Care 4 Hire Giveaway

In today’s society, finding quality childcare is important to so many families – no matter where you live. This advice comes from Candi Wingate’s experience as a nanny, placement coordinator, Nanny Agency owner and owner of Nannies4hire.com and Care4hire.com. Finding a nanny/babysitter can be a little overwhelming. But figuring out where to look and what to look for when finding a nanny/babysitter doesn’t have to be difficult. Having a checklist of what to do and what not to do will help you in your search. Finding a nanny/babysitter online is actually very safe and reliable. Here are some tips about how to successfully find a nanny/babysitter.

Do your homework when it comes to finding a nanny/babysitter. Start with interviewing nannies over the phone. If things go well; then move to doing a personal interview. Meet at a local coffee shop and if you would like to move to the next step with this nanny, then introduce your children. Check References. The more childcare references, the better. Know the questions to ask.

Ask what experience your nanny/babysitter has had and whether she/he has any experience with a child in the same age group as yours.

Ask for references that include past nanny/babysitting jobs that an applicant has had.

Find out your nanny/babysitter’s schedule and availability, making sure it coincides with your needs.

Find out if your nanny/babysitter has had any CPR training and is familiar with what to do in case of an emergency involving your child.

Ask what type of philosophy your nanny/babysitter has in taking care of children.

Now that you have found the nanny/babysitter you like; don’t forget to check their background such as driving and criminal histories.
The current nanny/babysitting pay rate can encompass a wide range. How much you pay your nanny/babysitter can vary widely depending on where you live, how much experience the nanny/babysitter has, how many children she’ll/he’ll be watching, and what her/his duties will be. Nanny/Babysitting rates can be anywhere from $5 to $20. Here are some considerations that affect the nanny/babysitting pay rate.
a. In general, mother’s helpers who aren’t fully responsible for the care of your children, but are there to assist you, get paid less.
b. Younger aged nannies/babysitters tend to have a lower pay rate as well.
c. Major metropolitan areas tend to command the highest pay rate.
d. The pay rate may be higher in cases where a nanny/babysitter has more years of experience, is caring for more than one of your children, and has specialized training such as CPR certification or early childhood education.

e. Nannies/Babysitters who have a greater degree of responsibility and have been a past nanny/babysitter, can command higher rates as well.

f.  If you’re wondering what the going rate is for nannying/babysitting, check with friends and neighbors, other parents, and parenting boards for the current going nannying/babysitting pay rate.
 If you’re preparing to hire a nanny, putting together a childcare contract will ensure both parties are clear about everything from job duties to wages. If you’re not sure what you should put in your childcare contract with your nanny, check this basic list to make sure you have all the important items covered:
1. Spell out the hours you expect your nanny to work
2. Include the benefits, if any. These items can include paid vacation days, health insurance, sick days, etc.
3. Include job duties down to specific items.
4. Include the specific wages and when you expect to pay them. For instance, if your nanny can expect payment on the 1st and 15th of each month, note it in the childcare contract.
5. Include verbiage about every special situation you can think of. For instance, if you expect your nanny to drive your child to and from preschool, note whether you’ll be covering gas expenses and how much, etc.
For more helpful tips; visit http://www.nannies4hire.com/ and http://www.care4hire.com/.

***The content above was provided by http://www.careforhire.com/****

I personally have enough baby sitters to get by, but I know it can be a struggle for many people to find someone to care for their children or family members when they aren't able to do it themselves. So I was more than happy to host a giveaway on my blog so that one of you will get the chance to try out this great service.  You could win a FREE one month membership to Care for Hire (a $34.99 value). 

For your initial entry you MUST be a follower of my blog and state in your comment that you do.  Any entries that day "count me in" or "I want to win" or something similiar will be deleted. The additional entries will not count unless this initial entry is completed.  For extra entries you can do any of the following:

1) Subscribe to my feed
2) Blog about this giveaway with a link to New Age Mama and Care for Hire. (5 Entries)

3) Follow me on twitter @gabbylowe
4) Tweet this giveaway and leave the link in your comment (once per day)
5) Become my friend on myspace.
6) Become my friend on facebook.
7) Comment on any non-giveaway post (2 Entries per comment)
8) Enter any my other giveaways (1 entry per giveaway)
9) Grab my new button and tell me where I can find it (3 entries)


This giveaway will end at midnight on 1/5/10.  Open to US & Canada only.


***Please note I received no form of compensation for this post***