Finding a babysitter can be challenging at times, especially if you’re new to the area or are just starting to look for one. You want someone responsible, friendly, safe, and trustworthy for a reasonable cost. Though you may see flyers advertising babysitting services or hear of teenage neighbors looking for babysitting jobs, you always want to make sure to do a background check and test their skills before leaving them alone with your children.
Whether you are looking for a one-time or last-minute sitter or need someone to watch your kids regularly, here are some of the safest places to find a safe and reliable babysitter in the Portland area.
Care.com
Care.com is a site with registered babysitters, nannies, pet care, and more around the United States. All caregivers are required to complete a background check during the screening process, but the website recommends parents run their own background check on the caregiver before hiring as an extra safety measure.
On Care.com, you can filter through candidates by the level of experience, certifications, list of duties, distance, availability, and hourly rate. It makes it easy to find a qualified babysitter in your area and saves time by narrowing down your options with those specific filters. If you don’t have time to sort through candidates, you can post a job that will go out to the large pool of caregivers to respond.
Once you’ve found some candidates, you can schedule interviews, check references, request and purchase additional background checks through Care.com, and hire the best babysitter for your child.
Portland Nanny
This Portland-specific nanny website is dedicated to matching families with highly qualified nannies for short-term and long-term childcare. All nannies are vetted through an extensive hiring process, including interviews, current CPR certification, references, and a clean background check.
They serve the Greater Portland area and anywhere within a 20-mile radius. There is a minimum number of hours for their services. If you hire a nanny before 5 PM, they require you to hire a nanny for at least 4 hours. Any nanny services after 5 PM only require a minimum of 3 hours.
UrbanSitter
For parents of the modern age, UrbanSitter is a nationwide app where you can search for local babysitters in Portland. After you sign up, you can find lists of babysitters categorized by how popular and highly reviewed they are by parents in your local school, neighborhood, parent group, or church.
All sitters go through an extensive background check and upload their certifications, so you know what to expect before going through the interview process. Using the app, you can search or post a job listing for free. Then you can schedule a time to interview and then book the sitter through the app. You pay the babysitter and any app fees through the app once you’ve hired the sitter.
UrbanSitter has not only babysitters looking for jobs, but also nannies, tutors, pet sitters, and elderly caregivers, just like Care.com.
Bambino
Bambino is another nationwide app that allows you to find available sitters in your area quickly. It uses social media to find sitters recommended by your neighbors and friends. You first create a Facebook profile and then narrow down your options by experience, age, or price.
Families booking sitters do pay a fee, but everything is done in the app. It’s great if you need a last-minute babysitter and want trusted recommendations from your friends or neighbors.
YMCA
Your local YMCA or youth center is a great place to find local babysitters. You can put up your own advertisement or check to see if there are any available youths with the right qualifications to watch your children. This is a good place to look if you need short-term care or just a couple of hours for someone to watch your child while you run errands or take care of other things.
However, make sure to conduct your own background check before hiring someone since there is no vetting process in place. We recommend also supervising or being in the house with the candidate as they care for your children for the first time so you can see how they work.
Emily currently lives in Orange County, California after spending four years in Illinois and half a year teaching in Florence, Italy. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from Knox College and an M.A. in Counseling from the University of San Diego and has taught English to native speakers and ESL students for over three years. When she’s not working as a School Counselor or writing, she enjoys traveling the world, playing instruments, and blogging about Millennial experiences at Long Live the Twenties.
