For a while, we had a “mother’s helper” coming over every week or so to help us out with Darah. This was an excellent arrangement for us, since we would be staying in the house while the babysitting happened, and could be on hand if the sitter needed any advice or assistance. A mother’s helper is someone just getting started as a babysitter, so they typically are in their early teens. Alas, school is back in session, as are all those wonderful extra-curricular activities, so we’ve got to find a new arrangement for the school year. We have a wonderful babysitter who is more expensive than our mother’s helper was (because she’s in college), but she can probably only help out once a month or so due to her really full schedule.

So, we are back to the drawing board to find a babysitter. There’s a fairly new online service that can help connect you as a parent in need with members of your community who would like to work as a sitter or nanny. When you fill out a profile, you can give as much detailed information about your situation as you like, and you can look for anything from the occasional weekend sitter to a full-time live in nanny!You can also choose your required experience level. I know some people want babysitters who are in college or have even finished college, while others are fine with someone who isn’t yet finished with high school.

But I haven’t told you the best part, yet: IT’S FREE!!!!! And this is not a situation where it is free to sign up but you have to pay to be able to contact the sitters. Nope….EVERYTHING is free! That keeps more money in your pocket, or rather, in the babysitter’s pocket, since you are about to hire one!

SittersSearch.com is still a fairly new kid on the block. I was a little bummed out to see that there aren’t yet any registered babysitters in my area. But, I am not discouraged! Once the word gets out, I think the resumes will start to come in for this sitter service, and I’ve opted to received notification once a week of any new sitters in my area who have joined the site. So I don’t even have to log in every few days to check; SittersSearch will let me know when there is something to see!

If you are looking for a babysitting opportunity for yourself, definitely register on this site. Since it is still new, you will likely be one of just a handful of sitters in your area, and that means that you’ll be REALLY attractive right off the bat once someone who is looking for a sitter in your area finds you! And if you know anyone in Chattanooga looking for a babysitting gig, tell them to get registered, as I’m already registered and looking for some help!

This post is brought to you by SittersSearch.com. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.