How Do You Find a Babysitter? - Independence,MO

wow! you are kind of asking a lot! First off, ppl are probably going to charge more if they have to drive to your house and not sure if you will even find one that will do it for less than two hours twice a week. maybe you could put an add in the paper or ask around. you might get some luck finding a college student that would have some time in between classes. or you could find a daycare center that charges by the hour and not full days.... good luck!

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When we had an hour of overlap in our work schedules 2 days a week, I asked one of my friends who was also my neighbor to watch my son. I paid her $10 a day and he did go to her house but it worked out well. I think expecting to pay next to nothing for someone to come to your house is probably not an option but you could probably find a friend or neighbor that could us a few extra dollars and wouldn't mind having an extra kid for a couple hours.

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Try craigslist. There are many qualified people on there looking for work. You can check references and interview them. my BFF uses Craigslit for her sitters and it has always worked out fine. Plus it's free.

And you might have to do a full 2 hours to get some interest. Possibly three.

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Can you find a homeschool group in your area? Some families homeschool all the way through high school, and if you can find some of those close to you, this could solve your problem. They usually have flexible school schedules.

What about a local college? Students usually need extra income, and they can often plan their class schedule in a way that allows them to work a part-time job.

Do you belong to a church? If so, maybe someone in your church community would be available.

I put my resume up on Care.Com. They have a lot of applicants and people looking for babysitters and nannies. I believe there is also Babysitters.com. I can't remember what my friend told me on that one. You can go there and look for babysitters full time, part time or for occassional days/nights. :-)

It may not be worth it in the long run if it is for a few hours and you don't want to pay much in childcare cost.

We find our babysitters through our friends or our church's youth group. We tend to find a few from church that we like and rotate through them regularly. I also do a kid swap with friends so I can have a few hours each week to volunteer at the kids' school, go to dr. appts or just sit at home and do nothing but enjoy the silence.

I would ask around your SAHM friends and see if one of them was willing to do it for a minimum price. Sometimes Moms are willing if the kids get along...it is a playdate and they get paid..and it is at your house.

Good luck and best wishes!!

Try your school, and try your church to see if they have any ideas.

Put a posting at a local college.. maybe there is a student that will be between classes at that time.

You are probably going to have to pay more than you earn because it is such a short period of time. When I had a class that started just 30 minutes before my kids got on the bus I had to pay the sitter 20 dollars for about 40 minutes of work. Work being sit there and make sure they went out the door at the right time.

Oh the sitter was another college student who didn't have an 8:00 class.

Ask around -- spread the word with everyone you know. I think your best success may be through a local university, if you have one nearby. That limited schedule might work for a college student. Contact the career services dept. to place an ad.

Good luck!

Do you attend a church? Ask around to see if any mom would help you out each day. Or call a local day care to see if they have a drop in rate that you can take her to and your hubby will pick her up at 12:30. Someone else already mentioned it, but college students can be great. Post an ad on their student board or if they have an online "classifieds" section of sort see about posting there. You could also ask any of your neighbors if they no of anyone available during that short time each day.

Hey, not sure if it will help you, but I recently discovered SittingAround.com It's a co-op for babysitting swap! There is one in Mesa, but it looks to be just for doulas... another on in Phoenix...
Anyways, I just started a new co-op in my area, because the only one offered here seems to be geared towards SAHM and they have their meeting on tuesday mornings (yeah, because I can just miss 2 hours of work)...
It might be worth a look? Good luck!