School holidays and Christmas are a special time to share with your children, every mama needs a break. If you don’t have family that live close by, or a babysitting arrangement with friends and neighbours, finding safe and reliable childcare can be a major headache.
In my hood (Islington) you could be forking out £12 an hour for an evening’s babysitting — and if you make a last minute booking, rates can go up (while your options drop) significantly.
One solution is to try a babysitting agency such as Like Minders, one of the UK’s leading and most trusted childcare providers. Like Minders was set up in 2009 by two mums, Georgie and Bryony, both with a wealth of childcare and recruitment experience between them. As working mothers, they understand the needs and concerns of parents, and bring a personal approach to their service.
With Like Minders, you pay a monthly membership fee and a small charge for bookings, and they send you childcare to cover practically any requirement, at the affordable rate of £8.50 an hour. You can use their service without signing up as a member, but I like the flexibility and peace of mind that membership offers. So many times I’ve emailed Like Minders after hours to find someone who can look after my boys last minute — and they always come through.
They have a fast turnaround, a friendly manner, and the ladies who work for them are thoroughly vetted, experienced, likeable and mostly live locally to their clients. This is really helpful when you’re out later than planned, and wind up popping the babysitter in a cab home. I’ve had Like Minders carers who have lived walking distance from our place!
Like Minders child carers are:
-over 21 years old
-fully DBS checked (formerly CRB)
-speak English fluently
-extensively reference checked
-carefully matched to the age of your children
Read more about Why Parents Choose Like Minders
You can request to use the same babysitter again if they gel with your kids, and they’ll do their best to accommodate you. Like Minders also hires out temporary live-in nannies, holiday nannies, hotel babysitters, maternity nannies, even daytime childcare. Booking is easy via telephone or email and they also have an iPhone app for 24 hour bookings.
I can personally vouch for Like Minders’ exceptional service and I’m excited that they’re taking part in our 12 Days of Xmas 2016! Visit www.likeminders.com
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Get one month’s free membership with Like Minders using promo code ‘BABESABOUTTOWN’ when registering HERE.
Win Like Minders Babysitting Gift Voucher – 4 HOURS FREE! (12 Days of Xmas 2016)
Like Minders, one of London’s top babysitting agencies, is offering Babes about Town readers the chance to win 4 hours FREE babysitting worth up to £56 for new bookings (£38 for members). Just imagine, you could go out for a date night, catch a movie, hit the clubs, run away with the circus… well, maybe not the circus! But you’ll have a wonderful time knowing that your kids are being safely looked after at home.
**Please note: This giveaway is open to all but Like Minders operates solely in London (zones 1 to 6) and Surrey only at present, although they are looking to expand their coverage.**
Entry is simple via the Rafflecopter form below. NB: Please reload the page if the form doesn’t show and if you still can’t see it, do give us a shout at info@babesabouttown.com. Good luck!
12 Days of Xmas 2016
Every day from Dec 9 until Dec 21, I’ll be giving away a fantastic new prize so don’t forget to subscribe, follow Babes about Town on Bloglovin or just keep coming back. Visit our Competitions page to see the full list of Christmas prizes and more!
Eva Sonaike Designer Make Up Clutch £35 (12 Days of Xmas 2016)
Cinema, Ice Skating, Meal, Drinks
That would be brilliant for me and my partner to have a date night
meal out :)
Go to the theatre, we haven’t been in ages!
Dinner out :)