Searching For A Trustworthy Babysitter
Being a parent of a young child nowadays has its many stresses. Finding babysitters shouldn’t be something that we have to worry about, but unfortunately, too many tragic events have changed that. When I was a child, my parents didn’t worry about finding babysitters, they just called someone up. Nowadays, I would not even consider babysitters that were not familiar to me. In fact, I hesitate to even search for any babysitters at any point in time. Either my parents or my best friend watch my child, and I have not trusted any other babysitters. Of course, I have a private daycare that I carefully chose and checked out. I always want to know where my daughter is and who is around her at all times.
There have been so many sad and horrible stories of babysitters abusing children - either sexually or physically. In my community, which is more known for being a tight-knit community, in the past two years, five children have died at the hands of babysitters. In every case but one, the babysitters were boyfriends of the child’s mother. The fifth death was from a hired babysitter who suddenly got fed up with the cries of an infant and smothered her. The babysitters who were trusted boyfriends, were acting out of anger at the child’s cries or tantrums. One of the babysitters sexually abused an 8 month old little girl, hurting her so badly that he punctured many of her organs. She died the following morning. Finding babysitters is not an easy task. In some of these cases, a single mother trusted her boyfriend to look after and protect her child. The trusted babysitters ended up not only failing to protect the children but taking the life of a child who never even had a chance to live.
In looking for babysitters that are not familiar to you, take the extra time to do research. Get references from the babysitters and don’t just look at the list of names, call them. Ask detailed questions from both the babysitters and references. Find out how the babysitters handle certain situations. How do they handle disciplining a child if necessary? Find out as much about the potential babysitters as possible. Do they have any experience? Remember that the babysitters may be spending more time with your children some days than you will be. You need to know about them and what your child will be subjected to and surrounded by. I spent weeks talking to daycare centers and private babysitters before finally choosing someone. The moment that I met her, I just knew that she was who I would want being a second mother to my child. Do your child the favor of checking into their babysitters because they cannot. By doing some research and caring about your child enough to find the right babysitter, you could be preventing something from going terribly wrong. Your child is worth it.
