Where did all the baby sitters go?

In the endless quest for time alone, parents are poring over websites, perusing MySpace pages – and paying a premium.

from the May 16, 2007 edition

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Robin Gorman Newman of Great Neck, N.Y., cofounder of Motherhoodlater.com, used e-mail to search for someone to care for her preschool son. "I did an e-mail blast to people I know locally," she says. "I went after networker types." Her efforts paid off.

For Lisa Earle McLeod, an author and mother of two in Atlanta, the Internet offers another way to check out a baby sitter: She looks at the teenager's MySpace page. "Colleges are doing that now – Googling applicants and seeing what their MySpace page looks like," she says. "With the Internet, there's really no place to hide."

Other parents are turning to online baby-sitting services. Some are small and regional. Others, such as Care.com and SitterCity.com, are national. Providers can describe their background and list their availability free of charge. Parents pay a monthly fee and can request a background check.

"We hand-review each profile," says Sheila Marcelo, president of Care.com. "Providers can post videos of themselves online. It makes it easy for parents to view the videos of the caregivers before they interview them."

Although she calls the Internet "a very efficient way for people to find each other," she adds, "You have to be smart about it, using background checks, screening, references, and interviewing."

One Care.com provider, Amanda Kowitz of Weston, Mass., works full time and baby-sits on weekends. Describing the learning curve some parents face in using online services, she says, "People have interviewed me who have no idea what to ask beyond 'When are you available?' and 'How much do you charge?' "

Some parents, like Ms. Shaham, remain wary of cyberspace connections. "My sister hired a nanny from Craigslist," she says. "But in my experience finding a sitter is still a word-of-mouth thing. That gives people the most comfort. Most of my friends prefer to hire a neighbor."

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