Background Checks on Sitters  

No need to be polite about it, they are your children and you reserve every right to protect them in any way you see fit. Ask for references, ask questions like "have you ever been arested? For what?" there are places on line too where one can get a background check done, and a person can go to the state police in most states and get one done on themselves to provide a sound reference.

Oh I do hope you and the children are okay. Well I have done sitting jobs before and I expect to be asked for my background check (in England we know it as a CRB check) so I always take one with me as people need to know that their kids are going to be in safe hands!

You should just come out with it if need be then explain why and state you just want your kids to be safe! If they have a problem wiht it then they probably arent the right sitter for you! You need to make sure you and your children are happy with who they are left with and if there is any doubt then dont leave them! I know its not always that easy though!

Good luck!

It is a sign of the times, my daughter who sits dogs had to undergo a background check before she was hired. If it's needed for dogs is it certainly proper for babysitters to undergo this. I wouldn't be surprised if you could even find a service that will do these checks for you. And I am sure you can get a release form for permission to do these searches. I also think parents need to sign the release.

Hi, the best way to ask is to just come out and tell them "we do background checks" and ask if they would mind submitting to one. If they say no then don't feel bad about it, they may have had something to hide. You can NEVER be too careful about those who you allow to take care of your children in your abscence. When I was little, my mom and dad hired a friend of my aunts, thinking that she would be okay. But she was horrible. She was mean, did not feed us and doped us up on Benadryl so she could play the computer all night. Needless to say when my parents fould out what happened, they called the police and had her arrested. Ever since they asked for background checks.

i would simply tell a prospective that you've had problems in the past with sitters and nothing personal,it is required to get the job with you.

if they have a problem with it,i'd just move on to the next applicant.

Just ask. No need to be polite when you're dealing with the safety of your children!

I rarely had sitters as I was a stay at home mother. When we went anywhere without the boys I had old family friends as sitters, I would not leave then with anyone I hadn't known for at least five years. I hope you find a good sitter. Don't be shy and don't feel you have to consider their feelings in this matter, your children are too important!

I didnt have to many babysitters for my kids even back then ya never knew for sure Now with Grgand daughter we use the people next door as we got to know them real good before she was born!

hun, you are missing a bet (and some money) by NOT posting what happened to you with this sitter - and giving other parents a heads up as to what happened and could happen to them

Help others - and yourself on this double day - by telling this story!!!

I'm sorry to hear that, but glad it was a near miss!

Since you are doing the hiring and want to make sure the bg check is legitimate, I'm thinking the expense and responsiblity for that would be your's. An online check runs about $49.00 but it would be worth it, since it involves your children.

I've done this with a couple of men I have dated from online and was glad that I did!

Karen

Others have told you how to go about asking for and getting a background check on future sitters. I have another suggestion that you might want to look into in addition to these other measures, though. If it is a situation where you and need a sitter after school, nights or weekends, either on a situational basis or a set schedule, then you might want to go talk to the faculty at your local High School. In our area, teenagers are looking for part-time jobs as babysitters, and they can talk with the guidance counselor at the High School about this. Then, when parents with smaller children, especially those in our school district, need a babysitter, the guidance counselor recommends certain students that he or she feels would be best for the job. The guidance counselor has already interviewed the students, looked into their records for attendance, disciplinary action, etc. and talked with teachers about reliability and such. Then, you can do an interview with the students that are recommended and decide for yourself whether or not you want them to watch your children and chose the one that you like the best. I am not sure how long our school district has had this program, but it seems to work well not only for the parents but also for the students. If there are any issues where a student does not properly care for the child or goes against the rules the parents set or there are any complaints whatsoever, then the hiring parents are asked to report the behavior to the guidance counselor immediately, and the incident is recorded in the student's file. If the student does a good job, on the other hand, then the hiring parents might be asked to be a reference in the future, which would also be recorded in the student's file. On the flip side, if the student has any problems with the hiring parents or the children they are asked to watch, such as inappropriate behavior (not normal children misbehaving but violence towards the sitter by the children or sexual advances by the parents, etc.) or the parents perpetually getting home late or whatever, then the guidance counselor will create a file on these parents and record the incident. This protects the teenagers as well as the parents, because it is scary leaving our children with people that we don't know, but it is also scary having our children go to people's houses that we don't know to watch their children, because the teenagers could be walking into a dangerous situation that we do know know about, too.