HOUSTON — Many parents find a good babysitter by asking around, mainly from friends and family. Hiring a qualified sitter has become pretty cutthroat these days.
In fact, care.com surveyed parents about babysitter stealing.
One Houston mom shares how she’s been a victim of this twice.
Kimberly Green and her husband have two sons with autism and a daughter.
Due to the struggles of finding a great sitter to stick around, the Greens recently started their own home daycare to help others like them. A positive attitude gets the Greens by, but not having a good sitter can be rough.
“With us finding a sitter we have trust issues. So, when we do find someone, we try to stick with this one," Green said. "But then I recommend them to someone else and then they disappear.”
Ghosted by the sitter -- and it’s happened more than once.
“She never came back the following night. She said, 'Oh, well, your friend hired me full-time so I’m watching her kid.' I’m like, 'Oh,'” Green said.
Instead of getting dropped by another babysitter, after giving a referral, Mr. and Mrs. Green just have the kids tag along.
“It’s going on three to four years that my husband and I actually had a date night to ourselves," Green said.
Babysitter stealing is a real problem, especially in Houston.
“The cost of a babysitter in Houston is quite higher than the national average, so I understand why sitter stealing is happening because it looks like competition is fierce,” said Natalie Mayslich president consumer of care.com. The hourly average rate for sitters in Houston is $19 an hour versus the national average, which is $18.
“Babysitter stealing is happening based on the surveys and what we’ve heard from parents and it’s happening at a high rate," said Mayslich "The sentiment that babysitters aren’t products, of course, they’re not.”
She also found that 35% of parents say they have stolen a babysitter from their network of friends, family, and coworkers.
“It’s ruthless. It’s pathetic," Green said. "If someone is helping you, why do it and you know it’s hard.”
On the receiving end, 41% of parents say they’ve had a babysitter stolen from them.
“You don’t need to be that mom who people stop sharing with. This is just one case," Mayslich said. "If you’re willing to do this for a babysitter, what are you willing to do in another scenario?”
Experts advise you to have a bunch of sitters to choose from.
“We surface additional options available for you. For whatever reason if that one sitter you love isn’t available, we got your back,” Mayslich said.
If you want to hog an excellent sitter, here’s the honest way to go about it.
“Sharing with your friends I have a great babysitter. I’m not going to give out her information, because she’s not available. Is fair,” Mayslich said.
Care.com has more information about babysitter stealing and how the company says it can help.