TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - When it comes to your kids, you're picky about who you put their care in. So how do you find someone or somewhere reliable to watch your little ones this summer?
"You've got sitters showing up late or not showing up at all. You've got sitters who say they have experience or say they're CPR certified but they're actually not," said Mary Mangan, founder and owner of Seminole Sitters.
The company performs background checks and makes sure their sitters have the necessary certifications. It's something Mangan says all parents should do before hiring someone new.
"You want to make sure that the person you have in your house is somebody that you can trust," said Mangan. "They're not going to invite anybody else into your home, they're going to be caring for your children and paying attention to them and not Facebook. So vetting them very thoroughly beforehand is exceptionally important."
One option you might use to check up on your sitter is a nanny cam. In Georgia, that's legal except in any areas of your home that are private, like a bathroom or a live-in nanny's bedroom.
In Florida, you have to notify your nanny if you have a nanny cam that records both audio and video.
"Even letting a sitter know, just for accountability's sake, 'hey we've got a nanny cam.' It's not only good to be able to check on the sitter but sometimes parents are away at work or they're on a date and they just miss their child and they want to check in and see them," said Mangan.
If you don't want to bring a sitter into your home, you can also take advantage of day care and summer camps. One of the best things you can do when you're looking for quality child care is stop by and check out the facility for yourself.
"Get a tour, look around," said Catelin McLeod, Director of Childcare Network Tallahassee. "Is it clean? Is it safe? Are other children there? Do they look happy? You want them to be active, you want them to get those social skills and have all the great experiences they can while they're still young."
Check out care.com for more info on finding local babysitters.
Here's a guide to 2017 summer camps in Tallahassee.
You can also check out Fun4TallyKids for activity ideas.
Here's the City of Tallahassee's official guide to camp programs.
