We don't actually have a babysitter...

Though I guess I would have to vote Grandma for the once a year my Mom comes to visit and we get a date night. Does that count?

How about just "a friend"??

Me, Myself, and I, plus my wife. We don't have relatives and trust nobody. Dull life but safe kids. We are committed to raising our kids not handing them off to someone else.

No one. With a "special needs" child, we don't go anywhere.

Why isn't "The TV" in these options?

When they were younger we used a teenaged girl who lives down the street but now at 11 and 8 they sit themselves.

Usually it's my 14yo watching the 12 and 9yo, but sometimes the 12yo is alone with the 9yo. Occasionally a grandparent helps (I'm a single mom). I've only paid a babysitter once in 14 years. Clearly, I live a very, very dull life.

We don't go out often, but it's nice having family nearby. I fix all their computers and they take turns watching the little tyke... it's all good!

Co-workers

We usually bring our baby to the bar with us.

willybbridge wrote:We usually bring our baby to the bar with us.

Or we just have the 5 yr old watch the 4 and 3 yr old.

My parents get my daughter overnight every other weekend. I don't really consider it babysitting as we rarely go anywhere when they have her. If I do have to find someone at some other time to watch her, she usually just has a sleepover at a friends house. My daughter is 9 years old.

When my son was younger (he's 15 now), I was a single mom and had nothing but nightmare babysitters while I worked. No matter how much I researched them, dropped in unannounced, etc... it always ended up being a bad situation once we were using their services. We've been through stabbings, the lady that taught my son at a year old that she was his mother because I was at work, the lady who piled a half dozen kids without car seats into her car to following her cheating husband around... those are the GOOD experiences we've had...they get worse. SO, with our next youngest - and last - child, our 3-year old daughter, we suffer through having no money for anything so I can stay home with her. She is ALWAYS either with me, her father (my husband), my own parents (in-laws are dead), with her older siblings or with the ONLY friend I trust who has 3 kids of her own. We struggle a lot and sometimes have to ask for a little help financially, but I know she's safe.

noparallel wrote:Me, Myself, and I, plus my wife. We don't have relatives and trust nobody. Dull life but safe kids. We are committed to raising our kids not handing them off to someone else.

I just don't get this statement.

"We are committed to raising our kids not handing them off to someone else."

Having a baby sitter for a maybe 2 hour window were your wife and you go on a date is not "someone else raising your kids".

Babysitter??? What's that?

An older woman from our church (who REALLY appreciates the extra cash).

Another church (where our kids attended pre-school) now sponsors a 'Kids Night Out' once a month - parents are invited to drop off their kids (for a reasonable fee) for few hours of supervised playtime.

gholt121 wrote:How about just "a friend"??

Yep, it's either a friend, or just the parents (us).

Mr. Vasectomy keeps all my babies right where I sit.

We have our neighbors watch our little one and sometimes friends. But for the most part my wife and I have different work schedules so one of use is usually with her when she is not at daycare.

Neighbor with a kid the same age. We trade off, no money involved and the kids keep each other occupied.

We have the best little high school girl. She is great. Bathes the little ones, changes diapers, makes sure all three are fed, and in bed on time. Then she picks up some.