SAHM’s. What do you do for occasional babysitting needs
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Anonymous
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So I’m a mom of a 16 month old and I need to attend doctors appointments. I’ve had difficulty finding a sitter for a 1 time job during the day. What do other SAHM’s or SAHD’s out there do? Any leads on daycares that offer on occasion day care? Thanks
Jade (in search of babysitter) |
Anonymous
| A lot of daycares and inhome daycares offer "drop in rates". You have to pay their registration fee but then you can drop in your kid on days that you need as long as they have availability. I think it's $45 or 50 at the one next to my house. My in home daycare offers this as well. I'm in the VA suburbs though, so if you're much closer in they might not have availability and might be at capacity. |
Anonymous
| Take my kid. Stroller and toys or tablet. |
Anonymous
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When my child was that age, my husband was working overseas, so I built a relationship with a college student at Marymount and I would plan things around her availability when I absolutely could not bring the kid along. I remember having to have a tooth pulled and I'd assumed it would take longer, so I went shopping afterward just because alone time was so rare.
By age 3, I scheduled everything during morning preschool hours. |
Anonymous
| Combination of several college students (used for occasional date nights as well) , a SAHM that offered occasional sitting, swapping with my friends. In my experience, one-off sitting was not available with daycares. |
Anonymous
| I just take my kid with me. |
Anonymous
| Enroll your kid a My Gym-type place for class once a week, then see if the teacher babysits in the side. I’m a SAHM and DD’s gym teacher babysat once a week for 2 hours for years (once DD was in morning preschool, she watched the baby). It was a godsend knowing I had 2 hours once a week to get ONE thing done without kids. |
Anonymous
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Hey! I’m the original poster. So- I’m in the hyattsville Maryland area and having a hard time finding a daycare offering drop-in rates. I’m interested in anything from here to Ellicott city.
I’m not sure I can take her with me, I wouldn’t want her to cry and I wouldn’t be able to get to her. We do no screen time, she’s very good playing on her own, I wouldn’t be able to take her out of the stroller though. |
Anonymous
This is when you use screen time. Also, you need to make other SAHM friends. Then you all can occasionally trade off watching the other person's kids while you do these things. |
Anonymous
| I only schedule appointments after 3 when a neighborhood nanny is off work and can babysit. |
Anonymous
16 month olds are way too young for screen time. Schedule after 3 to get a babysitter and look for dentists that work one Saturday a month. |
Anonymous
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(Original poster again)
Thanks for understanding not wanting to use screen-time. This really isn’t a must-need screen time situation. I’m not completely rigid, I would allow it towards the end of a long drive/flight/etc and other situations. Our family has slight learning attentive issues , so limited/no screens is best for us. There are other SAHMs here, but many have multiple kids/engagements. I’ve reached out and I’m one of few moms with just 1 child. I’ll keep searching daycares and help on the care website. Thanks everyone |
Anonymous
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I basically just started telling everyone I knew--friends, neighbors, husband's co-workers, etc. that I was looking for occasional care for appointments. it turned out a friend of a friend ran an in-home daycare that could do this. I was a bit more "at ease" with it since it was a friend of a friend.
Just put the word out to everyone you know and I bet someone knows someone... |
Anonymous
I get it. But having 20 minutes of screen time at 16 months old while you are AT THE DOCTOR is hardly a bad habit forming. Screens do not cause damage just by glancing at them, it's repetitive use. Anyhow, that's fine if you have that hard line. But you will one day look back and think you were silly. Pull up some Little Baby Bum and get your appointment done. |
Anonymous
OP, I'm not a SAHM but I have had similar issues when I'm on maternity leave -- I can't exactly bring a 9-month-old to sit in the dentist's office while I get a filling done! Do you have a coparent who can take time off work occasionally? If not, I would suggest posting on a neighbour listserve asking if anyone has any leads on babysitters. I have some friends with a nanny who works slightly odd hours and is sometimes available for babysitting before she starts her main job, for example. |