Are you ready to enjoy a night free of stepping on plastic army men and tiaras barefoot, no washing crayon off the walls, or picking the apple sauce out of your hair? 

Hiring a babysitter, especially for the first time is nerve-wrecking. Trial and error is not an option, but how do you know if you have a good babysitter when you aren't there?

Leaving your child with a ‘stranger’ is scary, and it should be.

The first day at day-care, a babysitter, a crèche, the first day at school, all times when you are essentially leaving your child with a stranger.

Children are natural adventurers; it is often the parent that drives the fear. Where does this fear come from? 

Time is something most working parents in Perth and around Australia struggle with, and the owner of Cherished Cherubs Babysitting is learning to change the clock.

At a recent seminar we were asked to say one challenge we had now, and how we can overcome this challenge. The responses varied, things like being able to stay focused, working out where to put the efforts, making the right contacts, working out the best strategies. They all seemed to have obvious solutions to work with.

Perth parents are often paying babysitters who have no idea what they are doing.

Would you expect a plumber to know how to change a washer, or an electrician to know how to turn off the mains? Yes? Then you should expect that someone minding your most precious gifts, your children, to be reliable, competent, and trustworthy. But how do you know this?

What is it that sets Cherished Cherubs Babysitting apart from other babysitting options?

Why do families keep returning to Cherished Cherubs and large hotels and corporations keep using and recommending us?

I can sum that up in one word – Personalisation.

Mother’s Day is meant to be about children showing appreciation for their mother. I find that this sets families up for a day of expectations and sometimes disappointment. How often do the mum's end up feeling not so special (dependent on behaviours of those around them), or children don't get the reaction they were hoping for from their mum.  

So how about we change this idea of Mother's Day?

With millions of kids out of school across the country due to the coronavirus crisis, parents are scrambling to keep up the semblance of education at home-with sometimes hilarious results. No doubt by now you've tried your hand at "home schooling" your kids and, if you're lucky, it went well. Your kids did their work, didn't complain, and you understood what you were supposed to be teaching.

How are you today I recall my friend asking? What I wanted to say was that I am so tired, I feel like I am not doing enough, being enough and the guilt, I feel guilty all of the time for not being with my children all of the time".  However I responded, I am great, so busy but we are great".  Its too raw to be completely honest when everyone else appears to be doing great.

I know I chose to be a working mum and acknowledge that was my choice but boy in hindsight I don't know how I did it all.  I sacrificed to have it all.

We cherish every cherub that comes in to our care

You’re here because you need someone you feel safe leaving your children with.  Trying to juggle work, social life, and me-time while taking care of your children is challenging for most families which might lead to feeling wiped out, disconnected from your partner and friends and that your whole life revolves around milk, diapers, domestics and no sleep.

Can you remember when your last date was?

Stop the press, Cherished Cherubs Babysitting agency is its seventeenth successful year of business, our amazing agency continues to grow.  Cherished Cherubs Babysitting is a well-established babysitting agency that operates across Perth and the South West region of Western Australia.  They have a team of screened, experienced babysitters that care for children at homes, hotels, creches, functions, weddings and more. 

Having a loving family is great. You can have them babysit your child whenever you have to go somewhere. But what about those people who don’t have this blessing? And even if some people do have caring family members, they live far away. What should those people do? Their best option is to get babysitting service. Finding someone trustworthy enough to leave your child all alone with is the hardest part. I’m sure you love your child more than anything is the world but no matter how loving of a parent you are, you will need a little time out. Parents are the unsung heroes who work 24/7 and don’t get a single day off. So spending a little time without your child will not make you selfish or a bad parent.

Whether you go by mum, mummy, mother or mamma we all have ONE thing in COMMON – we need a Tribe to raise a family and live in the twentieth century. 

The unsung hero is the modern mum who is expected to work like they don’t have children and mother like they don’t work.

Times have changed, the pressures we all face as parents can be insurmountable and at times simply too much.  I know first hand of trying to be superwoman, doing it all and having it all and learnt the hard way it comes at a cost.

I love the old cliché, you just need to make time for yourself.  “Sometimes there is no damn time left in the day and unless I am supposed to get up in the early hours of the morning, there is no more time in the day”.

I received a scoff the other day when I said we were part of the tourism industry. If only they realised how many families visit Perth, and how babysitting is an important part of their stay.

When travellers from regional areas, interstate or overseas visit Perth with their family, they rely on a trustworthy source to care for their children whilst they attend conferences, weddings or social events. Not only are they in a place where they often don’t know anyone, they are also in a different setting, often a different time zone, and sometimes a different culture.

Imagine this….

You are excited your pregnancy is progressing well, baby is due in a month’s time, your family are coming in a week from interstate to help out, all is going to plan, until…..

Your water’s break and you go into labour earlier than planned. Some quick thinking has to happen.  

Do you know when a hill turns into a mountain? Bit of an obscure question?

This is the question we pondered the other day, and on investigation found that although there is a rough guideline, there is no specific point where a hill can be classed as a mountain, and it often depends on what is around that hill/mountain.

In a similar way, when does one become classed as successful? What is the criteria to meet this outcome?

When parents separate it affects the entire family. Regardless of the adult issues, if the best interests of the children are the focus from both parents then that is the best outcome. 

How does Cherished Cherubs assist in these situations?

Jo is a single mum. She works full time to provide for her and her 11 year old daughter.  Her daughter has a condition that makes her hard to manage at times. Living in a housing complex brings additional constraints to consider with management. Jo has limited supports of family and friends around that listen or help her.