Babysitting dilemma

amother

Thu, Sep 20 2012, 10:47 pm

After recently losing my former job and having a babysitter this summer, I'm finally starting to work again--but a self-employed route so my hours are a bit hodge-podged right now. I'm trying to get a babysitter. My problem is that I have 2 kids and I really can't afford to have a full-time babysitter by myself, but my older son is 21 months and a live-wire! He gets into everything that's not out of reach and he's at the age when he doesn't play well with other children (and vice versa)! He's a full-time job by himself and I also have an infant! There are days when myself or my husband feel like we can't handle both of them together (especially since infant isn't taking a bottle--but that's another story), and the only way we can afford a babysitter is by splitting half (ideally 2 kids), but how do I go about this with such an active child? I really want him to have an opportunity to play in someone else's house at least a couple days a week to get a change of scenery from our 1-bdrm apt--especially with winter around the corner, and perhaps find a friend to play with to help him with his social skills, but how do I convince other prospective parents about this arrangement?

Any suggestions?