Hiring the right babysitter for your family

Working parents everywhere will be making childcare arrangements for the summer holidays. Some parents are lucky enough to have extended family members to help out while kids are off school. Some will be signing their kids up for a variety summer camps, while others will be hiring students to provide daycare. In some cases, older children may be expected to watch younger siblings while parents are at work. What is the right babysitting solution for your family?

Having an older child to babysit younger siblings can be a very convenient and probably more economical solution for the family. Parents can go off to work without having to worry about waking up their children and getting them ready in the morning. Convenient maybe, but this arrangement can cause a number of problems for the whole family.

Younger siblings often have a hard time listening to older brothers and sisters, particularly if they are fairly close in age. They may not accept brothers or sisters as an authority figure. Younger children are often less compliant and more disobedient with brothers and sisters. Older siblings may feel resentful being forced by parents to look after the younger ones. Siblings are more likely to argue with each other and fight physically causing parents to worry throughout the day. This can add tension and strain to the family dynamic that can have a long term effect on everyone. The additional stress and worry are unhealthy for parents and their children so hiring an unrelated babysitter may be a better solution. Here are some tips to help families find the right babysitter.

When hiring a babysitter, ask for a resume, interview the applicant and check references thoroughly. Ask friends, family and neighbours to recommend a good and reliable babysitter. If no recommendations are available, consider approaching one of the local colleges or high schools to see if any students taking Early Childcare Education courses are interested in summer employment. Ask for a reference from a teacher or school administrator.

Look for a sitter who has had experience and enjoys being with children. During your interview, ask the candidate about their interests and how they plan to keep your kids occupied. Do they share similar interests with your children, like sports, collections or hobbies? Sitters with similar interests will likely be more compatible and have lots of activities planned to keep your children active, busy and away from the TV and other electronic devices.

Babysitters should have completed a babysitting course and hold a current first aid certification. Verify that any certifications are current as first aid knowledge and skills are easily forgotten if not used. Sitters should also obtain and provide proof of a police check with vulnerable sector screening. Anyone working with children should have a police check.

Use social media to help you gather background information on a possible sitter. An internet search by name or a Facebook search by email address, for example, may reveal details about the candidate’s public image to help you select the right person. Employers often use social media along with reference checks to determine if a candidate is the right fit for their company.

Age and maturity are factors when making your hiring decision. A full time summer sitter should be at least 16 years of age, be mature and responsible and have good common sense. Ask “what if” scenario questions to see how the candidate would respond in certain situations.

Once you think you have found a suitable babysitter, try her or him out first by hiring the candidate to watch your kids a few times while you go out shopping or for dinner. Make sure to ask your children what they did with the sitter and what they thought of him/her. Their opinion and feedback will be important factors in helping you select the right individual.

An unrelated babysitter is more likely to be accepted as the authority figure and can probably maintain order and respect better than older siblings. Involve your children to select the right sitter. Parents want to feel confident that their children are happy and being well cared for by a responsible and reliable person in their absence. This will ensure peace of mind throughout the entire summer.

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SOS First Aid and Safety Training services the following Southern Ontario communities: Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Guelph, Vaughan, Woodbridge, Maple, Richmond Hill, Brampton, Acton, Georgetown, Hamilton, Ancaster, Brantford, Stoney Creek, St. Catherines, and Welland.

