Want to Know Why I Don't Allow My Sitters to Have Their Friends Over?

It was a Saturday evening and my husband and I just went out for a couple of hours to grab an early dinner. We had a babysitter who happened to be the daughter of a woman I knew from work. The sitter asked if she could bring a friend along just this once. Because I knew her mother, I told her that it would be ok.

I don't really know why I allowed her to bring a friend just because I knew her mother. I never allowed baby-sitters to bring friends and it had nothing to do with how well I knew their parents. I have always felt that the sitter was hired to do a job and the job is best performed without distractions.

In many areas babysitters make more than minimum wage. If my sitter was employed at a restaurant or clothing store, I doubt very much that she would be allowed to bring a friend to work. So if I am paying the same or more for a baby-sitter than local businesses, then I expect to be able to enforce some of the same rules.

When we arrived home that evening, my husband and I quietly slipped into the house through the front door. We heard the sitter's voice and her friend's voice coming from the playroom but we didn't hear our children. We stood and listened for a few more minutes and realized that it was just the babysitter and her friend playing with the toys!

All of a sudden, my 15 month old son came toddling out of the living room carrying a glass! The girls obviously had no idea where he was or what he was doing and from the looks of things, it didn't appear that they cared.

I scooped up my son immediately and gently removed the glass from his grasp. Meanwhile my husband went in to the playroom to make sure my daughter was alright. When he opened the door, he saw the baby-sitter and her friend giggling and making the dolls have inappropriate conversations. They both looked up with startled expressions as my husband came through the door.

He asked them where my daughter was and they said she was being a "brat" so they put her in time-out in the other room. My daughter was not even 4 years-old yet, and they had put her in the guest bedroom with the door closed for who knows how long.

Needless to say, I was furious! When I remember back to this instance and others where my babysitter's behavior was poor at best, it makes me realize how lucky moms are now to have a service like Sittercity.

Sittercity has thousands of mature, responsible, and qualified sitters that you can review from the privacy of your own home. And unlike a newspaper ad, most of the sitters have a photo posted with a small bio. Also, many have had their own background checks done and many even have reviews and comments written by parents of children they've cared for. I wish Sittercity was around when my kids were smaller!

If you want to find a mature, experienced, nurturing babysitter or nanny to care for your children, enter your zipcode below and see just how many wonderful, caring, and trustworthy sitters are available in your area.

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Lisa is a childcare specialist who is dedicated to helping every family find the perfect person to care for their precious little ones. As a mother herself, Lisa knows and understands how important these decisions are.

If you are looking for that special person to trust, Lisa Mclellan is the one to turn to."

Judy Munroe, Atlanta GA www.consistentmarketinginc.com