Shari
IsItFridayYet?
TicToc, you asked where I found my sitter. I figured I would answer here, then perhaps others can throw in suggestions, as well.
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For us, the best thing I have found has been 18-21 year old kids going into special education or Occupational Therapist (OT) or related services field. I recruit help from the Occupational Therapist (OT) department at the college or the high school guidance counselor to find them. This is my 4th one. All 4 have been absolutely wonderful. They don't have preconceived "parenting" ideas, they're young and energetic and can keep up with wee difficult child, he feels "special" and "cool" to have a kid this age that wants to hang out with him, and part of the draw with wee difficult child is letting him tag along with these kids when they go to a friend's house to watch a movie or meet at the ball field to play ball, etc. In addition to "babysitting", they tend to include him in whatever activities are going on around them instead of being another authority figure telling him what to do. They become his friend, and we work that angle, we will go watch a sporting event they are involved in, or see them off to prom, which is what I think is the key that makes it work for us. We keep the things we ask them to do with wee difficult child to a minimum - we don't ask them to do homework or chores or anything like that - in order to minimize the potential for conflict, and keep the relationship between them light. For us, it just works. Daycares were a disaster. Even other adult sitters usually don't tend to go as well as kids this age.
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For us, the best thing I have found has been 18-21 year old kids going into special education or Occupational Therapist (OT) or related services field. I recruit help from the Occupational Therapist (OT) department at the college or the high school guidance counselor to find them. This is my 4th one. All 4 have been absolutely wonderful. They don't have preconceived "parenting" ideas, they're young and energetic and can keep up with wee difficult child, he feels "special" and "cool" to have a kid this age that wants to hang out with him, and part of the draw with wee difficult child is letting him tag along with these kids when they go to a friend's house to watch a movie or meet at the ball field to play ball, etc. In addition to "babysitting", they tend to include him in whatever activities are going on around them instead of being another authority figure telling him what to do. They become his friend, and we work that angle, we will go watch a sporting event they are involved in, or see them off to prom, which is what I think is the key that makes it work for us. We keep the things we ask them to do with wee difficult child to a minimum - we don't ask them to do homework or chores or anything like that - in order to minimize the potential for conflict, and keep the relationship between them light. For us, it just works. Daycares were a disaster. Even other adult sitters usually don't tend to go as well as kids this age.
