Childcare Quandry

Every parent knows what it's like to scramble at the last minute for a babysitter. Try moving to a new city where you barely know anyone and most of your family lives half the country away. Actually, it's more common than you think, especially in L.A. We are living in a city of transplants. There are so many of us out there who are working without the safety net of a large or extended family. Babysitting in families is an expected commodity. Free childcare is traded in exchange for the grandchildren simply existing; and often with the promise of more to come.

So, what do you do when you have a small or nonexistent safety net? Every other day I entrust the
care of my daughter to a seemingly wonderful woman I found on
Craig's List . We drop our daughter off at her home where there is one other girl, also her age. It's a mini-daycare, with the same caregiver everyday. But the bottom line is: I really know very little about this lovely woman except that she is great with my kid and has taken care of kids for years. She knows more about me than I know about her. Sounds crazy, I know. Yet, it works.

It's an odd thing the place between fear and trust. I think this is the place where intuition resides. It's amazing how much you learn to trust it. You make a snap judgement: will I trust this person with my kid or not? Not unlike the decision casting directors face: Can I trust this actor, who I'm casting for a variety of reasons with this script, with this character, with the other cast members...? You just have to go with your gut. As I'm sure they do, everyday.
--Evelyn Elam