Is it better to have the same child caretaker or have 2 different ones?

Question

I have a friend that is willing to watch my son for 4 hours a day while I work. But she also has 4 other kids (3 are in school) and watches her nephew in the evenings. I was thinking I should find another person to share a couple of days because I don't want her to get overwhelmed. I thought if she had a day free she could run to the grocery store or do errands. I don't like the idea of her (or anyone) driving around with my 5 month old. Or is it better to stick with routine and familiarity all week? Thanks for the advice. My hours are 10:30 to 2:30.

Answer 1

We have 3 different people who watch our children. My mother, my husband's mother and my husband's Grandmother. It's a nice way of letting everyone spend a little time with our children.

My mother-in-law use to be our main babysitter while we work, but since our other niece was born--we've been using my mother, as a 6 year old, 4 year old, 3 year old, 9 month old & 7 month old would be too much for one person (my MIL) to handle. And with another niece on the way---it's just adding to a potential kid catastrophe. We'll call her if we want to go out for a few hours but she isn't our main babysitter anymore.

I think you need to decide what's best for your child. If you feel he'll be in good care while she has other children--then let her watch him. If not, then try to find someone else sometimes.

Answer 2

YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY NOT DO ANYTHING YOUR ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH.  I WOULD NOT WANT ANYONE BESIDES MYSELF OR MY HUSBAND TO BE DOING ERRANDS OR DRIVING AROUND WITH MY NEWBORN.  GO WITH YOUR GUT INSTINCT