• Have the discussion at the end of the day. Even if things go well, it is best  not to have her come back — you could be putting your child at risk if she develops any resentment upon further reflection.
• She is entitled to an explanation but don’t become defensive or overly apologetic. Focus your comments on her behavior or actions rather than on her personally. Emphasize that yo uhave made the decision based on what you consider to be the best for your child.
• Have a check made out to pay her wages through the last day. Depending on her length of service and the nature of the dismissal, you may want to include severance pay.
• If she has personal belongings that can be conveniently collected, let her do so. If it will take too long, tell she can return at a specified time and pick it up then.
• Do not include your child in the dismissal discussion — this could lead to an emotional, rather than objective situation. do provide an opportunity fo rher to see him briefly if he is old enough to understand that she won’t be coming back. Even if she is angry, it’s important for him to have the chance o say good-bye.

You may also find that your babysitter or nanny isn’t performing to your standards in spite of sincere efforts on your part to work with her.

Finally there are those unfortunate circumstances where a failure on her part demands an immediate change.

Regardless of the cause, this can be a difficult situation for everyone. And unless the situation is very extreme, your child probably has an affection and comfort level for her which is difficult to break. You must also deal with the practical problems of replacing her.

 Here are some recommendations to help you handle the change with a minimum of stress:

• Once you have mad eup your mind to make a change, move forward as quickly as possible. Every day that yo keep your current babysitter you will find new reasons to disliker her or to be worried. This is not an ideal situation for your or your child and it is likely she will eventually sense the problem and further compound things.
• The most effective way to proceed is with your ‘employer’ hat on. Assuming the role of employer will enable you to be fair and objective with her. it will also help you reduce the emotiional distress, especially if you care fo rher as a person in spite of the cause of her dismissal.
• If you are unable to get interim chikld care while you look for a new care giver, it’s best to conduct a new search for a replacement before you dismiss her. This is not an attempt to deceive or mislead her in any way. It simply avoids the situation where you are without  child care or where yo uare tempted to ask her to stay on until she can be replaced (never a good idea). Remember, your top concern is for your child.
• Be prepared to explain th esituation to your child on a level equal to his understanding. (Hoever, talk with him after you have dismissed his nanny to avoid the possibility of him breaking the news to her instead of you!) If appropriate, reassure him that he hasn’t done anything to make you send his sitter away.

Posting your resume on the Internet is one of the best ways you can get your services noticed. Babysitters use a variety of methods to get the attention of prospective employers, including mega-classifieds site Craigslist and babysitting services like Care.com. Social networking on Facebook and Twitter is another way to announce to the market that ready to work.

Several ways you can attract attention the old fashioned way is to post flyers in your local community center, coffee shops, or even go door-to-door to meet potential employers. In this scenario, design something that stands out with your phone or e-mail address, and save your paper resume to fax or e-mail when you get a response.

One of the fun aspects of crafting a babysitting resume is that it can be more fun than a typical professional resume. Most people want a energetic and cheerful person to care for their children, so showing your playfulness and personality in a resume is to your benefit. The heart of your resume should be your qualifications and work experience, including references.

Under your qualifications, list how long you’ve been caring for children, and the ages with which you’re comfortable. Here is where you would itemize babysitting certification classes, as well as your CPR and First Aid training.

You’ll want to list your education and hobbies. If you’re a student, parents are often interested to know your area of study and where you’re studying. In addition, you might include other things you find fun and fulfilling. Whether you like to act in plays, dance, practice yoga, or volunteer in the community, letting your potential employers know what makes you unique and special. They’ll appreciate knowing more about the individual taking care of their children.

Be sure to mention if you speak any languages other than English. Some parents may pay extra if you offer to share your language skills with their children!

Creating a polished resume is the key to getting attention from potential employers. Babysitting is just as challenging and fulfilling as any other kind of job, so present yourself with professionalism and you’re sure to get noticed.

Open communication remains the key which enables you and your babysitter to adapt for these changes. Your regularly shceduled discussions are the best time to review issues and to make plans for addressing them. Sometimes, you may solicit input from your babysitter before making a decision on an issue. Other times, especially if it has a major affect on her, you may present your decision directly. To sum it up — in some instances you’ll welcome her input, while in others you won’t.

