How do I hire a babysitter?

"Livin in Sim;13970613" wrote:

"QDog;13970499" wrote:
This is what I do to keep things realistic. For sims without extended family (aunts or uncles, grandparents,etc) , kids usually stay home alone, grab a bowl of cereal or some premade meal and go to bed. They pretty much take care of themselves.

For bigger families, the father or mother usually takes the kid (I.e "travel with") to their granny's house or to their auntie's house (or have them come over) and they stay together until my sim's work shift is over. For a neater effect, sometimes the kid will also bring dinner (packed by mom or dad). It is also a very nice time for kids to spend time with their cousins (in my game sims are usually best friends with their cousins since they spend a lot of time together).

Interesting idea, I may have to try this. How long before work starts do they have to leave to make it on time? I suppose one could also try creating a family with a teen and invite the teen over after school to babysit. I wonder how long they would stay if the child kept interacting with them? I have potential parents who work late into the evening as entertainers. I was dreading a bit that their children would be staying home alone for quite a while after school. It just seemed lonely, no one to tuck them into bed, etc.

My sims usually drop the kid at their relatives' house one hour before work, so they can also interact with the family for a while. When it's time for work, sims can leave directly from whatever lot they're in (they don't have to go back home). This is what I do for entertainers and chefs (who usually work late shifts), because I can make sure that the babysitter doesn't leave. When the kid will only be alone for a few hours I usually invite the babysitter over and keep interacting with them :)