find a nanny or an experienced older babysitter. Stick with neighborhood/school/friends/church referrals until she's older.
How about just networking n your neighborhood? My 16 yr old stays busy just on our street.
I wouldn't allow my 16 yr old to be involved with a service like that.
Word of mouth about good sitters travels fast. Our neighborhood has a privacy protected website where you find babysitters listed.
I'd try something else first. Good luck
At that age, I would only have her babysit for people you know. As she gets experience, she will start getting referred for jobs by the people she sits for. No sitting for strangers at this age, in my opinion.
A friend of mine took a live in housekeeper position with a nice family through Care.com and within 24 hours the woman freaked out on her at 7 o'clock in the morning and kicked her and all of her belongings out. The family actually left the house while my friend was re-packing, totally bizarre situation I think.
I agree with the others. I would not use the internet either. I actually remember babysitting for some families (through word of mouth) that made me uncomfortable, I can't imagine how uncomfortable I would be if they were COMPLETE strangers. At least by word of mouth, someone you know knows them.
-L.
