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One of the toughest things about living on the opposite side of the world from my family is that I don’t have that support network most mums can fall back on, when necessary.
If OH and I want to go out it’s like preparing for a space mission. His family are amazing, but they have their own lives to get on with, so we don’t like to impose on them too often. Oftentimes it’s so much hassle trying to work out the childcare logistics that we just don’t bother.
But the girls are five and seven now, and I really want a little bit of my ‘grown-up’ life back. I want to be able to meet friends in London, go to concerts (speaking of which – just booked tickets to Stevie Wonder in July, squeeeee!!), or just have a bottle of wine up at the local with OH.
There are also those unexpected issues – I dislocated my shoulder late last year, and couldn’t drive for a week, which meant I couldn’t get the girls to and from school. We got by with a mixture of taxi rides (a nightmare with two car seats, and two separate schools to deal with!) and favours from friends, but it was stressful, expensive and far from ideal.
Which is why professional babysitting services are a Godsend for us, as they’re basically our safety net for those times when we just can’t do it all on our own.
Kidsitter was dreamed up one night by three London entrepreneurs after hearing how tough it was to secure reliable, top quality childcare. They decided to do something about it, and six months later Kidsitter.co.uk was launched in Islington.
As well as providing standard babysitting they also offered last-minute childcare (all they can’t guarantee success, all efforts are made to secure you with a short-notice sitter), school drop offs and pick ups and regular bookings. The service was so popular they quickly extended it to cover the whole of London.
Leaving your children with someone other than family is a big deal for parents; you want to know that they’re in safe, capable hands. All the childcare professionals employed by Kidsitter first have to pass a stringent five-point vetting process.
References are carefully checked to make sure only those with glowing recommendations are accepted. All must have a clean DBS check (Disclosure and Barring Service – formerly known as a Criminal Records Bureau), an up-to-date paediatric first-aid certificate, and pass a face-to-face interview. Less than one-in-10 applicants are accepted to Kidsitter, and you’ll find midwives, nurses, teachers and nannies on their books.
I’ve used babysitting services in the past, but have always had to pay a monthly subscription fee on top of the hourly rate I paid directly to the sitter. With this service you simply pay a flat fee of £12 an hour (for a minimum for three hours); the money gets charged to your account 24 hours before the booking, and the sitter is paid via the service once the session has been completed.
(If you’ve ever had to fork out for babysitting rates in London, and all the sneaky addes extras, you’ll know just how reasonable these fees are!).
I don’t use cash a lot these days, so it’s so much easier for me not to have to faff about withdrawing the money and making sure I have just the right amount. Co-founder Faisal Laljee describes it as the ‘Uber of babysitters’ – quick, easy and reliable.
If you’re looking for babysitters in London, visit Kidsitter.co.uk to find out if their service will work for you.
Kidsitter is only available in London at the moment, but will be rolling out to different towns and cities in the UK (you can sign up to be notified as soon as they reach your area).
• image ‘children drawing on sidewalk with chalk crayons‘ courtesy of Shutterstock
