Safety for our loved ones is a huge priority at Care.com, and for parents everywhere.

But don't take it from me! Dee Z., our director of product management, wanted to share her tips for finding a babysitter with you -- because she's not only a Care.com staffer, but also a client.

~ Sheila

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When my daughter was a baby, my nickname was "Safety Dee." I was the one who sent in the product registration cards, put up the safety gates at three months, never left the baby on the bed, and pored over recall notices. It's been about five years now since someone called me Safety Dee, but I like to think I've hung on to some of those good habits and let go of those slightly compulsive ones. With a reputation like that, many of my friends still can't believe that I use an internet service to find child care. But, for me, finding good child care anywhere (online or otherwise) is all about the vetting process.

Sure, I work at Care.com, but I'm writing to share my experience as a Care.com member and a mom -- not as an employee. Since joining Care.com, I've found four great babysitters in the past 18 months: a wonderful exchange student, who moved home to Germany; a fantastic occasional sitter on her way to med school; an afterschool sitter about to become a mom herself; and, my latest babysitter, a college freshman about to spend her whole summer entertaining my kids and keeping them safe.

I think one reason Care.com has worked so well for my family is that I have an extensive vetting process. It looks something like this:

1. Look for the right match
First, I post a job and then review applications and profiles with a few key things in mind. I know my kids are high energy and love sports, so I usually look for a student who is energetic and plays sports. Everyone is looking for something slightly different, and the key is not to compromise your priorities. Once I've sent some messages and narrowed the list down to two or three people, I move on to the next step.

2. Run a background check.
No, they don't catch absolutely everything, but they're included for free with the service and do provide some good initial insight and details. The second sitter I hired actually failed her background check, but thankfully I was able to look at the details right on the site and found out it was for a speeding ticket when she was 18 years old. Not a showstopper for me.

3. References
Check references and ask a bunch of questions. I always ask the reference why that sitter doesn't work for them anymore. I also ask if this was their "best" sitter ever, and about how the sitter handled changes of plan, bad behavior, emergencies, etc.

4. Quality time!
The final thing I do is spend time with the sitter. In addition to our initial meeting, I try to schedule at least 8 to 10 hours of sitting when I will be around. (Ok, so maybe there is still a bit of over-the-top behavior in my parenting… “Safety Dee” isn't completely gone. :) I try to work from home or plan to organize, clean, cook, and do other random things around the house. This gives me the opportunity to watch the kids and the sitter interact and it gives the sitter a chance to see how I behave around the kids as well.  

As I wrote this note, I'm back at the office and my new sitter is with my daughter for their first day out alone together. So far, I've only called once and sent two text messages -- not bad! By next week, I'll have full confidence in her ability to handle any situation that may arise. Care.com did a great job of connecting us and giving me to the tools to get through the first few steps in my process, but the key for me is really getting to know someone so I can feel comfortable and secure in the fact my kids are safe and having a good time.

Every day, we hear about another area of life that the recession has impacted. One of the issues that has hit home for many families is the number of local day care centers that have shut their doors over the past year. Across the country, centers are shutting down, due to loss of funding, lack of clients, or both.

It seems like everywhere I go, parents always ask me, "How much should I pay my babysitter?" The best answer that I can give is, "It depends!"

We're fortunate that my brother, Dario, and sister-in-law, Grace, live nearby so we can take turns watching each other’s kids and save money on child care. And the kids love the regular playdates with their cousins. But before Dario and Grace moved to the Boston area, it was hard to find other families I trusted who were willing to share care. With the economy the way it is, we’ve had many parents writing in asking us for help around this—so we launched Care Exchange! It's a simple way to find other families in your local area that have similar needs.

Care Exchange is a way for Care.com members to network online, meet each other, and set up times when they want to trade care services for their kids and pets. Think of it as an easy way to start a one-on-one babysitter co-op. Say you want to set up regular dates with your special someone. Now you can post an ad to trade care on weekend nights with another family. They'll watch your kids one evening and you watch theirs' the next. It's a simple trade and everyone wins. Care Exchange is also a great way to save money and your kids will love the chance to have extra playdates.

This concept is already a hit in the mom-world:

"My husband and I frequently sitter-swap with our good friends down the street. Once a month, we drop our son at their house for a romantic Friday night date. Then, the following day, they drop their children at our house for a night on the town. It's a great way to save money and help our children develop close friendships with those in their neighborhood." - Michelle C.

"It has been a very busy and tiring week.  Much of what had to get done just didn't.  But now I have 2 hours to catch up with as much as I can. You see, I just dropped my daughter off at [a friend's] home.  Its not a lot of time but it is something, and its completely guilt-free.  No money, no sad faces, it's all good." - Lisa G.

