{"id":447,"date":"2023-07-10T15:14:11","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T15:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/s37407.p1377.sites.pressdns.com\/resources\/7-tips-for-hiring-after-school-babysitter\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T23:15:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T23:15:21","slug":"7-tips-for-hiring-after-school-babysitter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/7-tips-for-hiring-after-school-babysitter\/","title":{"rendered":"7 tips for hiring an after-school babysitter or nanny"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In today&rsquo;s society, it&rsquo;s more common than not to find both parents working outside the home. Your kids are in school during the day, but what happens after that? School lets out at three o&rsquo;clock, but you&rsquo;re stuck at your job until at least five. How do you deal with the time gap in between? An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/do-you-need-after-school-nanny-sitter\/\">after-school babysitter or nanny<\/a>&nbsp;may be your best choice.<\/p><p>With that in mind, follow these seven steps to find the perfect person to care for your kids in the afternoon when school ends.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-plan-ahead\">1. Plan ahead<\/h2><p>Most schools start in mid-to-late August, which means you should have a plan in place for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/10-options-for-after-school-child-care\/\">after-school child care<\/a> in July or early August before all the prime candidates have had a chance to accept another position.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-nbsp-outline-what-you-need-and-when-you-need-it\"><strong>2.&nbsp;Outline what you need and when you need it<\/strong><\/h2><p>&ldquo;When using a caregiver for after-school hours, it&rsquo;s important to think through your family&rsquo;s unique needs,&rdquo; says author and TEDx speaker <a href=\"https:\/\/lcarolscott.com\/\">L. Carol Scott<\/a>, who holds a doctorate in developmental and child psychology. &ldquo;Become clear about what roles will best meet your family&rsquo;s needs&nbsp;before selecting someone to fill those roles,&rdquo; she suggests.<\/p><p><strong>To narrow down your requirements, ask questions like:<\/strong><\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Will the caregiver be asked to pick up children from school or just meet them at the bus stop?<\/li><li>Will you need someone with their own car or do you have an extra one she can use?<\/li><li>Will the person be responsible for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/after-school-transportation-for-kids-cost\/\">chauffeuring kids<\/a> to after-school activities and playdates? How often?<\/li><li>Will you need someone to make <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/17-healthy-snacks-kids-on-the-go\/\">healthy snacks<\/a> for your kids?<\/li><li>Do you need someone who can help the kids with&nbsp;homework after school?<\/li><li>Will your kids need someone who can double as a tutor when they&rsquo;re struggling with a subject?<\/li><li>Do you want someone who can help kids be active in the afternoon?<\/li><li>Do you want dinner on the table when you get home? If the babysitter is prepping dinner, how are the children also receiving her attention and supervision?<\/li><li>What happens if you have to work late? Will you ask the babysitter to stay late or is there someone else who can step in?<\/li><li>Will you need this person to help out full time during school vacations?<\/li><\/ul><p>School and work schedules will dictate your need for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/after-school\">afternoon child care<\/a>. You&rsquo;ll want someone who&rsquo;s available between the time the kids get out of school and the time you arrive home.<\/p><p>If you&rsquo;re a stay- or work-at-home parent and just need some extra help with after-school duties, such as picking the kids up from school, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/7-things-to-know-before-your-nanny-drives-your-kids\/\">driving them<\/a> to soccer practice or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/do-you-need-a-homework-helper\/\">helping them with their homework<\/a>, you may only need a babysitter for a couple of hours a few times a week.<\/p><p>Keep all of this in mind and be as specific as possible when writing your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/babysitter-job-description\/\">job posting<\/a> to attract only candidates whose skill sets and schedules align with yours.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-nbsp-find-the-right-type-of-caregiver\"><strong>3.&nbsp;Find the right type of caregiver<\/strong><\/h2><p>Many parents hiring child care don&rsquo;t realize there&rsquo;s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/babysitter-nanny-definition\">difference between a babysitter and a nanny<\/a>. If you&rsquo;ll be asking a lot and want someone who can plan activities, as well as nurture your child, you&rsquo;ll want to look into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/part-time-nannies\">hiring a part-time nanny<\/a> for the afternoons.<\/p><p>If responsibilities are limited, you may just need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/after-school-babysitters\">hire an after-school babysitter<\/a> to help for a few hours. You might even look into hiring a responsible college student who lives nearby&nbsp;and who will be out of school by the time your kid&rsquo;s bell rings.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-interview-candidates\"><strong>4. Interview candidates<\/strong><\/h2><p>Talk to the best five to ten candidates over the phone and arrange in-person interviews for your top picks. Then invite the two you like best to your home for a more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/after-school-nanny-interview-questions\/\">in-depth interview<\/a> and so they can meet and interact with your child.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-nbsp-make-safety-a-priority\"><strong>5.&nbsp;Make safety a priority<\/strong><\/h2><p>We know you&rsquo;re busy&nbsp;and you want to check child care off your to-do list so you can get back to it. But don&rsquo;t rush through important <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/safety\">safety precautions<\/a>.<\/p><p>Mary L. Pulido, who holds a doctorate in social welfare and is executive director of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children says even for an after-school nanny, you should do a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/nanny-background-checks\/\">background check <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/questions-to-ask-when-calling-references\/\">call references<\/a>, in addition to requesting a driving record if the person will be in the car with your kids.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-nbsp-create-an-easy-to-follow-schedule\"><strong>6.&nbsp;Create an easy-to-follow schedule<\/strong><\/h2><p>An organized schedule will not only benefit you but also your nanny or babysitter and your kids. Create a weekly or monthly schedule that outlines the kids&rsquo; school schedule, noting any half days, days off and lengthier school breaks. Also include any days you&rsquo;ll pick the kids up so the nanny or babysitter knows they won&rsquo;t be expected. This calendar should also include any extracurricular activities (school plays, soccer practice, etc.) so everyone&rsquo;s on the same page.<\/p><p><strong>TIP:<\/strong> Use a free online program like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/calendar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Calendar<\/a> so everyone has access to it.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-7-do-a-trial-period\">7. Do a trial period<\/h2><p>Once you&rsquo;ve found the right candidate, offer a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/how-to-arrange-a-trial-run-with-a-nanny\/\">trial run<\/a> once the year starts. Check in with your caregiver, child and child&rsquo;s teacher after a few weeks to make sure everything is going smoothly and everyone is comfortable with the arrangement.<\/p><p>If all systems are a go, enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your children are being cared for by a responsible, loving caregiver in their after-school hours.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Follow these steps to find the perfect person to care for your kids from 3 p.m. until you get home from work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":975,"featured_media":6890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"enable_toc":false,"care_reviewed_by":0,"care_post_updated_flag":true,"care_updated_date":"2023-07-10 00:00:00","last_update":"2023-07-10","view_count":20519,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"member-type":[3],"vertical":[6,16],"platform":[2],"class_list":["post-447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","member-type-seeker","vertical-children","vertical-child-care-options","platform-resources"],"acf":[],"created":"2013-07-03","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/975"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":213579,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447\/revisions\/213579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447"},{"taxonomy":"member-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/member-type?post=447"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=447"},{"taxonomy":"platform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/platform?post=447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}