Customer Reviews

Patty is an amazing instructor. Her class was very engaging and interactive. She makes you want to participate in class and her personal stories are heartfelt and interesting. Would definitely take another class with her again!Thank you Patty!
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Ginsha Godson
Ginsha Godson
Patty was so knowledgeable and interactive! It made the session really stuck in my head. Thank you!
Ruben Bocanegra
Ruben Bocanegra
Fantastic information and fun. Patty is a great instructor.
Samantha Teeple
Samantha Teeple
Paddy turn all is a,great instructor, she takes her time and explains everything well
Sheri Bowers
Sheri Bowers
Mrs Viola was incredible teacher, I love her teaching mechanism’s easy to understand her thank you.
Beryl oyugi
Beryl oyugi
Ally was amazing, she answered all our questions and made sure we understood everything. Such an awesomeTeacher
Jenn
Jenn
Aly makes the class fun and engaging. You will not be bored in this class.
Sameer Zaheer
Sameer Zaheer
suzyan kunwar
suzyan kunwar
Had a great experience, instructor patty was very helpful.
8sujata kunwar
8sujata kunwar
Thank you Patrick for your wonderful instruction
LE NGUYEN
LE NGUYEN
Minakshi Subba
Minakshi Subba
Had amazing experience with Patty! She taught us so well and I learnt so much while practicing cpr and first aid.
Sanpreet Kaur
Sanpreet Kaur
Patty was a great instructor and extremely knowledgeable Was great with instructions and communication. Fun and a great experience.
Susie Riggs
Susie Riggs
I did the BLS course with Patty, and she was a very good teacher!
Nicole Freeman
Nicole Freeman
Our instructor was really good, he truly cared! It was a recertification, and I have to say that I learnt a lot this time. He went above and beyond. I feel more secure and knowledgeable when responding to an emergency. Thank you!
Marilyn A M
Marilyn A M
Ally was an amazing teacher trainer. Felt safe heared and very informative. would highly recommend.
jac hal
jac hal
Bidisha Dey
Bidisha Dey
Eun Hye Pedralvez
Eun Hye Pedralvez
Prakash was a great instructor! Made the class very engaging and explained things well
Sandy Kdeiss
Sandy Kdeiss
Sarah Almeida
Sarah Almeida
Mr. Nagar was amazing! Very helpful!
Alicha Desmond
Alicha Desmond
G KAUR
G KAUR
Great information and indepth knowledge of epinephrine and the placement and new technologies. Thank you Prakash!
Thaksha Kulenthiran
Thaksha Kulenthiran
Prakash was very engaging and thorough
Alpana Vora
Alpana Vora
Ally was an amazing informative teacher! i love her teaching style and she was great at answering questions and chatting in an informative way!
Sofie Z
Sofie Z
The training was interesting and educativeI enjoyed it
Oluwatosin Enitan
Oluwatosin Enitan
Daniel was excellent!!
Alaa Dimitri
Alaa Dimitri
Julie was the best instructor for standard first aid , very informative and easy to listen
Suhad Sa'doun
Suhad Sa'doun
I had a great experience with debbie at the kingbridge location She made it very easy to stay alert in the class That all students were able to receive her lessons she was amazing 👏
Kimberly Palmer
Kimberly Palmer
Jasen Devasagayam
Jasen Devasagayam
Great instructor
AsianDomination104
AsianDomination104
Great experience.Mario gave clear and detailed instructions that were easy to follow and remember. He was very professional and gave so much input than I expected. Would highly recommend!
Shiela Mae Arca
Shiela Mae Arca
Laziz Eibov
Laziz Eibov
Great instructor Mario! Thank you :)
Leila Yohannes
Leila Yohannes
Nanzala Anna
Nanzala Anna
Was a lot of fun while also providing the education and performance testing needed!! Mario was great!!
Hai Psycho
Hai Psycho
Mario is very knowledgeable. Mask fit testing went smoothly.
Kathryn Lantican
Kathryn Lantican
olubunmi olaoye
olubunmi olaoye
Mario was a great instructor. Thoroughly explained and provided a great learning experience!
Simran Sandhu
Simran Sandhu
I have amazing experience. My instructor explained everything very well and it was very easy for me to understand the whole process.
Gurkirat Kaur Grewal
Gurkirat Kaur Grewal
WANG RUXIN
WANG RUXIN
Wonderful class. Goi instructor daniel
Marlene Cromwell
Marlene Cromwell
Perfect 👍 teaching 👌
ese Dukuye
ese Dukuye
Daniel was great!! Everything was explained so well that I manage to score hundred percent
Zarah Ali
Zarah Ali
Mario was great! We had fun with our N95 activities!