"It's wonderful to have a group of women to depend on in this day in age when most people are becoming more and more disconnected. Friends, flexibility, and free childcare are really fantastic benefits of this wonderful group of women." - Stacey L.
 
"I love that my children get to interact with so many caring adults, and because of it, experience different personalities and techniques in childcare. They also get to play with children they may not meet otherwise, especially children of ages other than their own... And, of course, I love that none of this costs any money!" - Kristen P.

And it's not just about date nights. You can also use Care Exchange to set up regular care-sharing sessions. If you need a set time to run errands, look for a Care Exchange in your neighborhood and see if anyone else is willing to swap days. You'll get your work done, which is great, but it's also a wonderful way to meet other families with similar interests. Who knows? Maybe you'll meet a new best friend!

We're also letting pet owners use Care Exchange to swap pet care services, so if you've got a furry, four-legged friend, check it out, too. Exchange doggie day care service for vacations, or just set up regular exercise sessions for your pets.

What else is new at Care.com?
We have even more exciting, new offerings. First, we've added lessons to our tutoring service. It's not just about reading, writing, and arithmetic anymore! Now, you can find teachers for your kids and set up private lessons in music, art, sports, drama, public speaking, driver's ed, and more. If you don't see the teacher you want today, check back soon because we're adding more on a daily basis.

We're always looking for better ways for our members to find the babysitters and nannies that fit their families, so we've added a new search function for their profiles. You can now sort by hobbies and interests. Need an athletic, soccer-playing sitter to keep your kids active? Or do you want to find a health nut that knows and loves making wholesome foods? Finding one will be a snap, since you can now look through caregivers' hobbies and interests. And it's a way for babysitters and nannies to add a little extra personality to their profiles.

Be sure to check out Care Exchange, Tutoring and Lessons, and the new ways to find a babysitter or nanny. Once you do, let me know what you think! Post a comment and tell us if you'd be willing to set up a Care Exchange, too.

I hope you're as excited as I am about the new things we have going on here at Care.com! We're always looking to serve you better. Thanks for reading!

Lately, I’ve been traveling quite a bit for Care.com (Check out some of the Care.com TV appearances). When I'm home, my husband Ron and I like to spend all of non-work time with Ryan, Adam, and our dogs. But we do need to plan out a regular date night. Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion. We're thinking of taking a trip to NYC with the family. Maybe we'll ask my aunt to watch the boys, and then we’ll catch a dinner at Gramercy Tavern (one of our favorite restaurants)—just the two of us.

What are your plans for Valentine's Day? Do you try to make "date night" a priority?

With work schedules constantly hectic and our kids' schedules jam-packed with activities, it isn't always easy to make time for your spouse. Sometimes, remembering to spend time together gets pushed to the back burner. It's not intentional, but it's easy to miss each other when we're running around in all directions at 100 mph. Making time isn't easy, but it's important.

Try setting up a regular date night, once or twice a month, and always keep that date open, with a sitter pre-booked for the kids. But if you're like our family, and one (or both) of you travels for work, then you'll have to be even more conscious about looking ahead and finding time to set aside. Either way, go ahead and sync those calendars in advance! It's much easier to plan around a pre-booked night, instead of trying to fit one into a full schedule. And when you plan ahead, it's much easier to make sure you have child care reserved for your kids.

If you're having trouble finding a free evening, try mixing up the times. Date night doesn't have to take place at night! Maybe you can meet up for a weekday breakfast or a weekend brunch? Or perhaps you can find a free afternoon to spend time together. If you have to, cash in a few hours of vacation time while the kids are at school to make sure you have time with your partner.

With today's economic environment, finding time isn't the only obstacle in the way of a regular date night. Money can be a concern, but it doesn't have to prevent spending time with your spouse. There are ways to keep the date costs down. First, use our babysitter calculator to make sure you're paying your sitter the best possible rate. You can also trade off child care services with family friends. If they want to have a date night, watch their kids, and have them pay you back by taking care of yours when you go out.

You can also spend less by changing up your couple-only activities. Dinner and a movie is always fun, but it can be a budget breaker. When the weather is nice, spend time outdoors by going for a walk (or if you're more athletically inclined, a run or bike ride) and a picnic. During the winter, you can stay in and cook together, rent a movie, or work on those photo albums that never seen to get organized. If you want more free date ideas, there are some great ones here and here. Whatever you decide do, make sure that the TV, cell phones, and laptops are all turned off! When it's time for date night, your focus should be on your spouse and not on everything else that's on your plate.

I hope you can find time in your schedule this Valentine's Day (and beyond) to spend time with your partner! It's so important to take a breather from our stressful lives and just focus on each other. Plus, it's a lot of fun, too!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

PS – if you're planning a dinner party, this Care.com article can help you out.

