Hi,
I'm writing an article looking at the various methods people use to get a babysitter, for a magazine called OneUp. Do you group together with other parents and take it in turns to have nights out? Use family members? Employ local teenagers? Use a qualified childminder? Buy a bottle of wine and stay in?!
I'd love to hear how you manage to organise a night out, whether childcare is tricky to organise and what tips you have for other parents trying to find someone to care for their offspring for the night. Accounts of what worked and what didn't would be great, the more inventive/unusual the better.
Please email or PM your number and I'll give you a quick call, or alternatively tell me your story in the PM/email. I'll need to use your full name.
Masses of thanks for any help,
Rachael

Rachael Glazier
Freelance journalist and food writer
Website: www.rachaelglazier.co.uk
Email: rachaelglazier@gmail.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1273 327 677
Mobile:+44 (0) 7939 258 172

Most of the time i don't go out but on the odd occasion my eldest son will babysit(he is very good) but he will only do that when he lives at mine. If Im going to a show i have to juggle things between my ex's family and mine so they dont all have him for too long or i feel Im taking advantage.

Have never left this tiddler with anyone who he is not related to the other one we had a babysitting circle and once a year we was allocated a certain number of vouchers and then you cashed them in with someone in the group. i always used to offer to babysit Christmas eve and new years eve as you got double vouchers and used mine up going out every weekend in the summer. That was 15 years ago now though lol

We do a similar thing with my brother in law, he is never flush for money, so for Birthdays and Christmas he gives us babysitting vouchers. It works really well.

Luckily when we moved here, 10 years ago the daughter of our next door neighbours was 12 and really sensible. We only ever went to our local 1/3rd of a mile away if we were drinking with her mum and dad. If we needed to go further away we made sure that her mum and dad were on hand nearby in case of any problems.
When she started going out herself, we found a new babysitter when my daughter was at brownies. She lives in the next road down from us, but has just turned 17 herself, so she is starting to go out now as well!!
I'm hoping that her younger sister who is 15 is as mature and sensible as Claire.

Going out whats that ????

Was just thinking the same thing to, was going to ask DH but he's glued to Sky Sports 1 at the moment shouting at the Ref (oh what a surprise!!!)

We have a fab couple that live next door.. they have no grandchildren and have adopted ours as theirs.. the kids love them and they love the kids and i know they are in safe hands... if all else fails my sisters ex hubby has the boys over the weekend for us.... we try and go out once a month at least.

i don't know but when you find out let me know...

We ask if people can babysit and they say.."ohh sorry we are out that night"....i didn't even say when !!!! my kids ain't that bad..

We did have a fab babysitter....she was our paper girl and looked nice and sencible...so one day i grabbed her and asked how old she was and if she wanted to do some babysitting...(desperate i know).. anyway she was brilliant..mum was a nurse and lived just round the corner...but sadly she grew up, got married and had kids of her own... so we are back to never going out together again...and i miss it so much....and oh...our paper is delivered by a little old man now, kids might be too much for him...pmsl xx

Nothing inventive here, I'm afraid, met a nanny at playgroup, she babysat for us every Saturday night for about 2 years till she left the country, nothing to do with my son you understand, she absolutely adored him & would very kindly keep him up so he slept in on the Sunday! She was THE most fabulous babysitter, she cleaned the kitchen to blinding quality too after he was tucked up in bed (she insisted) - she was great! I still miss her as she became a good friend too.....
Had many good babysitters, all paid very well & well worth it as we both (husband & myself) needed the night out & no parents within 100 miles to help out!
Did you say group together with other parents?? No thanks LOL
No quoting me now!

We kindly ask our parents & Sister in law.

having 3 boys i dont exactly have a queue of willing volunteers but when my mate comes home for 3 months from turkey every year its the boys dad who has them while we go out more or less every weekend, but other than that i dont go out as much as i used too

got 3 boys aged 3, 4 & 5 so don't get many volunteers! we have to split them up if they sleeping out at families house ( not very often). Occasionally we use my brother in law's girlfriend. She gets paid well and I can trust her. I don't think I would feel comfy with a stranger in my house.

Me and my husband very rarely go out together, as our only babysitter is my Mum and she is permanent carer for my Gran, who is very hard work, so I feel as though Im taking the mick to ask too often.
At the moment we go out about 3 times a year if that!!
She is picking my eldest up from school and my youngest from my husband when I attend my courses, so in a way thats babbysitting for us as Im bettering myself!
I do wish sometimes we had another babysitter, but to be honest nobody has ever offered!

I find it harder to go out now my children are teenagers.They want lifts to go out themselves and be picked up so we can't drink.They never want to come with us but they don't want to go to granmas and if we leave them in the house together they try to kill eachother or we come back to find the house full of everyone elses kids.