Need a Babysitter? Now You Can Find One Online
(ARA) - They say once you have a child, life will never be the same. Ask any parent and they'll tell you it's definitely true.
Sleep, which you used to treasure, turns into a commodity you trade back and forth with your spouse. Things that used to be easy to do, like going shopping, are all of a sudden a chore; and forget about the things you used to love doing on a whim, like going out to dinner or a movie. First you have to find a babysitter -- something that's easier said than done for a lot of people.
After their son, David, was born a little more than six years ago, Kelly and Henry Cooper of Winter Park, Fla., pretty much put their life as a couple on hold. "David was born with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism, and because we have a special needs child, we just didn't feel comfortable leaving him with a babysitter," says Kelly.
But that changed recently thanks to a concept developed by Geneieve Thiers of Boston. She and the Coopers have never met, but they are just one of the thousands of families she has helped through Sittercity.com, a Web site she created in 2001 after coming to the astute realization that parents were as desperate to find trustworthy local caregivers as they were to find a magic pill for endless energy.
With an armful of 20,000 flyers, Thiers hand-delivered the Sitter City message to over 12 major Boston-area colleges. Not only did she find herself with an unprecedented amount of customers, she also found 600 eager babysitters in the first three weeks! The site has now expanded to service families in most of the 50 states.
Kelly Cooper first learned about Sittercity.com from a segment on the Today Show. A few weeks later, recognizing the logo, she clicked on one of their banner ads on a parenting Web site and decided to give it a try. She read through all the profiles and picked a young lady who had been a National Merit Scholar and seemed very responsible. "I wrote to her, she wrote back, and we had her come out and sit a couple of times. She worked out great, but then summer came and she was no longer available," remembers Cooper.
Turns out that was a blessing in disguise for the Cooper family because the next sitter they found through the site was an even more perfect fit. "I posted the fact that I needed a sitter for a special needs child on the site and Tiffanie Bakich was the first to respond. She was articulate in her e-mail and on the phone, and I was very impressed with her professionalism," says Cooper.
But even more impressive was how well Tiffanie clicked with David and his little brother. "Usually when I ask David a question, he doesn't respond, but the next morning when I asked if he had a good time with Tiffanie, a smile came to his face. Then I asked if he wanted her to come back he said, 'Oh yes!' That has never happened before."
"I've sat for them a handful of times and so far have had a great relationship. I just love those little boys to death. They're very sweet. I'm so grateful to Sittercity.com for bringing us together," says Bakich, 24, who is pursuing a degree in elementary education at a college in Orlando.
"I recommend this service highly to anyone who needs a sitter," adds Cooper.
Here's how Sitter City works:
Sitters, who are at least 17 or older, log on to the Web site and post their profile online for free.
Parents who need to find a sitter pay either $39.99 for the first month and $9.99 for each month thereafter, or $95 for a full year to access the site. Background checks can be run on any of the sitters they are interested in are now free, or a sitter can pay the fee and post the information along with their profile. The background checks include a nationwide check on criminal and driving records.
To sign up for the service, log on to www.sittercity.com
Plans are in the works to expand the service to include pet sitters in the near future. Update sittercity.com now includes pet sitters, tutors,nannies,dogwalkers,senior caregivers, and housesitters.
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