Baby sitter Noelle Seraphin, back right, is pictured with 6-year-old Austin Dixon, his 3-month-old brother Kamden and mother, Jennifer Dixon, at the Dixons’ home. Jennifer Dixon used Lawrence baby-sitting service Sunflower Sitters to hire Seraphin. Sunflower Sitters requires contractors to have first aid and CPR training, and it also runs a criminal background check.

Jennifer Dixon, a nurse who works three nights a week, and her husband, Ryan, who manages a local Applebee’s, recently found themselves in need of a baby sitter for 6-year-old Austin and 3-month-old Kamden a few days a week.

Their solution was to call in Sunflower Sitters, a local business that screens potential baby sitters and matches them with parents.

That paired them with 21-year-old Noelle Seraphin, a Kansas University nursing student, who says the family is a good match for her and her schedule.

“I seem to work better with boys,” Seraphin says. “I grew up with five boys. That probably has something to do with it.”

DeAnn Windibiziri, owner of Sunflower Sitters, says whether looking inside or outside her company, someone should probably look for similar things in a potential baby sitter.

She says all of her hires have at least two years of experience, and are all CPR and first-aid certified. She also runs a criminal background check.

An interview with a potential sitter is also critical, Windibiziri says.

“I look for someone who shows responsibility by responding to me in a mature way,” she says.

She suggests a range of topics in an interview, asking for the potential sitter’s views on everything from views on discipline, favorite television shows and how he or she was raised.

If you get a bad vibe for any reason, Windibiziri suggests moving on.

“I would say be extremely choosy,” she says. “With KU so close, you can find somebody else.”

Local childcare screeners like ERC Resource and Referral and Douglas County Child Development Association deal mostly with full-time childcare providers, but suggest similar questions about proper CPR training and discipline strategies.

Lawrence Memorial Hospital also offers a Safe Sitters course for younger children to take to learn about the ins and outs of baby-sitting.