Seeing the Obama family move into the White House made me think about the difficulties families go through when they move to a new city. Malia and Sasha Obama are settling into a new school and their grandmother, Marian Robinson, came with the family to help the new president and first lady with child care. But most families aren't as lucky—14 percent of the U.S. population moves each year, and many of those families don't have relatives or caregivers near their new home. If you're new in town, where do you go for help?

If you're moving to a new area (or if you're just looking for new caregivers to help your family out), I've put together a collection of resources that will help make your transition as smooth as possible.

Arrange child care
If you're moving to a new place, making sure your children have the resources they need is second only to finding a roof over your heads. There are new babysitters to interview, or even a new nanny to hire. You'll also have to find a new school or day care. During your care search, try to get as much face time as possible with every person and place. Interview the caregivers and visit the schools. When you go, take a list of questions with you, so you know what to look for and can stay organized.

Keep your kids involved in your decisions. Bring them to meetings and school visits, if possible. Have your children meet your new caregiver before you hire her—kids can be very perceptive and you want to make sure they're comfortable with their new sitter or nanny. 

See more:
Care Clips—How to Interview a Babysitter

Make your pets comfortable
Some pets (like birds, fish, and reptiles) handle moves easily, as long as you keep their tanks and cages the same. However, new environments can be stressful on your dogs and cats. I've heard stories of animals running away and trying to find their old homes because they're confused or scared. Sometimes, dogs and cats will bark or meow more (or even bite and scratch) because they're nervous.

Pets have needs, too! Try spending a few more minutes with them each day, give them treats, and let play time run long. They'll love the attention and the affection you show will help reduce stress. If no one's home during the day, it's a good idea to have a pet sitter stop by to take them for walks and introduce them to the neighborhood.

See more:
Traveling with Pets

Help with the move
One of the biggest stresses about moving is just that—moving. Packing, unpacking, cleaning, and decorating can be fun, but most of us can only deal with small doses. Try to do too much, and you'll easily become overwhelmed. If you can find extra help, the whole process goes much smoother, but paying a moving company can get expensive quickly.

There are cost-effective ways to cut stress when you're moving. First, set up a packing plan, so you map out in advance what will go into each box. Then you won't have to pull out your hair when searching for a child's favorite toy or a pile of necessities. Organize a "pack and play" party with neighborhood friends—the kids can play while the adults get elbow-deep into bubble wrap, tape, and cardboard. Set up a housecleaning appointment in advance of your move, too, so your new home will sparkle when you arrive.

See more:
Moving with Children

Don't forget those "left behind"
If you're part of the sandwich generation (the group of Americans that have young children and also care for their elderly parents), be sure to make arrangements for your loved ones' care before you go. Depending your parents' needs, that may be helping them find an assisted living facility, hiring a home-based senior care aide, or just making sure they have a regular ride booked for weekly grocery shopping trips.

See more:
The Care.com Guide to Senior Health Care Issues

If you one of the millions of Americans moving this year (just like the Obamas), you're no doubt under a lot of stress. I hope these tips will help smooth the transition as you settle into a new city, state, or neighborhood.

If you've recently moved, what are some of the things you did to make life easier? Tell us with a comment below!

In today's tough economic times, we're all looking for ways to save money. Child care is a difficult place to cut back, though. No one wants to compromise on quality of care for our little ones. How do you trim the budget but also keep great care options for your kids?

Many families have joined a babysitter co-op as a way to save on child care—it's a trend that's growing quickly. A co-op is a group of parents who take turns watching each other's kids for free. Instead of paying a babysitter, participants earn points by watching another family's kids and then cash in those points when they need a sitter.

Advantages to a babysitter cooperative
As a mother, I'd have peace of mind using a co-op. For one, you have other moms taking care of your kids—moms you know and trust. You also know you're not imposing. Because co-op members work off a points system, you're not asking anyone to do you a favor. They'll be back to use your services soon enough!

It's also a great way for your kids to socialize. They'll get to know other families in your neighborhood, which builds community. But there are also great benefits for parents—you can have a chance for a regular date night! Use the money you save on sitters to treat yourselves to a nice meal, or just spend a couple quiet hours on your couch, watching a movie and enjoying each other's company. You can also use the free time to run errands or take care of business around the house.

What do I need to know before choosing (or starting) a co-op?

• Find the right fit
  
  Babysitter co-ops can be as small as three families or as large as 30. But most range in size from 10-20 households. That way, the kids get used to playing together and all the parents know each other. If a co-op is too small, you may have trouble finding a sitter when you need one. But if it's too large, you lose the community feel.
  
  
• Who's in charge?

Some co-ops use a secretary to keep track of the point system. Other co-ops use an honor system, where each parent keeps track of their own points. Many of those groups use point cards or fake currency to keep track—they'll "pay" the sitter at the end of the day with co-op points.
It's also important to know what the point system is. Many co-ops keep it simple and charge parents one point, per child, per hour. Others charge more on the weekends, round up to the next full hour, or break it down to 15-minute increments. Make sure you know what the "currency" is before you sign up.

