In Reply to: Babysitters ...... ? posted by Tiffany on Monday, 9. August 1999 at 15:27 Bali Time:
We have been travelling to Bali with children for the last 10 years and have always used Balinese babysitters (or babysisters as the Balinese frequently call them!) We have only had one bad experience when the babysitter let our 10 month old get totally mauled by mosquitos while liberally slathering herself with our repellent! She was an older woman only interested in how much we would pay her, I should have trusted my intuition. We have found the younger women (late teens early 20's) to be the best. Hiring through your hotel is often the best way. Stay for a while and watch how they respond to your children. Make sure they speak enough english to communicate with your children. As to entertainment, it is a good idea to take a few things for the children that the babysitters can do with them. We found paper and crayons/felt pens great as the girls would draw with our kids. Also a small tub of Lego which the babysitters enjoyed constructing things with our children. If it is during the day they could walk around the hotel grounds with the children. The main thing is once you feel happy with your babysitter go and make the most of your child-free time.