CHICAGO, Dec. 1 Hands down, New Year's Eve is the most difficult day to get a babysitter and those who wait until the last minute are out of luck. So how can parents ensure a sitter for the New Year? The first thing to do is start early. On Sittercity.com, parents have been locking down New Year's sitters since January of this year, as compared to 2008, when parents didn't start posting New Year's jobs until July. So Sittercity wants to provide a few simple tips to help parents make sure they're ringing in the New Year in style instead of in bed.
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Start Now! It's never too early to start looking for a New Year's Eve babysitter. Sittercity.com recommends that parents book their sitter by the first week of December. It may sound early, but competition can get fierce. The earlier you ask, the better your chances!
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Increase Pay. Because babysitters like to celebrate New Year's Eve too, they'll need extra incentive to forgo their own plans in favor of a New Year's Eve babysitting job - or another tempting babysitting job offer. A 50 percent increase over your normal rate should do, or possibly double if you want to be competitive. If you need help with a normal or holiday pay situation, check out Sittercity.com's Babysitter Rate Calculator at www.sittercity.com/rates to see the average hourly rate in your area.
Consider Overnight. Want to ring in the New Year curfew-free? Consider offering your sitter a flat rate to stay the night. To determine this flat rate, first figure out what your babysitter's hourly New Year's Eve rate would be between the time the sitter comes over and 10pm. Then add a flat overnight rate - about $100 according to an International Nanny Association survey - to that number.
Babysitter Share. If you are going to be ringing in the New Year with friends who have children of similar ages, consider pooling your resources and hiring one sitter for multiple families. How much should you pay a shared sitter? You should consider how many children the sitter will be caring for and what their responsibilities will be: will you be caring for infants or older children. Then you could pay by the hour or by a flat rate. A good rate to base hourly and flat rate jobs on is approximately $25-30/hour total (as opposed to per family). Remember it's not unusual for a babysitter to earn a tip on New Year's Eve, especially if the sitter has kept the kids happy, entertained and under control the entire evening.
About Sittercity.com®
Sittercity.com, the inventor of online caregiving, is America's largest and most trusted online source for child care, pet care, senior care, housesitting, housekeeping and tutoring. Sittercity has a network of more than a million caregiver profiles nationwide, and helps families and individuals across America find the perfect in-home care provider quickly, easily and safely. Sittercity's care seekers can use the company's four-step screening process, which includes checking references, reading caregiver reviews, conducting interviews and utilizing free access to background checks. Sitter profiles also come with photos, experience, training, safety skills, availability calendars, reviews and more. Our Corporate Program now serves a number of marquee clients, including Avon, MasterCard, FOX Networks, Pitney Bowes and Monster Worldwide. For more information, visit the company Web site at http://www.sittercity.com.
SOURCE Sittercity.com
