Bali is a wonderful place to come on holiday and Seminyak is considered one of the best family holiday destinations. The Balinese have this special ability to make people feel welcome and this is why millions of tourist visit each year. The whole coast line of Indonesia is one giant potential holiday resort, but people still avoid places such as Lombok, Flores, Ambon (and other tropical paradises) and keep coming back to Bali.
Recently there has been a spate of companies springing up who hire out nannies and Babysitters to the tourists take a luxury villa resort for rent Bali or stay in hotel with the all family.
The natural Balinese charisma lends itself perfectly for the care giving profession; this is why so many girls like to make money from babysitting. Thousands of families leave the island with a sense of satisfaction, having known they have fully relaxed and their child(ren) have been cared for properly.
I have lived in Seminyak with my family for Ten Years now and have helped numerous friends find babysitters when visiting us. I thought it would be nice to lay this advice down in a blog for all visiting families to read.
Here are some things to watch out for when hiring a babysitter in your villa form an agency
· Watch out for price. If you use an agency then expect to pay around 50,000Rp an hour and slightly reduced rates for 8, 10 and 12 hourly blocks. This will mean that the babysitter is getting a decent pay. The Indonesian economy is starting to boom, which means the price of living has increased. The old days of super cheap salaries are over. Some companies will offer deals at 30,000Rp (3.50USD) an hour, the babysitter will probably see around 5,000-10,000Rp (1USD) an hour out of this. I can guarantee a girl working for that sort of salary will not be happy and will not work to the best of her abilities. Caring for a child is a specialist job that requires diligence and skill, don't expect to pay cheaply for this service.
*Note if you can find a babysitter who is self employed then paying 30,000Rp n hour is fine.
- The experience of the agency is very important. Usually the Agencies who have been operating for a long time offer the best services. They have an extensive network of staff and know how to handle problems if they may arise. Time is a big test for a company, those agencies that withstand this test are worth going for. New companies come and go all the time, but in my experience they tend to be no good.
· Be careful of false claims. Some websites make bold claims such as 'all our staff are SKKB checked'. It is very uncommon in Indonesia for people to have this check, if a company states they do this then it is definitely worth asking to see proof of this. In ten years I have never had an Skkb Checked babysitter. Just because they don’t have this does not mean it is unsafe.
· Babysitters should come with references, always ask to check these.
· If you found the agency through its website check that there is an Indonesian address on the site. If there is no address on the website it means that there is no business office, which probably means the business is phony.
· Not all babysitters Speak Great English, just as the not all expats speak great Indonesian. The babysitters are not experts of the English language, most of them have a low-medium skill in English but this does not tend to hinder communication too much. The odd babysitter will be very proficient in English which is of course great, but this is not often the case.
· Agencies should have a babysitter agreement which clearly states what is expected of the babysitter. A copy of this should be requestable from the agency.
· Hospital training is possible in Bali and the best agencies have their staff trained by the BIMC hospital. This is one of the major expat hospitals on the island.
I highly recommend coming to Bali if you are young, old, single or married with children. If you do decide to bring your family then the island offers a lot of child services. If I had to make a recommendation then Bali Krisna Service would be my choice, but it is of course up to you.
