Need a Trusted Baby Sitter? Try Chime

Have plans this weekend?  Did you remember to hire a baby sitter?  If you’re like me, hiring a babysitter tends to be a last minute arrangement…with of course the added stress of wondering if I waited to long and now my favorite babysitter has plans.  

We have only a handful of baby sitters…hmmm, let me rephrase that.  We lost one who went to the mission fields of Bangkok.  OK, so really, we have one baby sitter now that we rely on. We have known her for years, she grew up in our church.  But as I think about it, I never checked her references nor did I ever run a background check.  And has she had CPR and first aid training?  Hmm, I’m not sure.  She just graduated college so I assume she has but I find it curious now that I never checked.

Have you checked on your baby sitters?  Have you run a background check, searched her social media channels, and checked her references? We often put the lives of our children in the hands of pre-teens or teens, who have barely lived life long enough to know what to do in emergency situations, should one occur while they are babysitting our children.

According to a study run by Care, 62% have hired a sitter without checking references and 64% did so without running a background check.  So if you haven’t done these things, you are not alone.

Today, baby sitters offer more credentials than they used to. According to Melissa Underwood, the chief brand officer for Sittercity.com, the average age of a nanny or sitter in 2001 was 18.  In 2010, the average age soared to 29 and many have some sort of higher education.  With many college students looking for extra income or graduating and having a hard time finding a job, baby sitting is helping to pay the bills.

This means that as parents, we have more options of who can watch over our children than we used to.  And of course, with technology, well-qualified sitters are now at our fingertips.

A Trustworthy Solution

Do you often need a baby sitter in a pinch or do you have a back-up in case your go-to baby sitter is not available?  If you live in Boston, Chicago, New York City, or Washington, D.C., there is a great baby sitting service called Chime that you’ll want to take note of.  

Chime is an on-demand app and mobile site that utilizes a very strict process and thorough background checks to find the best sitters in your city.  

Chime was created by Sittercity, the pioneer in online childcare and a trusted expert source for parents.  Sittercity experts hand picks all sitters for Chime.  Each sitter submits an application, receives an in-person evaluation, has their background thoroughly checked, and have their identity and social media channels cleared.  In fact, the verification process is so intense, that only 1 in 5 make the cut!

How To Choose a Chime Sitter

The sitters on the Chime app/website are pretty impressive.  They are articulate, friendly, and most of them have a degree.  Using the Chime app or website, you can see a video of each sitter in your area and you view their experience, reviews, and even interviews that were conducted with them before they became a Chime sitter.

To Book a Sitter…

1. Sign up for an account, including the names and ages of your children
2. Choose a sitter
3. Choose the date and hours the sitter will be needed
4. Add a credit card, an estimate of costs will be shown to you on the app or website
5. You will be charged after the sitter’s services have been rendered.  If for any reason you are totally dissatisfied, you can lower the wage (or even zero it out!)

Chime tells you how many sittings a sitter has completed with Chime, how far away the sitter lives from you, and their sitting experience.  I searched a bunch of different sitters and every one of them had a college degree.  These are high caliber sitters and the funny thing is, they are more qualified than the 14 year old you’ve been using down the street!  

There are a lot of rich details you can learn about each sitter as well as assess their availability.

But it’s the ratings from other parents that give you telltale signs of how the sitter will interact with your children.  Chime does a good job at giving you as much information as possible to make a comfortable choice in selecting the best sitter for your family.

I have been in situations before where either I forgot to get a baby sitter, and now it’s last minute or my baby sitter cancelled and I am stressed to find someone quickly.  With Chime, and based on availability, you can even arrange for same day sitting.  What an incredible resource!  And if you find a sitter you really like, you can mark her has a favorite in your profile to make re-booking super easy.  

If you live in Boston, Chicago, New York City, or Washington, D.C., Chime might just be what you need to find a reliable sitter – either planned out ahead of time or last minute.  And for our readers, sign up for Chime and you can use this first-time use code CONNECT on the Chime website to receive a $50 credit.  Offer expires on 7/31/16.  

A Mom’s Perspective

I love the idea of pulling up my Chime app and requesting a last minute babysitter, it’s so convenient.  Have I done it before?  Well, no.  But I remember being on vacation for an awards dinner for my husband and needing a babysitter.  On at least two occasions, I needed to trust the hotel’s recommended service for a babysitter.  Was I nervous?  Yes!

The sitter who arrived in both cases were dressed in a suit and came with toys to play with my daughter.  Although I did check in a couple of times, I was able to enjoy the time with my husband at his awards ceremony.  

What I like about Chime is that you get to see ahead of time which sitters work best for you by reviewing their information through the app (or online).  I also like that you can see how far away from you they live.

But what I love the most is that these sitters are college-educated.  They are smart, have goals, and experience (with parental feedback) of taking care of children.  With more life experience, a Chime babysitter can in many ways gives me more comfort than the teenager down the street.

If you live in the Boston, Chicago, New York City, or Washington, D.C. areas or traveling to these cities and need a babysitter, give Chime a try.  Tri it out of a short timeframe first and see how it works for you.  I think you’ll find the ease of finding a sitter in your neighborhood along with the knowledge that the sitter is fully vetted before she works for Chime, a huge plus.