Babysitting in Negril?

[Jambarney]

Eden, although not recent, we have been visiting negril on a regular basis since our son was in diapers. We always used our house keeper from the hotel we were staying at. Back then when lil jamb was that age it was either Rondel Village or twice it was Beachcomber.

We would not even consider someone that wasn't employed by our "home base" hotel and some visits if we did not feel comfortable for whatever reason with the staff that we interacted with daily then we just bit the bullet and didn't venture out.

That we can remember only one time did our house keeper (with enough notice) not jump at the opportunity to make extra and good money. We totally planned our escape, hmmmm... evening out around what was best for our house keeper. When lil jamb was that age we were the type of parents that literally growing up his grandmother or for a couple years a chain daycare (kindercare / la petite ) watched him, literally no one else, we just considered that period in his life and for our mental comfort the only options. The single time our housekeeper was not available she introduced us to a co-worker that was working another section of our home base hotel that we met beforehand and all involved felt very comfortable. Even then we just could not stay out for more than a few hours without worrying getting the best of us. Your question is extremely valid and any parent would have similar concerns.

So in short depending upon what hotel you are staying at my (opinion only) advice would be only considering a staff member you see daily at your homebase that you really hit it off with and making a worthwhile offer. Personally our son is now 16 and back when he was a toddler, youngster, if we went out for a few hours we paid our house keeper $40 or $50 and considered it well worth the peace of mind. I am sure there will be many that will say that's way too much, but during a 2 week trip on only a couple of occassions to us money well and wisely spent. You can not put a price on peace of mind with your children.

Hope this helps and hope your vacation rocks!!

Jamb

[TiCtOc]

I have been lucky when mine were a lot younger to have family in Jamaica,
so a family member or 2 would come to the hotel for the weekend to babysit for us when we wanted to go out.
As they got older I used a babysitter from the resort who was recommended by other mothers, tourists and workers.This past trip my eldest were old enough to babysit my youngest for a few hrs if I needed it if my partner did not stay in with them but next trip, the eldest are not coming so it is back to needing a sitter if we go out.
We have discussed this between us (me and partner) and we do not feel comfortable leaving our youngest alone with a sitter.We would not do it in this country and so we will not do it there unless it is someone we know and trust with our life, or our sons life he is our world!But I had twin children first so leaving one child alone feels very different to me anyway as I have always left them TOGETHER.People with just one child must do this all the time!
I think previously when I left them with sitters I was happy in the knowledge his big sisters were there if he needed a drink or woke up and obviously the baby sitter would have seen to him but just incase "she didn't"
We will be asking family to come down to Negril to take care of our son next trip if his big sisters are not coming.
Some hotels and villas come with your own private nanny.Check credentials get recommendations.
My kids are my world and it is a big worry wherever you go ~ childcare. I have had very few people around my children but then I am a bit of an overprotective mum!
There are lovely ladies out there who will look after your children great.Depends if they are off work or available.What hotel will you be at?