The sitter search

Finding a baby sitter at any time of year can be difficult, but finding one during the holidays can be particularly challenging.

Child-care services offered through Internet sites are becoming a popular option for parents and caregivers looking for a safe and convenient way to connect.

In Cape Girardeau, two sitters are hoping parents will think of searching for sitters on the Internet not only for the holidays but throughout the year.

Amanda Carter, 22, thought joining a sitter site was the perfect way to get back into child care after a two-year stint as a professional nanny in California. A former Cape Girardeau resident, Carter recently returned to the city with a new husband. She misses working with children and wants to find a family in need of a sitter around her working hours as an aide in a residential nursing facility.

Carter has experience with special-needs children, twins, multiple children and children of all ages."I'm pretty comfortable with any age and any situation," she said.

Carter is registered at sittercity.com, one of the many child-care Web sites that connect sitters and families."Sittercity offers some security," she said as the reason for choosing it. "You get to know people online first."

Similar sites that connect families with child-care providers include BabysitterExchange.com, CallforSitters.com and BabySitters.com. All have search engines on the site to find a local caregiver.

There are also professional nanny Web sites catering to families seeking a full-time caregiver, such as nannies4hire. com. Parents are assisted with background checks by site staff members, which can save thousands of dollars over having a nanny agency do it, said company president Candi Wingate.

"Convenience is the main reason people visit our site," she said. "People today want to do things online."

Genevieve Thiers, founder of sittercity.com, said applicants must complete a questionnaire and must be at least 17 years old. The site walks clients through the registration process and offers suggestions on doing background checks.

Prices are negotiated between the sitter and the parent, Thiers said. The process usually starts through e-mails between the sitter and the parent as a safety measure.

When sitters and parents are comfortable with each other they can exchange telephone numbers or arrange a meeting.

Now based in Chicago, Ill., Thiers started the site in 2000 when she was in Boston.

Baby-sitting got her through college, she said, and creating a baby-sitting Web site seemed like a good idea.

"We were the first site to do anything like this," she said. "We're still the market leader."

Some companies have purchased yearlong sittercity.com memberships for their employees, she said.

Today between 150,000 and 300,000 sitters are listed on the site, Thiers said. Parents are charged a fee to view potential sitters.

Ninety percent of the sitters on her site work part time. Holidays are the busiest times, she said, particularly New Year's Eve. The site puts up special New Year's Eve lists in November so parents can book a sitter before the rush.

Southeast Missouri State University student Taylor Prigge got three jobs through sittercity.com last summer in her hometown of Crystal Lake, Ill. She averaged $10 an hour over the summer, she said.

One family had just moved from Chicago to the country near Crystal Lake with a toddler. Another family had five children between the ages of 2 and 11. Another had two toddlers, one with epilepsy.

"I felt confident enough to deal with that, so it worked out well," she said.

The experience was positive enough that she has decided to expand her availability to Cape Girardeau after the Christmas holiday to pick up some extra money.

carel@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127