In-Home Care/Babysitting

In-home child care or babysitting is unlicensed full-or-part-time care given in your home. You may find someone by using an on-line child care network, placing an ad on-line, contacting other colleges or high schools to post a job opportunity, posting notices in your community, and/or contacting outside agencies. The nanny or sitter may commute to your house each day or live in your home and sometimes in-home arrangements can be made with students in exchange for room and board.

Things to Consider

Using a babysitter or nanny can be convenient and flexible, allowing for children to attach to a single provider. It can also mean dependency upon a single person for childcare and isolation for the individual providing the care.

Rates vary according to your needs and the responsibilities for the child care provider. The cost for in-home care is generally between $15.00 and $20.00 an hour. Nannies may prefer a salary, and additional costs to you may be incurred through using a nanny or an au pair agency.

The effort and time you put into choosing a babysitter or nanny is very important. You should interview several people, check references, conduct background checks, have the provider spend time with your child while you are present and, in the end, trust your instincts. Overall, you must make sure that you feel comfortable with the person you entrust with the care of your child.

Once You Hire Someone

After you have hired a nanny or a babysitter, it is important that you spend enough time explaining your expectations as they are caring for your child. Also, plan to make unannounced visits so you can adequately determine what is happening when you are not there. Observation of your child, both with and without your nanny or babysitter, combined with ongoing communication with your child care provider will help you determine the success of the care arrangement.

How We Can Help

The Family Resources Office can assist you in making informed decisions by providing you with information to help you conduct your babysitter or nanny search. By providing these resources, the University makes no representations regarding the competence, ability, training, or experience of any of the babysitters or nannies found using these resources, and it is not responsible for the acts or omissions of these people. It is solely your responsibility to choose the appropriate person to meet your needs.

Contact Us

If you would like more information about babysitters and in-home care, please complete and submit the Referral Statement Form.  When completing this form, please note that you are interested in resource information about babysitters and in-home child care.  Someone from our office will then contact you to find out more information about your specific child care needs and to share information about how we can assist you.