Get creative when you start searching. Call ahead to your hotel for recommendations, contact local day-care centers, spread the word among your friends and hometown caretakers, and get online.
Waltham-based Care.com has a database with hundreds of thousands of providers across the country who offer child care and pet-minding services. If you are going to Miami, for instance, find someone there to watch your children so you can have a night out, and also hire someone at home to feed your beloved pet while you are away. You can even arrange for a caretaker to check on your elderly parents.
Search Care.com’s listings by region - you can refine your search by selecting age and price range, gender, and languages spoken, for instance - and then reach out to anyone whose profile and qualifications you like. Or post your own specific request and vet those who respond.
Katie Bugbee, managing editor at Care.com, recommends getting as detailed as possible: “You want to say, ‘Here’s when we’ll be in town and what we need. We are looking for a baby sitter who is at least 17 years old. You must be familiar with the challenges of watching an overexcited 4-year-old and be able to deal with a colicky newborn.’ ’’
Once you have narrowed it down to several people, adds Bugbee, do a phone interview, then Skype so you can “meet’’ face to face, run a background check, and get references.
“Don’t just call the people they give you,’’ says Bugbee. “Ask for the name of a high school coach, a university teacher, or their last boss, and get a sense of their maturity level and their ability to handle emergencies and challenging situations.’’
Not sure how much to pay your sitter? Care.com has a calculator that lets you find the average local rate at your destination.
