I Google'd the babysitter

On the list of things to do when we move is to find a new babysitter. That's a tough task because I don't want just some totally random person. I want someone who comes recommended by someone, and that means I first have to meet and get to know that first someone.

Here in San Diego, I lucked into TWO babysitters in one day! Just amazing!

The local high school has a child development program that I happened to learn about when on my grand tour of local preschools. I figured its a good place to start.

When I called the director, she wasn't very optimistic that anyone would answer my posting on her bulletin board. Most of the students have other jobs, she told me. On the other hand, she also told me that the going rate is $10/hour. Not too shabby!

So, two girls from the program responded. I was able to get a reference from the child development program director and then I decided to Google them.

And, look for them on MySpace and Facebook.

No wild stories came up. No drunken, half-naked party shots with sleeping or dancing toddlers in the background. Actually, nothing exceptional at all. Neither were on MySpace. Both were in Facebook with nice photos. One of the girls is evidently into drama as her name came up on a couple of local theater billets.

I feel better.

National Mom's Night Out

In case you were searching for an excuse to take a break - Bahama Breeze restaurants have declared March 22nd as a National Mom's Night Out:

This first-of-its-kind event encourages moms to take a well deserved night off from the family and experience the feeling of a Caribbean escape at Bahama Breeze with other moms and friends (if you don’t have a Bahama Breeze in your city, we encourage you to still take the night off and go to your favorite local restaurant).

Bahama Breeze will donate 100% of the profits in each restaurant on March 22 to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

In my short momhood career, I've honestly only gotten to enjoy one Mom's Night Out where it was just me & the girls out for dinner and drinks. OK, it was just dinner and a virgin margarita as I was already expecting Tex. And, it was just fabulous fun! Do it ladies - and do it often!!

Peanut's papa & I get to go out about twice a month thanks to a great babysitting arrangement we have with two other toddler families. We rotate houses every other Friday and pile the Toddler Trio onto our own version of the Super Nanny who keeps them happy and busy for five hours. The hosting house provides dinner and snacks. Sharing the costs, we each only pay $20 a night - you can hardly do better without family around!

There's also the option of setting up a more/less formal babysitting co-op where moms agree to take turns watching each other's little ones. Everyone does a little extra work and everyone gets time off in return. Depending on who and how many people you involve, it can be as easy as agreeing to swap Fridays with a friend or detailed as an organized co-op.
Smart Mom's Co-op Handbook
Starting a Babysitting Co-op

Just who is picking up my baby at Kiddin Around?

I wanted to share a true tale of what a friend has experienced at Kiddin' Around playcare in Coppell that should make you cautious about where its safe to leave your children.

Kiddin' Around is a place where you can drop your kids off for a couple hours of supervised play. Basically instead of the babysitter coming to you, you go to the babysitter. Its a great concept -- you don't have to plan in advance and there's always room for one more.

However, it is leaving your child in the care of strangers who don't know you or your children. There is supposed to be a very strict policy about showing ID when you pick up your child. This only makes sense in this day & age where sadly children are snatched by strangers or estranged family members.

For the safety of all the children, they must be signed into and out of the facility by a parent or an authorized adult. Authorization forms are available at the time of registration and picture I.D. will be required when picking up your child.

My friend recently took her 20-month old son to Kiddin' Around for the first time. Disturbingly, when she picked him up, no one asked for her ID. It hadn't been checked when she dropped him off either. They just asked for her son's name and went in to find him. The employees at the desk were different from the ones who had been there when she dropped him off so there was no way they could have known her.

She fired off an email to the owner letting her know what had happened in detail.

The owner responded promptly apologizing and promising to bring the issue up at an upcoming staff meeting. She then offered my friend a complimentary pass for another visit.

My friend took her up on the invitation as her son had enjoyed Kiddin Around immensely. Sadly, her second experience was no different. No sign-in procedure. No ID checks. No sign-out procedure. Again, the most basic security guidelines had been ignored.

She's awaiting a response from the owner of Kiddin' Around to her latest email highlighting the lack of adherence.

I haven't taken Peanut to Kiddin' Around and now am even more hesitant about it. Its no minor infraction to overlook the check-in and -out procedures that are the only things ensuring that children are taken away by the rightful person. Kiddin' Around is very popular around here, but I think anyone using it should consider the risky behavior of the staff and how it may endanger their children.

baby sitters, support, answers and more - the MLL

The Mannerheimin Lastensuojeluliitto is a non-profit organization which provides oodles of resources and help for families with children. Admittedly most of the website is in Finnish.

I haven't yet used them myself, but have heard they are also a reliable and affordable option for babysitters and child minders who are certified by the MLL. The cost is a very reasonable 4.20 EUR/hour.