Guide: How to Find a Babysitter in Edmonton

Parents of young children know how difficult it can be to find a babysitter. We were there - and we know just how difficult it can be to find the right fit for after-hour childcare. As working parents at growing business that took us out of the home four nights each week, we’ve vetted, interviewed and trialled at least seventy-five babysitters over the course of the last five years. Of those, we’ve regularly used a half-dozen who became our regulars.

Speaking with new friends, and acquaintances, we were often met with surprise that we were able to not only find babysitters, but that we were able to find great babysitters in Edmonton. Let’s talk about how (and where) we found a babysitter in Edmonton.

Here’s How to Find a Babysitter in Edmonton

Start in Your Neighbourhood
Join your local Neighbourhood group, app or Facebook group and connect with parents in your local neighbourhood. In this group, you can connect with local parents to find Edmonton babysitters to suit your family’s needs. Leverage these local moms groups, community neighbourhood groups, and parents you run into in the school pick-up line. Local connections are where we’ve found some of our best sitters, vetted heavily by parents that we know and trust. The next time you’re in the school pick up line, strike up a conversation - you might just leave it with a brand new babysitter.

Try a Babysitting Group
Connecting with Edmonton babysitters is simple when you find a community Facebook group. A popular choice for parents living in Sherwood Park and area, is the Sherwood Park Babysitters Group. On this group, you can connect with babysitters to find childcare, and even short-notice sitters in your area. There’s an Edmonton version, the Edmonton Babysitters Club, here.

Find a Sitter in the Wild
Have you ever been at a park, skating rink or community centre and spotted a teen or twenty-something with a group of kids, in the role of babysitter? Being able to witness how Edmonton babysitters care for children in the wild gives you a valuable insight on whether that babysitter is right for your family. So, the next time you’re at the playground and you see an incredible babysitter, don’t be afraid to approach them to ask if they’re accepting new clients!

Use BirdieBreak - Edmonton’s Babysitting App
BirdieBreak is an app created by two local mothers that connects parents with Edmonton babysitters. The app allows you to screen babysitters, connect with them and even sort out the details on the app. The app services areas in Edmonton, and outside of the city, like Sherwood Park and St. Albert. You can download BirdieBreak, here. We love BirdieBreak, because the babysitters are pre-screened by their expert team.

Try a Childcare Swap
Find a friend or a school parent with children of the same age, and propose a swap. You can even connect with local moms in Facebook, community of networking groups. Trading childcare for a night out, or even a full day to run errands reduces the out of pocket money that you’re going to spend on childcare. As an added bonus, when you choose a childcare swap with like-aged children, it’s a fun experience for all the kids involved.

The childcare swap works particularly well if you’re parenting of a pre-school-aged child, but not particularly well if you’re searching for a one-off babysitter, or regular babysitter for date night, after hours. We found the most success in these types of swaps for a full day of childcare, or a half-day swap.

Finding the right Edmonton babysitter can give you a much needed night out, respite for appointments for self-care, health appointments and your next date night.