The different dimensions of your position — employer, parent and family member — often require different styles of communication. In every role you should always be direct and sensitive. Finally, nothing cana get too complicated as long as your top priority remains your child’s welfare.

As an employer, you will want to evaluate her performance and provide feedback to ensure she meets the job requirements. Consider an instance where you are very pleased with her work except she is regularly tardy. Your bes approach is to:

• Focus on the unacceptable behavior.
• Explain why it is unacceptiable and how it affects you or your child.
• Discuss how and when you expect it to be corrected.

As a parent you will tend to be vulnerable to those issues which are emotional or subjective rather than objective. These can range from minor things (you don’t like the way she brushes his hair) to more important things (she is enforcing too many ‘time-outs’). You may find that her ideas on thoese issues differe from yours. You may change your mind as a result of her insights.

The last dimension of your role has to do with your babysitter as a family member. A babysitter will integrate with different families to different degrees.Whether you get very close or remain more distant, the mere fact that she is in your house everyday, all day long, can create opportunities for difficulty in your relationship.

The most common problem occurs when parents feel that their nanny or babysitter is overstepping her bounds or taking advantage of her role. It can be small annoyances or large impositions; and it may or may not have anythng to do with your child. It’s the same phenomenon that occurs with visiting relatives who you may love dearly, but who can out stay their welcome.

If you become uncomfortable with her in this manner, deal wit it directly and quickly. As always, it’s best to address her behavior rather than her personally, and avoid making judgments. You are entitled to your unique family preferences but that doesn’t mean you are right and she is wrong. Respect for her as a person with genuine feelings and perferences, combined with common courtesy, will also help get these issues resolved with a minimum of hurt feelings.

The ideal way to maintain quality child care in your home is to find a babysitter who truly loves children and her job. Your full involvement and commitment in hiring and working with your nanny will encourage a loving relationship between her and your child and promote a positive work experience for her.

Set aside time within your daily routine to talk with your nanny about your child’s day. Be on the lookout for any trends with your child, you, or his sitter which might indicate a problem or concern. The sooner you discover and talk about problems, the easier it is to fix them. Also, if you don’t feel informed about your child and his daily routine, you might miss an opportunity for helping him.

For example, you are perplexed to find that your six-month-old is suddenly very restless and cranky during his evening walk — something you especially look forward to. After trying several different options without any luck, you happen to mention it to your nanny. It turns out she’s been taking him for a walk every afternoon, which he loves, but it’s apparent his limit is one walk a day. Now that you’ve uncovered the whole picture, you and your nanny can decide on the best waya to handle things.

In addition to your daily informal sessions, you should set up a schedule of regular reviews. In the early stages of working with your nanny, these can be effective to have every other week. Every two weeks gives you both time to get a feel for needed changes and still review your progress within a reasonable time. Once you have settled into a routine, an occasional talk about ‘how things are going’ will accomplish several things:

• It gets you away from the day to day inssues and lets you anticipate upcoming phases in your child’s life.
• It creates an open forum to talk about how you can beter handdle situations.

You should call as many references as possible, especially if you are serious about a candidate. If she doesn’t supply a previous employer as a reference, proceed with caution and find out why that is the case. Some situations do end on a bad note, but this does not automatically reflect negatively on her. Be on guard for signs of a pattern of performance or attitude problems which account fo rpoor relations with previous employers.

Here’s a list of questions to help in your conversation with references:

• How did you hear about her?
• How long did you employ her?
• How many children did she care for?
• What were her hours?
• What kind of wage arrangement did you have (hourly or salary?)
• What caused you to end her employment?
• How would you rate your experience with her and why? (Fair, Good, Excellent)
• What did your children like about her? What did they dislike?
• Is she safety conscious? Did you ever have any occasion to worry about theh healt or safety of your child while in her care?
• How would you descibe her family situation? Was it ever disruptive to her work?
• How would you describer her attitude about her work? Is she: energetic, conscientious, happy self-motivated, flexible?
• Did she take direction and input from you well?
• Did sh give your feedback on your child’s activities and growth?
• How would you describer her work habits? Is she: neat, considerate, punctual, reliable.
• How would you expect her to handle an emergencry or unusal situation?
• Do you have any reservations about her ability as a child care provider?
• Would you hire her again?

