'Speed Sitting' Program Helps Parents Interview Dozens Of Babysitters At A Time

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A new program is setting parents up with the perfect match. "Speed sitting" helps parents find the right caretaker for their children in just three minutes.

"To find a good babysitter, it's not easy at all," married father of two Mike Zorek told CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez on Wednesday.

Weeding through countless candidates can be time-consuming, but speed sitting lets parents interview dozens in a short amount of time. The program is the brain child of the babysitting service Urbansitter. It puts parents through a round-robin of three-minute interviews.

Lucia Burns of Urbansitter explained that forming a personal connection makes it easier for parents to trust a babysitter.

"For a lot of people, that personal connection, that one step further, is the one thing that's really going to get them to sign up or to actually pick a sitter," Burns said.

At a recent speed sitting session held at Finger Painted Hands Montessori School on the Upper West Side, a group of pre-screened caregivers pitched their best traits.

"I'm pretty good at all the burping and helping them and coaxing them to be comfortable," Ryan Robbins said.

By the time the evening had ended, most of the parents had found several suitable babysitters, and peace of mind for when they have to leave their children at home.

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