Babysitting Blog

If you’re pregnant and living in California, Chicago, New York, Nashville or El Paso, Baskin-Robbins wants to give you free ice cream tomorrow. (Pickles not included.)

Read the rest of this entry

Dear Genevieve: My sitter has been with my family for just over a month and comes over on an average of once a week. I think she’s great, but I still don’t know her very well quite yet. She’s graduating this year and I don’t know if I should get her a gift or not. What do you think? ~Caren H.; San Diego, CA

Read the rest of this entry

We recently received a very compelling email from one of our loyal parents about how several sitters don’t seem to know exactly how to respond to a job posting. Yes, babysitting has a reputation for being a “casual” venture, but, as this parent put it, “caring for the lives of children is a REAL JOB.” So here are a few quick dos and don’ts when it comes to responding to job postings.

Read the rest of this entry

We don’t know WHO came up with this, but it is just downright creepy. So, of course, we had to share. There seems to be an interesting movement in Photoshopping where you switch the heads of babies with the heads of their fathers (and vice versa). It’s called “manbabies,” and there’s an actual website of these twisted treasures. We’ve got a few of them below…

Read the rest of this entry

Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway says that if she were a corporate recruiter, she’d chuck the psychometric tests and references, and instead give potential employees the “nanny test” to determine whether or not they’d make good managers.

Read the rest of this entry

We’re happy to announce the introduction of our new free trial memberships, providing parents and care seekers with access to Sittercity.com for seven days just to try us out. So if any of your friends are curious about how our service truly works, let them know they can get a sneak peek without paying a penny.

Read the rest of this entry

Note to all nannies: Do NOT talk trash on Charlie Sheen around Denise Richards. True, they’ve gone through a bitter divorce and even more bitter custody battle, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay for a nanny to get involved.

Read the rest of this entry

This past weekend, a coyote attacked a child who was playing in a sandbox and tried to carry the 2-year-old away in its mouth. The incident happened in Chino Hills, CA when the child was spending time with her nanny, and the nanny’s quick actions may have saved the girl’s life.

Read the rest of this entry

We almost started this post by calling it “Celebrity Baby Auction,” but, well, that’s just wrong. On so many levels. Instead, we’re going with something a little more accurate — the Celebrity Hand-Me-Down auction is taking place right now (through May 9) where you can bid on baby items that celebs no longer need.

Read the rest of this entry

You may or may not have heard about this story yet, but it’s making its way through the media and blogosphere, and we wanted to get your thoughts. A New York City mom recently gave her 9-year-old some money, dropped him in the middle of Manhattan and told him to find his way home… And he did. But does that make it okay?

Read the rest of this entry

For those of you who are visual learners, these illustrated instructions will help you differentiate between good child care and bad. Wondering how to keep a baby calm? (Hint: Booze is not part of the equation.) Want to know how to make a baby smile? It’s all here, hopefully along with your sense of humor.

Read the rest of this entry

Dear Genevieve: I’m a nanny to one adorable but stubborn 3-year-old, and I find myself resorting to bribes to get her to do things, like getting her into her PJs without a meltdown. Is that terrible? ~Monica

Read the rest of this entry

We understand that we have an open relationship with our babysitters: We don’t demand that they use Sittercity and Sittercity alone. We just care that they’re here and they’re qualified. So for all of your sitters looking for even more ways to land jobs, you’ll want to read this.

Read the rest of this entry

It’s the final week in our three-week drawing, which means this is your last chance to win a free Zoobie. It’s as simple as sending a quick email requesting your favorite Zoobie (a combination stuffed animal, pillow and blanket) and waiting to see if you’ve won!

Read the rest of this entry

What’s a rock star to do? When you’ve got kids to chase after and a tour to tend to, finding a babysitter is an essential part of maintaining the work-hard-play-hard musical lifestyle. So when tour time comes and there’s no sitter in sight, musicians like Robert Westerholt have no other option but to bow out and kiss the stage goodbye.

Read the rest of this entry

A new book, Not Quite What I Was Planning, is proof that it only takes six words to tell a story. This collection features stories from people of all background and professions, cramming their memoirs into six words. It got us thinking… Could our child care tales be told with such brevity?

