Babysitting Flyers That Actually Get Calls
Most babysitting flyers fail for the same three reasons, and all three are fixable in ten minutes.
A flyer is not an advert. It is a way of letting a parent who already needs a sitter find out that you exist, at the moment they are thinking about it. That is a low bar, and most flyers still miss it.
The three reasons flyers get ignored
No rate on it
Leaving the rate off feels safer. It is not. A parent who has to send a message to find out what you cost usually does not send the message, and the ones who do are often the ones hoping you are cheap.
Putting a number on it does two useful things. It filters out anybody looking for $10 an hour before they waste your evening, and it makes you look like someone who has done this before.
Nothing specific on it
"Reliable, friendly, loves kids" describes every sitter who has ever lived. It gives a parent nothing to decide with. "I take ages two and up, I have had my CPR certification since March, and I am free most Friday and Saturday evenings" is a person.
It looks like a child made it
Clipart, five fonts, a border of cartoon rattles. If you are fourteen this is understandable and it is also the thing standing between you and being taken seriously by somebody deciding who to leave their toddler with. One font, one color, plenty of white space.
The eight things that belong on it
- Your first name. Not "Babysitting Services". A name is what gets remembered.
- Your area. The neighborhood, not the city. Parents want somebody close.
- The ages you take. This is the first thing a parent checks and the thing most flyers leave out.
- Your availability. Which evenings, and whether you do daytimes.
- Your rate. One clear number, and say what it is for. "$22 an hour for one child" is clear. "Rates from $22" is not.
- Any certification. CPR, first aid, a Red Cross course. Say the month you got it.
- One photo of your actual face. Not a filter, not a group shot. A parent is deciding whether to trust you.
- One way to contact you. One. Three contact methods reads as desperate and nobody uses the second one anyway.
On tear-off tabs: they work, but only where people can stop and stand. On a supermarket board, yes. On a school gate at pickup, when somebody has a toddler on one hip, no. There, a card they can put in a pocket does far better.
The free calculator builds your rate from your area, your experience, the ages and how many children. Two minutes, no card.
Work out my rateWhere to put it
The rule is simple. Go where parents are already thinking about childcare, and skip everywhere else.
| Place | Why it works |
|---|---|
| School and preschool offices | Every single person walking past has a child the right age |
| Gyms with a creche | Members already pay for childcare and already have evenings out |
| Pediatric and dental waiting rooms | Captive, bored, and holding a child |
| Church and community halls | Trust travels faster in a group that already knows each other |
| Library children's section | Parents of the exact ages you want |
| Neighborhood apps and parent groups | Post the same details as a reply when somebody asks, not as an advert |
Ask before you pin anything. A flyer somebody took down is worse than no flyer, and the person who runs the board will often tell you when the busy notice day is.
What to write, word for word
Maya, babysitting in Oak Park
Ages 2 and up, evenings and weekends
$22 an hour for one child, $24 for two
Red Cross certified, CPR since March 2026
Text 555 0142
Five lines. It answers every question a parent has before they make contact, and it does it without a single adjective.
The photo, since people get this wrong
Outdoors, daylight, plain background, looking at the camera, smiling like a person rather than a passport. It does not need to be professional. It needs to be recent and clearly you.
A flyer is the version people see. The written version is what you send when a family asks for something, and it carries the same information in a different shape.
Flyers are also only one channel, and not the biggest. The other five routes are worth reading before you print fifty copies.
Common questions
Should I put my rate on a babysitting flyer?
Yes. It filters out families looking for a bargain before they take up your time, and it signals that you have thought about what you charge. Leaving it off mostly generates messages from people hoping you are cheap.
What should a babysitting flyer say?
Your first name, your neighborhood, the ages you take, your availability, one clear rate, any certification with the date, one recent photo, and one way to contact you.
Where should I put babysitting flyers?
School and preschool offices, gyms with childcare, pediatric waiting rooms, community halls and library children's sections. Ask permission first. Lampposts do not work because parents are not looking there.
Should I put my photo on a babysitting flyer?
Yes, one clear recent photo of your face. A parent is deciding whether to trust you with their child and a face makes that decision much easier than a cartoon does.