Alieh Ramezani
Alieh Ramezani
Chirag Rangani
Chirag Rangani
The mask fit training was very informative and beneficial. I had a fun time attending the class and I feel confident in correctly fitting my mask for safety.
Acemark Pellos
Acemark Pellos
Zhanming Chang
Zhanming Chang
Aline Chusl Fotso
Aline Chusl Fotso
Keirol Mallari
Keirol Mallari
Dawa Sherpa
Dawa Sherpa
Mario is excellent! Great job! Highly recommended!
Marsi Siobal
Marsi Siobal
It’s very good session…
sagar amin
sagar amin
I have very good experience here
sonu3115
sonu3115
It was good
Amandeep kaur
Amandeep kaur
Mario is very helpful and accommodating.
gurwinder dhanda
gurwinder dhanda
very quick and friendly instructor!
Von Immanuel Yagong
Von Immanuel Yagong
Barkat Khalid
Barkat Khalid
Huang Yang
Huang Yang
Mario was missing Luigi. Perfect session very informative and straight to the point. Perfect session highly recommend.
Robert Rebelo
Robert Rebelo
GC Tobino
GC Tobino
Zantrav Motovin
Zantrav Motovin
genevieve gelinas
genevieve gelinas
I learnt a lot especially what to do when someone has got a snake bite.
Chidimma Onwughalu
Chidimma Onwughalu
Ally and Doug were great at explaining and teaching. They made the class fun and easy to understand. Loved it!
Samra s
Samra s
Navdeep Kaur
Navdeep Kaur
Wen Fan (Yvonne)
Wen Fan (Yvonne)
Went here three times already and I can confidently say that they deliver the most effective lesson for N95 certification. I had Mario as my lecturer and he was able to simplify and highlight important details on the use of N95's. Highly recommend
xkristiann (xkristiann)
xkristiann (xkristiann)
Excellent instructor
Manpy Sehmi
Manpy Sehmi
Araba Wood
Araba Wood
Marian De Villa
Marian De Villa
It was a splendid experience and very educative.
Kayla Asante
Kayla Asante
Great Mask-Fit session with Mario
Mel B
Mel B
Session was really informative and interactive. Mario has good humour and makes the session lively.
Polina Loukianenkova
Polina Loukianenkova
Mario was great. The session was informative and mario made it entertaining and enjoyable.
Ed de Vries
Ed de Vries
Jennifer Nana Arku-Entsie
Jennifer Nana Arku-Entsie
Great and engaging!!
Chidera Eleh
Chidera Eleh
Ally was absolutely the sweetest, most informative and great teacher, I have ever had. To have her patiently answer questions, while also providing real life examples that make it all better to understand! So smart! Loved it!
Leo Andruchovici
Leo Andruchovici
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
Mario is very friendly and approachable. Learned a lot from him. Never a dull moment during our lesson for N95. Good job!
Derlin Baywas
Derlin Baywas
Jasmeet Dulay
Jasmeet Dulay
A fun session
Shivangi Aatli
Shivangi Aatli
Quick and informative
Jahleen Reid
Jahleen Reid
Lima Siddiqi
Lima Siddiqi
It was very informative and Mario was a good instructor.
Witney Akowuah
Witney Akowuah
Very informative session!
Chelle Rubio
Chelle Rubio
Victoria Cuthbert
Victoria Cuthbert
For something I was dreading spending money on and doing, I actually ended up wanting more of and am looking forward to another opportunity to take more classes with SOS! Learning from Ally has been both enjoyable and inspiring. My classmates and I spent our break time discussing the material we learned and also how impressed we were with the content and delivery. We had all done the CPR and First Aide courses in the past, but all agreed this course was a game changer! We couldn’t thank Ally enough!
Jenna Bernard
Jenna Bernard
Ezinma Kingsley
Ezinma Kingsley
Mario was very informative and made the learning process enjoyable.
Sarah Byrne
Sarah Byrne
hyun been seo
hyun been seo
Very informative and proper courseJess was an amazing instructor
Arsany Maged
Arsany Maged
Jess was awesome! It was a very interactive and informative class. Easy to learn environment. Would definitely recommend SOS First Aid.
Ronak K
Ronak K
Marlon Murray
Marlon Murray
Learned how to provide the first aid.
Aiden Muliett
Aiden Muliett
Very good classAlly made it very fun
Justin Mancini
Justin Mancini
Peter Ayoub
Peter Ayoub
Prakash was very enjoyable approachable fun and supportive. He was very empathetic in his teaching and instruction and corrections. I had a very enjoyable and supportive experience with him in the classroom
joan rupram
joan rupram

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