Questions to ask babysitter

[marispel]

My DS is almost 18 mo and is currently in a daycare from 9 to 5. I work from home, but not able to keep my son home with me as I'm...working.

He started daycare 4 months ago & has had nothing but colds. I understand this is pretty normal, but I'm getting pretty tired of it. I will say that my DS has thrived in daycare and I love that part of it, but the colds are terrible. He's on his 4th round of antibotics in 2 months.

Since he has been so sick I'm looking for alternative care & reached out to our subdivision to see if there were any moms interested in caring for him. Someone sent me an email and now I'm not sure what to do....

What questions should I ask? What things should I look out for?
Should I just stick with daycare and realize that "this too shall pass" and that the colds are part of the season & part of daycare...?

[pbjmama]

Does she care for other kids? Will she accept your ds when sick? What about food? What is the daily routine? Will she drive your ds anywhere and if so adhere by your safety rules? Will she administer meds? Does she have any child or first aid training? Will any other adults be around your ds? Does she have referrals? Does she have animals? Make sure you check out the space too.

If you decide to go with her I would suggest running a background check and checking the sex offender registry in the area.

[gbailey]

I posted something similar a couple of months ago in the parenting forum. One helpful suggestion was to have the prospective person spend time with your DC while you are around to see if they mesh.

I also suggest making your own employment application and getting a copy of her drivers license or passport and ss number, etc.