Help Me Decide On Babysitting Arrangements

amother

OP ↓

Mon, Sep 30 2024, 2:03 pm

These are my current two options: I will list pros and cons of each and I want to hear what you think.
1) Babysitting provided by the school I work at.

Pros: Always there whenever I work.

Not busy doing laundry or cooking supper.

My child is already there since beginning of September and is settled in by now.

Cons: There is a rotation of babysitters, so my child isn't bonding with one secondary caregiver. Although he knows most of them by now, that lack of one caregiver bothers me. It also translates to a lack of flow/follow-up, like "Yesterday this and this happened, so today xyz..."

There is a rotation of children because the kids' schedule depends on the mother's teaching days. Some kids are always there, and some kids are only there some days (like my child haha). It's not a steady consistent group.

Kids are all different ages, some newborns, and many my kid's age.

10 minute drive from my house, so it's inconvenient to bring child earlier to have some quiet time at home.

Probably the biggest con is that the service is only provided at times that teachers are meant to be in school. For example, during Limudei Kodesh midterms, they are not there in the afternoons. When school gets dismissed early for chagiga, I can't decide to use the extra time I'd normally be teaching and go shopping... I never get a day off with my child at the babysitter.

Many kids in the group, lots of germs going around. Last year my child was sick every 2-4 weeks. Whatever is going around, my kids will catch it. Between the rotation of babysitters and children, everyone is bringing in all the viruses and germs from their respective household members.

2) Babysitting group in someone's home. The babysitter is working in the home of one of the children, and the mother of that child was looking to offset the cost of an in-home babysitter, so she asked around for kids to turn it into a small group of similar aged kids.

Pros: Closer to my house, 4 minute drive. Not super close, but still...

Same kids every day.

Same babysitter every day.

Only 4 kids, so child gets to know them and less germs all around.

Babysitter is not in her own home, so she's not doing household chores.

Schedule still follows a general school schedule so no babysitting on chanuka vacation, midwinter, etc. But during specific times that my students are off, there will be babysitting.

Cons: There's no one person in charge. Babysitter is an employee, but if she's not feeling well, employer isn't providing a replacement. (Unlike the school set-up). If I have a problem with something, who do I speak to? There's no one person that the buck stops with them.

The house is a busy one. When I went to check it out, there were three other people in the house besides for the babysitter and the kids. It felt like there's too much else going on.

While I was there, a kid woke up but the babysitter hadn't heard him. Someone else who was in the house brought him down from where he was sleeping upstairs.

The designated play area is open to the rest of the house which I feel might be a safety concern. Even though the babysitter was with the kids so they were safe atm, I noticed open kitchen drawers, open bathroom door, no gate at the stairs, etc.

My kid would have to re-adjust to a new setting, cry again until they realize how the routine works.

I think that summarizes it all. If I think of anything else, or you have any questions, I'll add.
Thank you so much for reading it all. What would you do???

amother

Lightcoral

Mon, Sep 30 2024, 7:31 pm

As a sub for a ton of playgroups, only 4 kiddos-- the same ones each day---and ONE consistent sitter------ sounds like a dream. Any chance you can ask the parent to provide a gate and some childproofing on the drawers? And a baby monitor so sitter can hear kids waking? For $100 or so, the safety concerns go away. If there's a gate at the playroom, the kitchen doesn't even need to be babyproofed, assuming that the sitter has high chairs/ booster seats in the playroom for feeding (or even if not, babies are in her arms on the way to/from the kitchen). If the sitter is any good at all, she'll be well aware of her surroundings with only 4 kiddos. Ask the sitter what her plan is for when she can't make it and see what she says--- maybe she has a list of subs to call upon.

Having people home (parents working from home, other older children doing their own thing) isn't a concern to me.

I vote for the second option, especially with more consistency and fewer germs and wonderful ratio.

amother

↑ OP

Mon, Sep 30 2024, 9:39 pm

amother Lightcoral wrote:

I might be overthinking this but if the sitter is good, why wouldn't she have mentioned anything to the mom of the house? The baby who woke up, I can imagine that wasn't the first time a kid napped; I just happened to have witnessed the waking up, but why wasn't either of them aware of that issue? In other words, the specific issues can be resolved, but I don't know what other issues might crop up. Can I trust either the sitter or the mom to be on top of them? That's my concern.
I mean, I didn't mention there was an othello piece on the floor. None of the kids put it into their mouth, but what would stop a kid from doing that while the sitter was feeding one? It's true that until now there were only three kids, so she was able to keep eyes on them all better, but it niggles me. I'm not sure if it's a normal thing to be bothered by.

amother

Whitewash

Mon, Sep 30 2024, 10:42 pm

amother OP wrote:

This. I’d be concerned.
Also, are all the other adults in the house safe people?
This setup worries me.

amother

Red

Mon, Sep 30 2024, 11:44 pm

amother OP wrote:

You’re not overthinking it, I agree with your concerns.

amother

Denim

Mon, Sep 30 2024, 11:55 pm

Regarding the germs with the first, it's very normal the first yr or 2 that a child goes to a babysitter they get sick very often, I was very worried about it with my kid but the Dr said it is normal and they build their antibodies. Generally unless a new virus goes around they won't be sick the next year. He said he sees children who weren't at babysitters go to school and get it very often at an older age.
I did notice my DD who stayed home longer than my other kids got it at the age of 2-3 whilst the others got it at 1-2 yrs. Since then BH it's very rare for them to be home sick.

The safety concerns worry me with your second option. Why should a piece from an older child toy be on the floor, it means the room wasn't tidied properly before the kids came. I have a babysitting group, the kids sleep in the room I am in or the room next door. If a kid is old enough to open a drawer or cupboard I put on safety locks. It's basic safekeeping.
I know how tempting it is to have a place incase you have a day off but I'd be worried unless you know people who sent to her and have been very happy.