Dumb question- how do you find a driver/babysitter for a young teen?

[teachermom2834]

I realize this sounds like a stupid question but I have never hired a babysitter. We just didn’t use them. We had family for emergencies and then the big kids helped with the younger kids. 
 

Now the situation is such that in the fall I am going to need to find (or maybe just want to find) someone to hire either on a regular schedule or occasionally to pick my 14 yo dd up from her high school and drop her off at an activity. Maybe pick up food or run an errand with her or whatever her need might be between school and her delivery at her activity. It’s about a twenty minute drive from the school to activity. I wouldn’t want a young teen driver. I’d be looking for 18+
 

How do I find a responsible such person? Do you set up a meeting and interview? Run background check? References? We don’t know a lot of people but dh can ask around his workplace. He works with a lot of parents in families with young kids and two working parents who utilize various arrangements so that is one word of mouth avenue we can pursue. 
 

Dh’s workplace is coming out with some kind of benefit contract deal with Care.com and we will have some amount of credits we can use for services contracted through there. Don’t have details on that yet. Does anyone have experience or tips for working with people they have found on there?

I realize this is something people do but it still seems strange for me to hire someone I don’t know to pick my daughter up and drive her around. Of course, my kids just a couple years older take Ubers. But I don’t know…she’s my baby I guess. I’m just having a hard time getting my brain around it. Obviously I would wish I could find someone I know or is a friend of a friend but I don’t think that is going to happen. 

Any advice for me? I don’t want irrational discomfort or fear to keep me from doing something that would make my life far more convenient. 

 

[vonfirmath]

Is there a friend involved in the activity who she can go with? Someone else from the school headed that way? I think that is how this is usually handled.

 

2nd option: go to your neighborhood's facebook page and see if there is someone there that is home during the day and can help.

 

[Arcadia]

Are you in the parents group of your daughter’s high school? My backup babysitter used to be my neighbor’s daughter as my neighbor would babysit if her daughter had something unexpected come up. 

[teachermom2834]

This is a private school not in our neighborhood. So while I hope we meet people and make connections to make things easier over time, we will be starting from scratch when she starts as a freshman in the fall. 

[Arcadia]

6 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

This is a private school not in our neighborhood. So while I hope we meet people and make connections to make things easier over time, we will be starting from scratch when she starts as a freshman in the fall. 

I think you can join the school’s booster club (or whatever the parent run fundraising group is called) and the PTA once your child is accepted to the school.

[katilac]

3 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I think you can join the school’s booster club (or whatever the parent run fundraising group is called) and the PTA once your child is accepted to the school.

Well, once you've paid your deposit 😄 but yes, call the school now and ask to join all the things and get on all the lists. Also, check to see if the school has a camp or any summer activities. 

A transportation service for minors is going to be considerably more expensive than Uber. If you go for an individual through Care, it will probably have to be a fairly regular job. No one is interviewing on the chance that you might occasionally call them to drive, kwim?

I'd consider taking some Ubers well before school begins, like several months. You can see how you feel about it and dd will get familiar with the process and how to do it safely (always check that the car and driver match, always make the driver say your name, cancel a ride if you don't like the driver and just pay the penalty). Even if you don't want this to be the main solution, I would make sure she has the app and knows how to Uber safely. 

Will their be any downtime, like waiting for dd at her activity? If so, and if you're willing to have a regular-ish schedule, not call on demand, you might get a college student at a reasonable-ish price, because they can study while dd is in the store, at her activity, and so on. 

Also, make sure friends know you are considering this!  They might know a guy who knows a guy. 

[wintermom]

Public transport is what students in similar situations in our city use.

Edited February 9, 2022 by wintermom

[J-rap]

I'd probably start by checking with the school she'll be attending.  Perhaps they'll have ideas, or know of other students who have done the same thing.  Or, perhaps they know of parents who might be interested in helping out for payment, especially if their children are on the same schedule.  

[SKL]

At two times, I've hired drivers.  The first was a college student that I found by asking around at one of their activities that had part-time / temporary workers.  The second was the retired mom of an employee at my office.

So just ask around the people you know.  Maybe someone knows a person who lives near the pickup/dropoff locations, has a flexible schedule, and could use a few extra bucks.

Another idea is to post it on nextdoor.

[gardenmom5]

My friend traded her advanced ballet students lessons in exchange for them hauling her tween/teen to swim lessons and practice.

Is there a nearby college?

Definitely interview and ask for references.

[SounderChick]

I just asked around a friend of a friend had a 20 yr old that needed extra cash.  Who drove my 12yr old to gymnastics for about a month after I  had youngest.

[mom2scouts]

My neighbor is an Uber driver and he said they are not allowed to take minors without an adult present. If they believe a rider to be under 18, they are supposed to decline to drive, so I would not depend on Uber to get her to her activities.

A woman I know posted on Facebook to find someone to pick her children up from school and drive them to her activities. She did find someone, but I'm not positive it was through her FB friends. It's worth a try.

[ScoutTN]

I have found college student sitters at church and through a student fellowship group.
 

I also found good help hiring childcare staff from our church or the Y - they are already background checked and are more experienced drivers.

[teachermom2834]

Just now, ScoutTN said:

I have found college student sitters at church and through a student fellowship group.
 

I also found good help hiring childcare staff from our church or the Y - they are already background checked and are more experienced drivers.

These are great ideas. I hadn’t thought of the Y but I actually frequent a Y close to both locations. I just haven’t had anyone young enough to use childcare so it didn’t occur to me but it is actually a really good lead I hadn’t thought of. There is a Y near the activity I go to several times a week and another location close to the school both with childcare programs with decent sized staff. 
 

I also have contacts with the leadership of the youth and young adult ministry of our church which is also associated with the private school. So while I don’t know anyone specifically I definitely know people who might know people in the area. 

[ScoutTN]

I did get insurance info and parents’ info and ask for an employer reference for college students.

[teachermom2834]

I do think the school will help connect me with people once we get going. I am just trying to think through scenarios. This is going to be a big change for our family. I know the school gets involved in connecting families for carpools.

For the record, I wasn’t thinking of putting her in an Uber. I know they have rules about under age riders and there have been issues in the news here of some problems that have come up with assaults, etc. I just mentioned Uber in that I know my college kids take them. I definitely was looking to hire someone I actually met and knew. Not a rideshare app situation. 
 

Thanks, all. Like I said, this is going to be a big change for our family and I’m thinking through all the details.

[katilac]

On 2/9/2022 at 7:21 PM, mom2scouts said:

My neighbor is an Uber driver and he said they are not allowed to take minors without an adult present. If they believe a rider to be under 18, they are supposed to decline to drive, so I would not depend on Uber to get her to her activities.

I know that this is a rule, but I have never known an Uber driver to decline a teenager. Of course, pickup at the high school would be a bit problematic! 😅

[Hannah]

We asked a lecturer in the local community college who the best and most responsible student in the Educare (nursery assistant) class was and approached her.  

[LucyStoner]

The summer before my son started high school at a magnet program, we were able to set up carpool with other families in the same area and after school clubs.