Dear Question Block Mom,

   This is a great question! Even when you are using a babysitting service like LLD which performs background checks, reference checks, and in-person interviews, as a new mom you want to perform your own personal interview before you hire a new sitter. Firstly, you want to make sure you and your sitter click and that he or she will make a great addition to your family. Secondly, every family has a different philosophy regarding childrearing, so you want to individually talk with a sitter to make sure he or she is on the same page as you and your family. LLD does the initial vetting process and suggests only the best in childcare, but as a new mom you want to be comfortable with your new sitter. So if you are conducting your interview with an LLD sitter in person, over the phone, or via Skype these are my go-to tips on conducting an authentic and meaningful interview.

• First and foremost: Trust your gut!!! If an answer to a question does not feel right to you, or if you immediately click with a sitter and feel comfortable, trust that initial reaction. One interview technique I have used is asking fill-in-the-blank questions. For example, ask the sitter to complete sentences like: “Children are _____,” these kinds of questions give you a chance to really see what a sitter thinks.
• Make sure to ask about his/her personal philosophy about raising children, discipline as well as past experience with siting for children of all ages. Even though some questions might not exactly pertain to caring for a newborn, they are still vital for understanding a potential sitter’s overall childcare philosophy.
• Ask a scenario question. I tend to ask sitters what they would do in a variety of both emergency and daily situations to see their level of preparedness in dealing with a newborn.
• Is the sitter CPR trained for infants? If not, would he/she be willing to receive the necessary training before beginning work?
• I highly recommend asking about the vaccines a sitter has. When dealing with infants, it’s important for a sitter to have the flu shot and pertussis booster.
• Finally, I recommend starting your search for a sitter early to reduce stress! Give yourself ample time to interview candidates, get to know him/her & find the best fit for your family!