Hiring a summer babysitter requires a different approach than that taken during the school year. Because your children’s schedules will be less structured during the summer (and will involve warm-weather activities), you’ll want to be thoughtful about the type of sitter you hire. With more hours to fill, as well as the sitters’ summer plans to consider, you may be spending more time than anticipated interviewing and hiring different people throughout these months.
Here are seven things you should discuss to help you to find the right summer sitter for you and your family.
1. Your schedule
It sounds obvious, says Daryl Camarillo, founder and president of Stanford Park Nannies, but before you interview potential sitters, sit down with your calendar and figure out your exact needs. This is a critical (and often overlooked) first step. Consider:
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Will you need care for the entirety of June, July and August?
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When does school end and begin again?
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Are your children in camps or summer programs?
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Are you taking any time off or long weekends this summer?
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Does your company give summer Fridays/summer hours?
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Will your family be traveling and, if so, will you want your sitter to come with you on your vacation?
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What does your work schedule look like, and do you have any flexibility with it?
2. The caregiver’s schedule
Initiate a similar conversation with your prospective sitter. Find out her availability, travel plans and potentially fluctuating schedules. For example, is she taking summer classes, working part-time at another job or going back to college in mid-August?
3. Pay and taxes
What can you afford to pay the sitter? Check out the going rate for caregivers in your area. How will you handle employment taxes? If you’ll be paying a sitter more than $1,900 over the course of the summer, you’ll need to figure out the amount of employment taxes to withhold from her pay.
Follow these Tax Tips for Summer Child Care.
4. Your needs
Already have the summer schedule packed with camps, programs and other extracurriculars for your children? You may simply need a sitter who’s available to drive them from one destination to another or help out in the afternoons for a few short hours. If that’s the case, discuss things like the sitter’s driving record and what she considers suitable activities for the afternoon.
If you’re in search of more hands-on child care, look for a sitter with an active and energetic personality. Because he or she may be playing sports, swimming or going on long walks with your child, it’s crucial that they can (and want to!) engage in all manner of summer fun.
Again, because summer schedules are often subject to change, hiring someone who is adaptable and flexible will go a long way in easing stresses that crop up when things don’t go exactly as planned.
5. Activities
Get an idea of what types of summer activities the person you’re interviewing will do with your child. Are they creative, age-appropriate and feasible?
Suzanne Royer McCone, president and placement counselor for Annie’s Nannie’s, Inc., recommends asking: What is your idea of a perfect summer day spent with a child? What age-appropriate activities would you plan for a sunny/rainy day?
6. Safety
Safety should always be a top concern when you’re interviewing potential caregivers. During the summer, it’s particularly important. Kids spend a lot of time outside and involved in energetic activities. Is the caregiver trained in CPR and first aid? What would she do if your daughter fell in the park and skinned her knee? What are the proper safety precautions when playing in the water? Look over these summer safety tips and make sure the sitter knows them as well.
And safety goes both ways. Your summer sitter will be very active with your kids. What happens if she gets hurt or sick on the job? Learn more about why you may need workers’ compensation insurance.
7. Summer learning
Summer sitters are typically high school or college-age students and teachers. If ongoing education for your children during the summer is important to you, talk to the potential caregiver about their experience teaching or tutoring. Can this person help your child get through a summer reading list, review material from the past year and continue to challenge your little one’s brain?
Alexandra Kadlec is a freelance writer. When not writing, doing crossword puzzles, or playing competitive games of Scrabble, she is known to get effusive about modern art, Jane Austen and karaoke.
