Finding a Babysitter or Nanny

If you have family in town and they love to care for your kids I hope you’ve counted your blessings today! For those who don’t, there are teens in the neighborhood, church, and other places we frequent, plus the following resources. If you are running an in-home daycare please list yourself on the EMM Preschool/Daycare/PDO Directory. And don’t forget you can also look for a great Parents Night Out program when you need some time away.

This post has a list of Fall Break camps.

This post has suggestions on finding childcare for school breaks (<- check out that post for drop-in child centers.)

TIP: Save babysitters in your phone as “Jane Doe Babysitter” or “Jane Babysitter Doe” so that when you’re searching for one, you can search “babysitter.” If I’m looking for a sitter, I do a search on my phone, then text one, then move on to the next one until I find one available. It pulls up all the babysitters I’ve used with just one search.

TIP: Consider asking a stay at home mom (who is planning on being home anyway) if you can drop your kid for babysitting or a playdate and then compensate them accordingly. If it’s a little kid – preschool age – I consider that babysitting and you can offer to pay the mom. If it’s a school-age kid – it’s more like a long playdate, and I would offer to provide them dinner that night or a bottle of wine, order them a pizza, etc. The mom might appreciate the distraction for their older kid but it’s still doing you a favor, so don’t take advantage!

Disclaimer: EastMemphisMoms does not vet or screen any of the resources below. Use your best judgment as a parent in screening who takes care of your kids. Better safe than sorry. Go with your gut. I’ve been known to tell babysitters “I have nanny-cams” or “my father-in-law may stop by later.”

See if your neighborhood is on NextDoor.com. Finding a nearby neighbor to sit means that you know where they live, you don’t have to drive to pick up a non-driver, and (bonus!) a teen can call their own mom to help in the case of an emergency.

I’ve personally used homeschool highschoolers for help in the past, during school hours. Ask around if you know a homeschool family (even a family with younger kids, but would know others in the homeschool community) who might know of a homeschooled high-schooler interested. (Here’s our post on all things homeschooling in Memphis!)

Join the Memphis Childcare Connection group on Facebook.

Rhodes College has a list of students interested in babysitting. If you’d like the list email Brittney Jackson from Career Services.

Christian Brothers University has a list of students interested in babysitting. If you’d like the list email Curt Rogers from Career Services.

Wyndy App – I’ve talked to a few people that have used this and like it.

I called the University of Memphis career services but they don’t seem to offer the same resource.

A great resource (which I have used to find a babysitter when we were out of town in Philadelphia for a wedding) is to check in with your sorority’s local chapter. Even if no one in the sorority is interested in babysitting, they might have a roommate or friend not in the sorority who is interested.

Depending on if your church or another place of worship has volunteer or paid nursery workers, you might reach out to them. Our church has paid workers, but it’s a mixture of adults and teens. The teens are often looking for extra money if their schedule allows! I have reached out to our Youth Group director before, when none of the nursery workers were available, to see if the director knew any high school sitters.

When I was young my mom asked a young, single kindergarten teacher to watch us when my parents went out of town for the weekend. I know some Memphis friends who have asked similar types of teachers to watch their kids. I find that full-time teachers are more willing and available to do this in the summer, when they don’t have a full day of work (and already see your kid 5 days a week! Ha!) AND your school may have a policy against this. Use your best judgment in asking depending on the type of relationship you have with your kids’ teachers. (Maybe ask the teacher they had last year? Etc.)

Need A Sitter
This is a word-of-mouth only business. They won’t give out their contact info unless you know someone who uses their service. Post on Facebook to see if any of your friends use the service.

In a Pinch
A local pet/house sitting, house cleaning, mother’s helper or babysitting placement agency.

SitterCity.com 
A national website that provides screened babysitters and nannies for a fee. You can search for no charge but have to pay for contact information.

Care.com
A national group that provides screened babysitters (and other service providers) for a fee. You can search for no charge but have to pay for contact information.

WorkAway
This is a website that matches traveling workers with host families. A lot of job postings on this site are for manual labor (a family is looking for renovation help in exchange for room and board or a farmer looking for seasonal temporary help.) But I have also seen postings for childcare. You would host a sitter for a period of time in exchange for childcare help.

There are some gyms that offer childcare for short periods of time. (Don’t abuse this! For many, you are technically supposed to be at the gym.) For GUMC gym, though, childcare is offered from 9-12 M-F and you don’t have to be there. You do, though, have to be a member of the church or gym.

Memphis Parent Nanny Connection on Facebook

If you have a neighborhood Facebook group (Kirby Woods has one, etc) there are often babysitters looking for work that post on there. Especially in the summer. If the mom posted their information, I always contact the mom so she is “in the loop.” I actually commented on the post “jackpot” so whenever I’m looking for the post in the Facebook group, I just search the word “jackpot.”

Recommended Au Pair Agencies – live-in help

I’m fascinated by the idea of this. If you have the extra space in your home, this is an option. Usually, in addition to room and board, you pay the au pair a stipend for child care. This is frequently a non-American, and you have a similar relationship as an exchange student. Click here to see what it might cost.

• AuPair Care
• AuPair in America
• Cultural Care AuPair