Baby Sitting In The Hamptons

Babysitting has been a part of my life since I was born. I often had a sitter when I was younger, and also loved to read the popular “Baby-Sitters Club” book series. Soon enough, I became the babysitter. I learned from the best – my babysitters were fantastic!
By high school, I was babysitting every week. It was a great way to make some money because I didn’t have time for a “real” job during the school year. There were always funny stories that my friends and I would exchange after a particularly interesting job. One time, I spent a whole evening playing dress-up with a little girl in costumes that were way too small for me, pretending to be a princess!
I spend my summers in the Hamptons, so I wanted to break into the babysitting market out here as well. I soon learned that this was complicated. I started by putting up flyers with my phone number, hoping that some frazzled mother would see one and call me up. This did not work very well. The Hamptons elite do not want just anyone watching their children, especially some random girl from a flyer with a New Jersey area code. How could I get the most coveted babysitting jobs on the East End?
Then a friend referred me to Sensible Sitters, a babysitting service headquartered in Manhattan, but also serving the Hamptons, Palm Beach and Los Angeles. The company was founded by Vanessa Wauchope in 2005 and serves more than 1,500 clients nationwide. They have offered the service in the Hamptons since 2006 after some of their clients requested it, so this will be their sixth summer on the East End. But in just the past year, Sensible Sitters has grown tremendously.
Wauchope’s fiancé joined Sensible Sitters last year as CFO after recognizing the potential of the business while studying at Columbia University. Wauchope says that their mission is to provide “flexible but steady jobs to college students in a safe environment,” and to find families “reliable, responsible and educated caregivers to work with their children.” As part of the service, Sensible Sitters finds dependable babysitters, conducts in-person interviews, does a background check, provides CPR-training and checks the sitter’s professional references. The sitters – female and male – are young and engaging, and most can drive and swim to better serve the families. Parents no longer have to worry about who is watching their children – Sensible Sitters does all that work for them.
If families have any special requests or needs, Sensible Sitters works to ensure that a good pairing is made between sitter and child. Wauchope notes that, “We find out what clients and sitters are looking for so we can make the best match.” They even provide babysitters for special events, like weddings, birthdays, and barbecues! In addition, Sensible Sitters handles all the finances through online transactions. The parents pay the company, and then the company pays the sitter. This is a wonderful advantage, minimizing awkwardness of payment at the end of the childcare session.
From a babysitter’s perspective, Sensible Sitters was a great way to break into the Hamptons childcare market. I love how flexible the service is, I can choose the jobs that work with my schedule, and I can customize them to my areas of specialization as well as proximity to where I live. The financial aspect also provides for a smooth and easy payment system. Families love the reliability of the service, the sitters, and the peace of mind that their children are in good hands.
For more information about Sensible Sitters, their rates, and to register online, visit sensiblesitters.com. There is an annual registration fee of $150. 646-485-5121