Work demands also mean we cannot be home all the time that the children are not in school/ nursery, and the stress of finding last minute childcare can be overwhelming if something pops up unexpectedly and we need to find childcare at short notice. As much as we try to work around the needs of our children it is not always that easy when balancing a job at the same time.
We are lucky that we have family close by and we found a reliable trustworthy babysitter for the times that family were not available. But what to do if you do not have this support network?
If you do not have any family or friends close by that can help it can be a real strain when you struggle to find appropriate childcare or babysitters, Who do you trust? Where do you look? and at the end of the day none us would leave our children with just anyone, but there are places that could help find me me a babysitter online. Places where the sitters are required to complete a thorough application process, all sitters on the directory are reference checked, they are all sitters with appropriate childcare qualifications, and can be available at short notice. Parents are asked to give honest feedback to allow accurate reviews and appraisal of sitters. The site looks easy to use, simply enter your postcode and a list of qualified, reference checked sitters is made available, you can then narrow down who would be available by entering times and dates required (with as little as 2 hours notice), the service is also ideal for events that may need a sitting service such as a wedding, or party, simply enter the time and date and venue, choose your sitter/s and they will travel to the venue on the time and date required.
Although this would not of been my first choice of childcare options, after looking at the site i would definitely consider it, especially if i was in a situation where i had no support from family or friends. Having the reassurance of reference checked, qualified sitters makes it feel less stressful and more reassuring that my children would be in safe hands.
