THANKS MOM

I'm on this mailing list for Babycenter.com, and just this morning I received the latest newsletter listing some of the top articles on the site. One of them was "Signs of a bad babysitter." Most of the things are obvious and usually jump right out at you, like "your baby isn't happy to see the sitter," or your sitter is reluctant to reveal what the daily schedule is like, or hesitant to allow you to drop in sometime during the day.
When I read things like this I always have to take a moment to realize how blessed I am, because I have never had to deal with these problems. When I first went back to work full-time, I was able to find the best childcare provider in the world! Mrs. Pat is the owner of Little Blessings Daycare. I found her through the recommendation of friend, which happens to be one of the best ways to find a sitter. She was welcoming, warm, and reminded me of my own childcare provider growing up. She loved the fact that I would drop in every now and then if I got off work early, gave me advice on parenting and being a single mother, and really, truly, loved J. However, finances changed, and I was reluctant to let her go. I was ready to nearly get evicted before I let her go, because of the horror stories that exist due to malicious or just plain bad childcare providers.

Enter: MOM to the RESCUE!!!!

My mom stepped up to the plate, and has been J's childcare provider since she was about five months. I couldn't ask for a better situation. I know that my child is loved and well-provided for during her days at Gigi's. There are absolutely no worries about the "signs of a bad babysitter." She took good care of me, and she's taking great care of my daughter.

However, not all women are fortunate enough with the luck I had finding care for J. The best advice I could give would be to conduct interviews (if a provider does not want to grant you one, or only wants to do one over the phone...bad sign), and ask around at work and among your friends with small children.