What Should You Look For When Trying To Find A Babysitter?

Welcome back, finding a safe and reliable sitter can be an overwhelming and challenging task, especially around the holidays.

Many families, of course, are searching for help. So, Mom of seven and seeking sitters founder-owner, Adrian Kallweit joined News On 6 to help us with steps and how to avoid red flags when we're trying to find sitters for our kids.

Adrian: I'm, So glad to be here, we put safety at the top. I'm a licensed private investigator, it's how we got started in seeking sitters. And so it's just so important for us to pass that safety information on to families if they want to do it on their own, and also tell them about seeking sitters, that they use us why we're safe. We've been in Tulsa for over 20 years, or actually, this is our 20th year. And so we've helped 1000s and 1000s of families across the United States find safe care.

Stacia: That is amazing. Congratulations on that, first of all, because that is huge. When you talk about helping parents find the right child care, can you kind of start with some of those tips like safety tips on just kind of how the process?

Adrian: Absolutely, you know, you shouldn't just take it for granted. If you meet somebody, maybe at church or in a mom's group, do your due diligence in checking out that individual no matter what I always recommend having a really good interview process, asking them the right questions as far as what they have done, why they want to work with kids.

And then also, the main thing that they need to do is hire a licensed private investigator really dig deep into that individual's background. Don't just take it for granted. That information is online, I think post-COVID world people have so much online that is maybe not true or hiding identity. And I think we're in a time right now that you really need to hype up that safety level in your home.

Stacia: Yeah, and this is a serious issue. This is your children that you are living alone with someone in your home.

Adrian: Checking references is such an easy step that so few people do a really call people that the individuals worked with before and ask them how they've done in their home. And then the last thing we suggest is to have a one-on-one kind of meet and greet in your house so that the individual can hang out with the kids while you're there and present.

Stacia: Oh, I love that idea. And you know, references are so important. But for folks that just maybe moved here, you know, right before the holidays, they don't know anyone. So what are some things that they could do to kind of reach out and find some reputable sitters like

Adrian: Well, first of all they can call seeking sitters. It's super easy. We are on demand, you have the safety of a babysitter in your back pocket. So you can make a request and have a babysitter tonight. If you have a last minute event or if you're if your main babysitter is unavailable, you can make a request as well. That's really what I suggest is just make sure you're doing a really thorough screening before you bring somebody into your home.