Avoid negligent hiring when employing a babysitter

When Mind Your Business was founded, it was created as a way for owner Karen Caruso to screen potential candidates to take care of her children. Conducting a background check is recommended when hiring full-time care for your children, such as a nanny. But what if you just need a sitter for a few hours? Do you need to do background checks on all neighborhood babysitters in order to protect your children’s safety and avoid a negligent hiring situation. You want to do your homework before trusting your children to anyone. The process is very similar to the work you would do if you were to hire a professional. Get referrals. Ask neighbors and friends in your community who they hire and trust to watch their own children. Have they hired this sitter many times before? Have there been any incidents in regard to the children’s safety? You can also ask close friends that have teenaged children (preferably 13 years old or older) if they may be willing to babysit for a few hours, as you already have a relationship with them and can, presumably, trust them. If you don’t have friends with kids, or are new to your community and don’t have many connections, you can use babysitting websites to get referrals and reviews of potential sitters in your area, but you may need to do more digging into their background to avoid negligent hiring, since you don’t know the candidate personally. Talk before hiring. Before hiring a potential sitter, ask the candidate about previous babysitting experience. Are they comfortable working with infants or toddlers, if need be? Are they CPR-certified or trained in basic first aid in case of emergency? Both you and the sitter need to be comfortable with the situation before a hiring decision is made; give them the opportunity to ask you questions as well. Conduct a criminal record check. Performing a full criminal record check on a potential babysitter really is up to you. Some parents may feel comfortable without one, particularly if they know the babysitter on a personal level. That said, it’s better to be safe than sorry. A one-off, small fee for long-term assurance in who you’re leaving your child(ren) with certainly seems like a logical decision. Be there the first time. If you want to make sure the sitter works well with your children, give them a test run. Allow the babysitter to take care of the kids while you remain in the home, but your hands will be free to take care of things around the house while the sitter deals with mealtime, bedtime or play time. You’ll be able to see how your children interact with the sitter and also ensure he or she has the skills and qualifications you expect. With careful consideration, you’ll be able to avoid negligent hiring, and can trust that your children will be safe and happy with their babysitter. Contact Mind Your Business today for more information about childcare screening.]]>