Sittercity Background Checks: Don't Skip This Step
Every day you hear the nightmare on the evening news: “Another child abused by his babysitter” or “A child is abused at daycare.” It is so common that it has left many parents left to go to great lengths to protect their children from their very own babysitters.
There is help. An online community called Sittercity is a matchmaking service that matches parents with caregivers for their children, their pets and even for their aging relatives. They have over a hundred thousand care givers all over the country. All of their sitters are over the age of 17 and are often skilled in areas like early childhood education, first aid and CPR.
They also offer a very important option. They offer background checks.
Even if you meet a babysitting candidate for the first time and think that he or she is wonderful, make sure you spend time reading their online reviews and do not fail to take advantage of the background checks that Sittercity makes available.
Not every person is as nice as they seem. While running a care companion company that focused on providing in-home care for the elderly, I received many good resumes from people who seemed extremely pleasant and were good candidates for employment. However, after running the mandatory background check, I found abuse allegations and one woman who even had assaulted her own mother! Do you think I now wanted to hire them to care for my elderly clients? No way!
You don’t want someone like that caring for your loved ones either. So go ahead and use Sittercity or other resources to find good candidates to fit your needs, but don’t skip the background check. That last step makes all the difference.
