Everyone knows it's tough to find a babysitter. In fact, to tell you the truth, Ian and I don't really have one for CC, let alone Baby Will.
You might remember that we had our awesome nanny/sitter for CC when she was smaller -- Stephani, whom we trusted with all of our lives. But since then, we've relied mostly on visits from my mom. Which is kind of sad, because she doesn't come that often.
Part of it is that I want someone I can trust. Another part is that I'm kind of picky. One of CC's camp counselors gave me her card this summer, and on it she said she helped kids with tutoring. Only she spelled it "tudoring." Yikes. Maybe that's just the editor in me, but it was a total turnoff.
That's why I was excited to check out UrbanSitter, courtesy of a "speed-dating" event hosted by the online company and MomsLA. Not only did I get to check out an innovative way to find potential sitters, but I also got to meet a few candidates, too.
What's awesome is that the site syncs with your social networks, so you can see which of your Facebook friends have hired a particular sitter. Great for getting trusted info, because friends can also review the sitters they've chosen.
You can also search for sitters based on date and time, whether they have had a background check, hourly rates and experience. You can also pay by credit card right on the site. (That's a real convenience for a lot of families. No more digging in your purse at the end of the evening -- or quickly stopping by the ATM.)
Not only that but you can also get email reminders and check out your sitter's bookings.
And, did I mention the service is free?! Can't wait to book my first night!
Check out UrbanSitter's sweepstakes, where you could win 1 year of free babysitting!
(Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for MomsLA and UrbanSitter. However, all opinions expressed are my own.)
That's one way to look at it. Another way is that it might not be easy to go right up against such an established player. There are others too - Sittercity comes to mind.
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