Read the rest of this entry

If you’re looking for an easy way to entertain young kids, the computer probably isn’t the first place you’d turn. Especially since their idea of fun is throwing their tiny fists into the keys and licking the keyboard on occasion (seen it). But we found a cool computer game that lets toddlers explore a virtual world by pressing any key.

Read the rest of this entry

It’s Week Two in the Zoobie contest. Remember, all you need to do is pick your favorite Zoobie — a combination stuffed animal, pillow and blanket — and let the folks at Zoobie know. One winner is chosen each week and will receive the Zoobie of their choice.

Read the rest of this entry

Crooner? Yes. Nicolette-Sheridan-dating musician? Yes. Babysitter? Not so much, according to Paula Abdul. Michael Bolton may be good at many things (like, say, growing his hair out), but babysitting doesn’t seem to be one of them.

Read the rest of this entry

Okay, this is a little random, but we’re in the mood for a good dose of nostalgia today, so why not? Ebay currently has a listing for 49 Baby-Sitters Club and Little Sister books by Ann M. Martin. Please say we’re not the only ones who remember those.

Read the rest of this entry

We thought this was an April Fool’s joke at first, but it’s not from April 1, so, like everything on the Internet, it must be true. Apparently, a monkey in Dhenkanal babysits a 2-week-old infant each day while his mother tends to the home. The monkey spends the entire day taking care of the baby, and there’s a YouTube video to prove it.

Read the rest of this entry

What are Zoobies? They are the award-winning plush animals that turn into pillows and blankets, and, trust us, they rock. From monkeys to pandas to zebras, there are tons of animals to choose from, and Zoobies wants to give you your favorite for free!

Read the rest of this entry

Summer is upon us… and with it, summer camp. Think you missed the boat already? Think again! We talked with national summer planning expert, Jill Tipograph, Founder of Everything Summer, to get the scoop on the best ways to get your child into summer camp, no matter how late in the game.

Read the rest of this entry

Dear Genevieve: Let me start off by saying that I really do like my nanny. She is responsible, kind, honest and loves my son. However, he has started crying for her when he’s with ME, and I’m starting to feel like she’s the new mommy! I don’t want to fire her, but I don’t want her to replace me either. I’m just completely lost. What should I do? ~Christine D.; Cleveland, OH

Read the rest of this entry

What’s 4 ft. 7, knows your child’s name, wears a cheery yellow and white outfit, is said to be friendly, and can entertain the kids while you shop around a store? No, not a vertically challenged, high-on-life Big Bird, but Japan’s new Robot Babysitter. This high-tech solution to shopping with kids has just popped up in a Fukuoka retailer to keep an eye on the kids while Mom and Dad browse.

Read the rest of this entry

The 2007 YouTube Awards were announced recently, and the winner for most adorable video can also be cross-categorized as most HILARIOUS. It’s a clip of a 9-month-old baby named Ethan who laughs hysterically every time his dad lets him tear a piece of paper. Kid laughs so hard, he keeps toppling over. At one point, the mere anticipation of tearing the paper throws him into a fit of giggles.

Read the rest of this entry

We came recently came across a blog by a soon-to-be first-year teacher who was making the point that, despite complaints to the contrary, teachers are NOT overpaid. (Not sure who he’s been talking to, since we rarely hear that claim!) Nonetheless, here’s what he says he would make if teachers were paid like babysitters.

Read the rest of this entry

Have you ever seen those kids running around in public, but only in a two-foot radius because they were attached to a thick, nylon leash held by Mom or Dad? Looks ridiculous. Now that we’re in a much more digital age, the new trend is the much buzzed-about digital leash from Smart Target.

Read the rest of this entry

Whether you’re a parent or babysitter, this has probably happened to you before: Your toddler waddles over to you with a book in hand, excitedly thrusts it into your lap and turns to her favorite page. You start reading in your exaggerated, animated reading voice, but your toddler quickly loses interest and slips away to play with her dolls instead. So much for that!

Read the rest of this entry

How many times does your baby drop his pacifier out of his mouth onto the dirty floor? The five-second rule comes to mind, but, then again, so does quite a bit of guilt for even considering putting that gross, now-linty device anywhere close to your child’s mouth. Well, we recently came across a cool new product that changes that.

Read the rest of this entry