Finding a babysitter with childcare.co.uk

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Having children is amazing and I love being a mum. You know what though, sometimes I need a break. We all do, don’t we? We spent a few years living away from all our friends and family and during that time we had zero childcare. Let me tell you something, having two kids and not having anyone to look after them every once in a while was hard. I wish back then I had known about childcare.co.uk , a website that helps you easily find hundreds of babysitters and childminders in your local area. Now we live in Swansea and pre-pandemic my parents would look after the three kids in the evenings for us sometimes so Oli and I could have a date night or they would be there if we needed some last minute childcare. Not everyone is lucky enough to live close to family though and may not know anyone who can recommend a babysitter, this is where childcare.co.uk comes in. I recently reviewed the childcare.co.uk website, read on to find out just how easy it is to find a babysitter near you by using their website. 

Finding a babysitter using childcare.co.uk 

The childcare.co.uk website is an award winning social networking platform for childcare providers and parents. There are currently over two million people registered and the tagline promises to make finding local childcare easy. And it really is! You can register as a parent or a childcare provider and as well as being able to search for local childcare, you can also search for childcare jobs if you are currently looking for work in the childcare sector.

You can search through hundreds of local babysitters, childminders, private tutors, nurseries, nannies and more. Any type of childcare you need, you are likely to be able to find someone to suit your needs on their database. I did a search for babysitters within a 5 mile radius of my postcode and a page appeared with over 170 different profiles! I must admit this did feel like too many to choose from, i felt the same overwhelm I get when scrolling through Netflix trying to find a film to watch.

So.Much.Choice.

The great thing about the search options on chilcare.co.uk is that once you have chosen what childcare you would like (babysitter, maternity nurse etc) you can then narrow your search down further by using their various filters. You can search for only babysitters who are DBS checked, or those that are montessori trained. You can search for childminders who have experience caring for newborns or those with first aid training. This can make the whole process much less overwhelming and you can really tailor your search to find the perfect childcare provider for you and your child.

The babysitter profiles are set out clearly with the same sections on each profile, making it easy to compare your different options. There is an About Me section where you can learn a bit about the babysitter, their age and job, for example. There is then a section listing all of the persons childcare experience and a section detailing any childcare qualifications they may have – some providers have even uploaded copies of their certificates so you can see exactly what relevant qualifications they have. The profiles then go on to show the babysitters availability and the fees they charge for their service.

The thing I love the most about the profiles is the reviews. This is what us parents want to know the most, leaving your children with someone new is a big decision and we want to know we have found the perfect person for the job. Reading reviews from other parents is really reassuring, it’s like knowing the car seat you are buying is super safe because parents everywhere are raving about it and all the reviews are glowing. That’s what us parents need to know, we are not going to let just anyone look after our babies, we want to see written evidence that this person is going to be kind and caring and reliable before we let go of our toddler’s chubby hands and wave goodbye. The star rating and in depth reviews make it easier to get to know the babysitter and find out what they are like looking after real peoples children.

I have not used a babysitter from childcare.co.uk yet , simply because I was not aware how much detail you could find out about the childcare providers and I had no idea there were so many babysitters right on my doorstep – I feel like a date night might be on the cards! Of course, times are strange right now because of Covid but childcare.co.uk has information all about how their members are continuing to care for children safely during this pandemic – you can find this information on their  Coronavirus FAQ page.

If you are in need of any kind of childcare, be it weekend, evening, emergency babysitting, a nursery or private tutor, chilcare.co.uk is a great place to search through hundreds of local providers. The company slogan is absolutely right, it is the easy way to find local childcare. I will be honest, I probably won’t use it while Covid is running riot through Swansea but once things settle down, if I am ever in need of a babysitter and no one I know is available I would absolutely use chilcare.co.uk to find someone to look after the kids for me.

Have you used childcare.co.uk before? Please share your experience in the comments below. If you are an exhausted parent with no one to look after the kids, I hope this post has given you hope that a babysitter could be waiting just around the corner to give you a much deserved break.