Some parents are turning to Sittercity online to find babysitters while other parents keep an eye on Craigslist postings. When looking at both options, here is what parents found.

Availability and Responsiveness

Craiglist seems to be hit-or-miss most of the time. Sometimes parents had good luck, but others claim that the competition for sitters in their area is so fierce that there is no incentive for these sitters to even return calls.

Sittercity, on the other hand, has a rating system that serves as a great incentive for sitters to respond to your requests (and at least return phone calls) even if they are no longer available for your particular needs.

Price

Some parents found that they could find a less expensive sitter on Craiglist. However, other parents seem to think it was more important to find a great babysitter for their family than a cheap one.

Safety

One of the biggest comforts of Sittercity is the availability of background checks that you do not get from a person on Craigslist. Let’s be honest with ourselves. Not every person is as nice as they seem when you meet them.

While running a elderly companion company that focused on providing in-home care for seniors, I received many great resumes from candidates who seemed kind and were considered for employment. However, after running a required background check, I found abuse allegations and one person who even had assaulted her very own mother! Do you think I now wanted to hire her to care for my older clients? No way!

Due to these issues, the assurance of the background checks serve as a great safety feature and a comfort for you. If you find a sitter on Craiglist, you may want to find a service to run a background check on them as well.

Number of Potential Sitters

The number of sitters listed varies greatly by location. Some large cities have a huge listing of sitters on Craigslist, while other areas have very few choices.

Most parents also found that they had a larger pool of potential candidates regularly listed through Sittercity that were available when they needed a sitter regardless of their location.

It seems both methods can find great babysitters, but depending on your area and needs, Sittercity might make the process a little easier.

By: Beth Howland

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