Until we moved to Silicon Valley, I never had to leave my child with anyone other than family and/or “nearly family”. With my mom, dad, sisters, brother-in-law, and tons of long-time friends within driving distance, there was never any need to hire a “stranger” or a teenager to babysit for us.
If something came up at the last minute, my dad would giddily rearrange his entire day to come over. If there was a party, my son was more than welcome to spend the night… if not the entire weekend… at my parents’ house. Even then, they always begged to keep him a little while longer. “Go out to dinner. Do your thing. He’s so happy here! There’s no need to rush back!” they would say.
I never knew how good I had it until I moved 1,671 miles away! (Yes, I have counted.)
Finding a good sitter and learning to trust them is one thing. (That’s a whole other post in and of itself.) Finding someone who will drop everything at the last minute to be with your precious child because they just love them so very,very much is nearly impossible!
I wish it were even as simple as only having to call ONE person, setting a time, and going off on your fun night out. Oh no… finding a sitter takes far more time and carefully planning than that, my lovelies!
The process actually goes something like this…
I find a sitter (usually a recommendation from a friend). I call her, leave a voice mail, and wait for her to call back. She checks her schedule and realizes she’s babysitting for my friend that night. Bummer!
So I call another sitter and wait for her response. She calls back a day later, checks her calendar, and says she can do it but can’t come until after my event has begun. I tell her to pencil me in, but Gah! I really need to be there on time so I call yet another sitter to see if she can come sooner… and back and forth and back and forth.
As much as I adore my children, I also appreciate the time I have alone or just with my hubby… and my goodness, have I earned it once I find, schedule, and get the sitter to my house!
Introducing SitterScout, an app that makes booking babysitters a breeze!
This clever little app works from any mobile device or computer. It helps book your existing babysitters faster, by instantly contacting one you prefer and enabling them to respond right away through a text message.
How does it work?
SitterScout is…
- Free to use. (Data rates from your carrier do to apply)
- Easy to set up .
- Completely private.
- Completely safe.
Only you can see your sitters’ information. Conversations are held one-on-one via SMS text messages. You only give out the info you want and chose who to contact first! It will even send a “nevermind” notice to the other sitters once the job has been accepted.
Schedule your babysitters with SitterScout. It’s so simple a dad can even do it.
Disclosure: SitterScout is a client of Splash Creative Media, where I am a Principal and a Co-Founder. The thoughts and opinions shared above are my own.
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This is absolutely great. Sitter Scout can come handy for my wife.
Thanks for sharing.
-John
That’s a very nice and clever idea. Does sitter scout have a lot of users or does it have any review? We just really have to make sure it has a good reputation. Thanks for sharing this information.
-Noah