What if you could find a babysitter who gives you a break so you can enjoy parenting again?
Like you, I used to love cooking. I made dumplings from scratch and churned homemade ice cream before having a kid. Once my son arrived, I could never figure out what to eat. Thinking about cooking dinner tired me out. I wolfed down many frozen meals while standing in front of the microwave.
I remember one night during dinner, after a long day working, I struggled to even cook a one-pot meal. At the dining table, I plowed food into my mouth. Instead of chatting with my husband and enjoying motherhood with my toddler, I gave everybody the silent treatment. I imagined, “What if I ran away to Denver for one day? I wouldn’t have to wrestle my one-year old while begging to change his poopy diaper. No more staring at the fridge wondering what to cook for dinner. That old pile of mail sitting in the entryway for months would disappear from my mind. I could forget about the dried cereal bowls sitting in the kitchen sink since yesterday morning.”
At the time, I didn’t realize how sad this thinking was. All I knew was I felt trapped. I couldn’t breathe.
We went home to visit my parents for a few weeks during the holidays. They helped me look after my toddler for 30 minutes here and there. Nothing radical—I was always at home with them. They didn’t do any diaper changes. They didn’t even hold him for more than 10 seconds (my kid squirmed out of their arms as soon as they picked him up). But the tiny amount of childcare they offered me was the mental break I desperately needed. I felt more productive the rest of the day. I enjoyed time away from my kid. I finally missed him for once. I appreciated the time we spent together more because I focused on playing with him when we were together instead of rolling my eyes and plotting to get away from him.
I put off finding childcare because we already attended a drop-in daycare twice a week. I believed paying for a babysitter was too expensive and they’re too difficult to find. I was afraid of having a stranger in my home. What if they mistreat my baby? Worse, what if my kid hates them. I pay for 2 hours, but I’m stuck watching my kid the whole time (yes, it happened once). But the pain of doing everything myself reached a breaking point.
I did my due diligence to find a good fit. The first time my friend came to watch him, I managed to write a whole blog post. Later that day, I cooked dinner peacefully while watching him play with pots and pans at my feet. He was exhausted from running around so much that he seemed calmer and easier to guide. Alex even teases me about how chatty I am at dinner these days: “I can tell you got some childcare help today, didn’t you?”
Since then, I’ve worked with 7 different babysitters because people get full-time jobs, go back to school, or move on. Another friend invited me to her house for dinner last weekend. We’re in the same boat as she found out her part-time nanny is starting a full-time job. When I told her I already found another babysitter who fit perfectly with our family’s schedule, she commented how I’m always able to find the right people to help me. While I appreciated her compliment, the truth is I’ve hired some people who were REALLY not the right fit. I learned from that experience. Now I have a system. It’s not magic. My process makes it faster and easier to find childcare help.
Today, our lives have structure because we plan around when the babysitter is here. My kitchen is organized because I have the mental energy to plan what to cook for dinner and clean up afterwards. My kid laps up the attention, love, and focus he receives from playing with a big sister or grandmother figure that I can’t give him. Plus, I look forward to taking care of him again after our short separation.
All these benefits were possible because I took action to find someone who would help me take care of him a few times per week. I want to give you shortcuts, so you can achieve the same without the mistakes I made (like hiring someone he doesn’t like). I simplified the steps because busy parents don’t have much time to dedicate, and yet, need results quickly. Using the tiny actions, I recently found a new babysitter in less than 1 week doing 15 minutes of work here and there. I’d like to invite you to join my course, Escape Your Cooking Nightmare: How to Hire a Babysitter so You Can Cook Dinner While Saving Your Sanity, if you want to lighten up your life and start breathing again. It’s hosted on Udemy’s advanced platform, self-paced, and you keep the material forever.Â
Couldn’t you find a babysitter without this course? Of course, you could. But why haven’t you already if it were so easy? You don’t have the time or energy, right? There’s information overwhelm from too many choices and places to look. What should you even ask them during an interview? That’s why I include copy-and-paste scripts, so that you can post on social media and job boards within minutes to advertise for your gig. I offer sample word-for-word scripts you can use to talk to your neighbors, so you can get trusted recommendations (my neighbor’s teenager is one of the best babysitters I know). I include cheat sheets like interview questions so you know what to say and a form for references to fill out if you want to do a background check.
I’ve taken the best of what I know so it can guide you to find the help you desperately need while offering you emotional support every step of the way. You can finally stop putting off finding the childcare you need to live a calmer life. If you know your situation is unsustainable, let’s work together to find you a babysitter. If you don’t love it, you can get your money back. It’s time to make a change, as I did, so you can thrive in your parenthood journey.
