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Wednesday, March 3rd
Sitter is part of a CareGuide, a family of companies that connect individuals with more than just babysitters. Through CareGuide, people can find accountants, electricians, landscapers, renovators, plumbers, nannies, chefs, roofers, tutors, senior care, and much more. There isn't a lot of information about the history of Sitter, when they were founded, and what their company mission is on their website. We would like to get to know the company better before trusting their services.
3 basic steps
Sitter's website is pretty straightforward. Finding a babysitter here works in three basic steps:
Over 10,000 babysitters
The babysitting directory claims to have over 10,000 sitters for hire. We aren't sure how accurate this number is or how active all the profiles are on the site. Families can search through candidates by location, age group, availability, duration, pay, required services, training, work eligibility, and more. We were surprised to find over 60 babysitters within 10 miles of our area that we could browse through.
3 pricey subscription plans
To contact the sitters you're interested in, you'll have to sign up for Sitter's membership. To do this you'll provide your name, email, phone number, zip code, babysitting needs, and a credit card number to pay for a subscription. There are three plans available depending on how long you want to have full access to send and receive messages from babysitters. If you go month-to-month, the cost is $45/month. If you agree to use the platform for three months, you'll pay $90, and for a full year the price is $180. This is more expensive than some competing sites and there is no refund once you've paid. You can cancel at any time to prevent recurring charges, but you're locked in for at least the initial time frame you pay for.
No background checks
Background checks are not done on babysitters through Sitter when they create and post a profile. Sitter does recommend that families run background checks before making a hiring decision, but they refer parents to third-party sites because they don't actually provide background check services themselves.
Too many complaints
Sitter's parent company, CareGuide, has an A rating from the Better Business Bureau. However, Sitter alone seems to provide generally dissatisfying results to families who have left reviews on their service. There are quite a few caregivers who claim that they get messages from fake families looking for babysitting in order to get them to pay fees to use their services. There seem to be a lot of scammers on Sitter's site for both families and babysitters, which is unnerving.
Not impressed
We aren't overly impressed with this site as far as company transparency or customer recommendations. We feel you're better off using a higher-rated babysitting agency to find childcare.
These days, kids and parents are busier than ever. Finding a reliable babysitter to fit your schedule is tricky.
The teenager next door might seem like a convenient option for watching your kids, but they might be occupied with school, sports, and their social life, leaving you without the childcare you need. Thankfully there are many services that specialize in helping families find available babysitters in their local area for date nights, errands, work functions, or whatever the occasion may be.
These companies allow parents to browse their database of candidates to find a babysitter that matches the needs of the family. Some sitters specialize in working with infants, special needs children, or kids with behavioral issues. Seeing all the local caregivers in one place makes it easy to sort through them and find someone you trust.
Babysitting agencies vary in price, services, and ease of use. Ideally you'll want to find a service that has a professional website and is well-known by families and sitters alike. The more widely-recognized a babysitting agency is, the more likely you are to have plenty of candidates to choose from. As a parent, it's understandable that you will be picky when deciding who to trust in your home with your children, so being able to browse multiple babysitter profiles online is important.
Before using a babysitting agency to find someone to watch your children, we suggest you take the following things into consideration:
To help you identify the best babysitter for your children, TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best babysitting agencies available today. We hope this information gives you confidence as you find someone to care for your little ones while you are away!
Select any 2 Babysitter Agencies to compare them head to head