For many parents, finding the right person to babysit their children can be a difficult task, but the reward for their efforts is the assurance that their children are in safe and capable hands.

So how do you find the right babysitter for your family?

The first choice to find a new sitter is to follow the recommendations of friends that you trust. If you are new to an area or can’t find a sitter, try online matchmaking services like Sittercity. They are America’s first and largest online babysitter network. With hundreds of thousands of care providers, they have found a way to make it easier to find the perfect babysitter, even if you are new to town.

Once you have gathered a list of prospective sitters, interviewing them and checking their references will help you further narrow down your sitter choices. (Some online services will even run background checks and check references for you.) Don’t be tempted to skip this step. Avoiding a bad sitter is well worth the added upfront effort.

Then, during the interview, you can ask about his or her experience caring for children and whether the sitter are skilled in areas like pre-med, early childhood education, CPR, or first aid. In addition, you may want to invite the new babysitter over for a test run while you’re at home, so they can become familiar with him or her.

Thankfully, with new online resources, help from friends and family, and a little bit of effort, your children will be in capable hands in no time.

Want to check for Sittercity sitters in your area? Try their FREE search for sitters below!