• Be prepared: 
  There is no better way to be comfortable and productive during interviews than bein fully prepared. Your confidence will reassure the candidate and faciliate sincere, open dialog. You’ll demonstrate the commitment and involvement you bring to your child’s care, thereby setting the stage for what you expect from your nanny. The time you invest to become prepared will be more than returned in the quantity and quality of information you gain from interviews.
• Be patient:
  Set aside your time and full attention for your interviewing activities. If you are anxious or distracted, you may miss a subtle, but critical clue about the potential of a candidate. While it’s important to listen to your instinct, recognize that it takes time for your instinct to ‘tune in’ and give you a good reading.
• Be yourself:
  There will be many facets to your relationship with your babysitter or nanny. Sometimes you will have to sort through inherent conflicts which exist in your role as parent, employer and family to this person. By just being yourself during the interview process you’ll create an honest and realistic foundation upon which to build an effective working relationship over time.

This advice applies tothe whole family, especially your child. If your two-year-old tends to be on the rambunctious side, don’t present him as a quiet, reserved child. You’ll want a nanny with the energy and good humor to keep up with him — not opne who prefers a quiet, reserved child!

• Geographical location
• Experience including special qualifications
• Number and ages of kids
• Age of babysitter
• Type of sitting
• Additional Responsibilities

Surveys around the country end up reporting a range for babysitting rates of $4 -$15. At the lower end of that range are younger, less experienced sitters in less-populated, lower cost of living areas and at the higher end are older, more experienced sitters in major, expensive cities.

Babysitters are much less complicated than a nanny. They are typically paid per child by the hour. They do not have a set schedule and their responsibilities around the house are nearly non-existent. They may be asked to prepare meals and if it is a night schedule they will be given a time to put the children to bed, but unlike a nanny, the babysitter’s job is non-routine. They could babysit for a family for one night up to many years. Typically a family member would be more like a babysitter than a nanny.

The nanny holds many more responsibilities than a babysitter. They are usually bound to the family for a minimum of one year. Their schedules are based on what the family needs, and the nanny is typically expected to do light housework cleaning. They prepare meals, do the dishes, make sure the children are ready for school in the morning, and make sure the children have everything done before they go to bed as well. Nannies are not paid hourly but are paid on a salary. Nannies, unlike babysitters, are expected to pay their portion of taxes and social security to who employs them.

While babysitters and nannies are both responsible for childcare, there is a difference to the titles they hold. Nannies are usually bound to their job for a minimum of one year and paid salary, while babysitters can be bound to their job for just a few hours and paid by the hour per child. The main difference between the two is nannies are expected to pay their portion of social security and taxes, while babysitters are allowed to take every penny handed to them.

Many nannies are “live-in”, or are at least available on a daily basis. The difference they make on a family can be a forever lasting impression.

The typical nanny works as a full time employee. That means that they charge a full, 40 hour week and will do so for a year (per a typical contract). A nanny that makes at the low end of the scale would cost $8 an hour would cost around $375/week. Many nannies with extensive experience and skills and represented by topline nanny agencies, can cost much more.

Who chooses to hire a nanny? Typically two career parents with heavy work schedules and significant incomes . The parents work long hours, or they both work during the times when the kids are home, or there is travel involved wither their work.

When it comes to having a nanny, it can be an overall good thing for children. They’ll have the attention they need, the care that they require, and and the security of having the same person they can count on. However, depending on a nanny too much can affect both the kids and the parents.

Kids may become attached to the nanny more so than the parents, and therefore not listen to the parents. Parents may get too used to handing off the responsibility to the nanny and not discipline or care for their child like a parent should. It can affect everyone, so using a nanny means more than just having someone around for the children.

Utilizing nanny services for your family isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not always good. They can help to fill a void that might otherwise go unaltered in a constantly busy family, but they can fill the void with the wrong material. However you look at it, having a nanny means sharing responsibility, not handing it off. That’s something no one should forget.