Can you recommend a Seattle-area nanny agency?

December 28, 2008 10:40 AM

Can you recommend a nanny / babysitter agency in the Seattle area?

I need a part-time nanny or babysitter. After years of looking for sitters through craigslist, sittercity.com, MeFi Jobs, and the like, I'm ready to pay for a simpler experience.

Can you recommend an agency in the Seattle area? How about Shoreline / Bothell / Lake Forest Park?

I'm looking for a nanny who has experience with kids with special needs; are there agencies specializing in that? (I'm looking into respite care, but let's presume for now that I don't have it.)

Any advice on agencies in general, or specific agencies I should avoid, would also be appreciated.

posted by The corpse in the library to Grab Bag (3 answers total)

Annie's Nannies and Seattle Nanny Network are two of the biggest.

My ex-girlfriend is a nanny and she applied at both. From her perspective, Annie's was terrible--they sent her to several interviews which blatantly did not match her requirements (pet preferences, neighborhoods, ages of children, etc.), botched up interview coordination, and didn't seem to be listening in general. Maybe she just got a bad agent.
SNN was much more professional and organized, that's who she ended up finding a great family through.
posted by manuelw at 11:02 AM on December 28, 2008

I have had excellent luck with sittercity.com. I know it is active all over the US. You can find all types of caregivers there.
posted by FergieBelle at 1:00 PM on December 28, 2008

Seconding Sitter City. We scoured the web/local listings for a Bothell/Kenmore based service to no avail. Sitter City provided a perfect match on our first attempt.
posted by prinado at 3:04 PM on December 28, 2008