• What are the rules?

When starting a co-op, parents should put together a list of rules for its members. This list can be informal, but it's important to set up in advance to avoid conflict. In addition to establishing a point system, the co-op also has to adopt an acceptance policy. How will you add new families? Will the co-op be open or closed to new members? Parents should also agree on basic sitter policies including plans for disciplining children and keeping emergency contacts on-hand for every member.

Other ways to save
Perhaps a babysitter co-op isn't the answer for your family. That's okay—there are other great ways to cut costs, but not the care. If you have relatives nearby, try using grandparents, aunts, and uncles as babysitters. Or you could even hire a babysitter to share with another family, cutting the cost in half.

If you do decide to join a co-op, make sure you also have a backup babysitter. If your co-op isn't large or you need a sitter for a popular night (like New Year's Eve or Valentine's Day), you'll want to make sure you have other options available, just in case.

What about you? Would you join a co-op or are you already in one? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

A few years ago I interviewed a job candidate at another company and was surprised when they asked about my two kids. They'd obviously “googled” me, since this was the first time we'd met. Recently, at a job interview here at Care.com, the candidate asked me how I liked my undergrad college, and this time I wasn't surprised. In fact, I was impressed they'd taken the time to prepare. It's common now to research each other online. It’s so easy! A search engine, a couple keystrokes, a few mouse clicks, and there you go—you've found someone's online profile in seconds.

When you're looking to hire someone, a new caregiver for example, do you look through the web?

Facebook and MySpace are two of the most popular websites in the world. Almost 300 million people use these social networks to host profiles with filled with pictures, blogs, thoughts, friends, and feelings from their personal lives. Often, these profiles are open to view by anyone with a computer and a few spare minutes.

While the access to information can be good for the searcher, the "search-ee" isn't always expecting the inspection. For example, there's this famous Facebook mishap that landed an intern in hot water after he called out of work for an "out-of-state family emergency," but then posted pictures of himself wearing a costume at a Halloween party. Whoops!

Most people put up a profile to express themselves, share interests, and communicate with friends—stuff you do in your private, social life. Does looking up a caregiver's profile cross any borders?

We asked our caregivers that same question in a blog post (Facebook and MySpace: Guess Who's Watching You?) and received an overwhelming response. Some hadn't even thought about employers checking up on them. One surprised nanny said she read the blog and then immediately switched her profile to private! I'll share some of the comments from both sides here.

Plenty of the caregivers (most were nannies or babysitters since the post appeared in our Child Care blog) didn't mind if their employers saw their Facebook pages.

• "I think it's a great idea because then parents will know if their babysitter is honest and responsible! I'm a great babysitter, so please come check out my profile!" – Erika W.
• "I think it's a great idea. It gives potential families a chance to see who you really are and what others think of you. I love the idea and invite anyone to go check out my profile on Facebook and MySpace." - Amy
• "Parents should absolutely have the right to look at their prospect employee's webpage. There is not a job that is more important or more dangerous than watching someone's children. A parent should know exactly who they are getting." – Rebekah T.
• "I think it's okay. But at the same time, I am a wonderful person around children. I know how to act and be a role model. My Facebook and MySpace pages don't reflect who I am as a babysitter. Nobody is perfect and I'm human like everyone. I cuss, burp, and fart like everyone. I just don't do that in front of children…I think it should really matter [most] how well they work with and care for your children." – Desirae W.

But others considered their pages to be part of their private lives—something their employers didn't always need to see.

• "MySpace and Facebook are about friends and child care is about work. Obviously at your job you're going to be professional and attentive to the children...The things I do in my personal life have no reflection on the things in my professional life." - Dawn
• "While I think it's a good idea to check up on who you're hiring, I don't think Facebook and MySpace are the proper venues. That's what personal references are for." – Casien
• I mind—I mind big time. I have a private profile and I invite and approve people I know, and that's it. Why do I mind? ...Potential clients could think that you're irresponsible for what we do in our private time... I like keeping my private life private. If we want to get all "political" here, I'm sure everyone has something to hide." – Andrachell
• "If you don't know by now that employers and future-employers are looking at your MySpace or Facebook—wake up! Make two separate pages if you have to…I personally got rid of MySpace and have only a Facebook and am very careful of what I and my friends put on my page. I'm an open person—but not that open!" – Sarah

How do you feel about checking Facebook and MySpace when you're hiring a caregiver? And if they've set up a private profile, would you ask to see it? Let me hear what you think in the comments!

We also set up a poll on you My Care.com homepage. Just log into your page and vote. Right now, 31% of voters said they have checked out their caregivers' MySpace or Facebook profile!