Doublemint Sitting
As a first-time mom, thinking about someone other than family watching my child literally terrified me. Neither me or my husband grew up in Tampa, and we have no family here to be our date night life saver. Once my son was a little older and I was in desperate need of a kid free night out, I started doing some research. Being that it is 2019, naturally my first place to start..social media! I made a post asking if anyone of my friends on social had any recommendations for a great sitter, and luckily, I had a friend suggest Doublemint. I immediately reviewed their website and did my mom stalking on their social media page to see what they are all about, and I was impressed. The company was started by two local Tampa girls that live and work in Tampa. Gabriela Rosello and Synthia Fairman have turned this local sitting referral service into Florida’s number 1 referral babysitting service. They have a combined over 20 years of experience with children and are both CPR/First Aid, AED, Lifeguard and ABA certified. The girls became a team after working together in a group foster home. They first started in South Tampa and in 2013 Doublemint was established. The owners of Doublemint Sitting are members of the Tampa Bay Entrepreneurial Committee and state certified Applied Behavioral Assistants, with the ability to provide ABA Therapy. Doublemint is now available to watch your children in Tampa, Ft. Myers, Naples, Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Gainesville, Orlando, and Tallahassee!
Doublemint specializes in families with multiples, and special needs. The application process for their sitters is extensive to ensure high quality care givers. The application process includes a Federal Background check, a detailed list of references, clean driving record, group interviews, random drug tests, and a training orientation. They aren’t just your average babysitter either. Their services and time is completely tailored to your needs. Date night, over nights, family vacations, a nanny, basic life skills, mentoring, social enrichment, transportation assistance, homework help, and basic household chores are just some of the things Doublemint can take off your plate to make life easier!
The first time we used Doublemint was a funny story! I received the referral from my friend and immediately contacted them. I spoke with Gabi the same day, which was very impressive to me. We chatted for a few minutes and she asked me some basic questions and walked me through the initial process. She explained that she likes to talk to the parents of new clients for the first time, so everyone feels comfortable. The first step was for me was to fill out the application form, which was a simple one page form with basic information about our family, our needs, and an extremely important part….any guns that are in the house (and if so, where?) , any allergies, or anything else they needed to know. From there we corresponded via text. I had good friends coming into town and they were bringing their THREE kids, and they too were in desperate need of a kid free night out. Thinking there was no way someone wanted to watch 4 children, I almost didn’t want to ask Doublemint - but I did. Of course, they acted like it was no big deal and they would happily watch all 4 of our children for the evening. Since it was two families, we each completed the form and Gabi sent me a list of some sitters that were available to watch the kids for that evening. We picked the sitter from their detailed bios, and Gabi added the parents, herself, and the sitter to a group text. She explained that we would all be in contact and that the sitters check in regularly through out the time they are sitting to provide updates. This made me feel so comfortable. We ended up having more families come to stay with us, and Doublemint ended up watching EIGHT kids that night. It was such a great experience, and those sitters are SAINTS!
Since that night, I have used Doublemint numerous times. They try and match us with sitters we have used before to make my son more comfortable. Every time, he wakes up the next morning and asks, “where did ____ go!?” Doublemint makes the whole process so easy! You simply text them and they respond right away with either a sitter option for you or a confirmation text that they are working on your request. Their rates are reasonable and they accept payment apps such as Venmo.
Check out Doublemint today! First time families call 813-606-0129.
-Kasey Dye