This is a very long shot, but if anyone has used a sitter or a sitting service in the Lake Como area that they would highly recommend, please let me know. We will be there in mid-September and would love to have one upscale dinner without our two and a half year old daughter. However, I will not leave her with anyone unless they come highly recommended, I can check references, etc. as I do at home. I had hoped that our rental service (we are renting a villa) could assist us but the girl they use is out of the country during the time we are there. Thank you!

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Are you nuts? How on earth would you trust a complete stranger in a foreign land to sit for your child while you are out carousing? I would have reservations having my next door neighbor sitting for my child, and you're thinking of a complete unknown??????

"I would have reservations having my next door neighbor sitting for my child"

that's a shame

I wouldn't let my next door neighbor (because she's a goof-ball), but I have no problem with using sitters in my home area that I know or have been recommended by people I trust. I must say that Waldo has a point. Personally, I wouldn't leave a child with a stranger in a foreign land. Wouldn't you be relying on the recommendations of strangers? How could you trust them when you don't know them?
As an alternative, you could have your villa arrange an "in-villa" romantic dinner for two and have a relaxing meal when your child is asleep and still in your care.

audrey, I think that Lynnaustin makes an excellent suggestion. Agree with above posters about the not leaving your child with strangers in a foreign land...

Are you staying at a hotel? very often hotels/resorts have local contacts for just this sort of thing. I'd contact the hotel's concierege.

No, janisj, we're renting a villa and the girl that they usually use (daughter of the one of the managers) is out of the country when we happen to be there.

Regarding considering using a babysitter in the first place, I am sorry but, yes, I do use babysitters. There may be people who do not leave their children's side for 18 years but despite the fact that I love my daughter to pieces that is not me. Given that we move rather often and live in a city where we, unfortunately, do not have family, it is necessary for me to hire sitters that are not family or longtime friends, i.e. "strangers." I always do my homework, check many references, meet with the person, etc., etc. And I do not think that Italians as a whole are any more apt to do a child harm than Americans, so a bit odd about the alarm on that "foreign land" front. As I said in my OP, I will not leave her with anyone unless I have done all my homework and feel very confident about the person -- which means I likely will not have a sitter in Lake Como, but it was worth a try to see if someone knew of a fabulous agency or something in the area I was missing.

My thought with the "foreign land" would be that if something were to happen you would have the language barrier as well as being in a different legal system.
I've left my kids with plenty of sitters who were not family or longtime friends, but they have always come recommended by someone I know (teacher, neighbor, and had local references in my community). Consider your child to be $10 million dollars. Would you trust that $10 million with an agency or person recommended by a stranger? If so, go for it.

You could try the Clooney family. I hear they are a nice, respectable, American couple. Seriously, I would not leave my girls with a stranger in Italy or any other country, even if it was George Clooney! What are you thinking?!

If you know the managers well enough to ask their daughter, don't you think they would be a better bet? Perhaps the girl has a friend.

How judgemental. Surely the doomsayers must realise that the chances of anything untoward happening to a child are far more likely to be from a well known friend or family member.

Even though you aren't staying at a hotel, I would still ask at the hotels if they use an agency.

Good luck.

Alright, this will be my last response here as unfortunately this post seems to have attracted the attention of a few people who are more interested in offering opinions than information (but sincere thanks to those of you who did make constructive suggestions and comments). I will pursue other avenues of finding a suitable sitter and, as I've said twice now, will not be leaving my daughter with anyone I am not extremely confident with (and another thought I've come up with is for the sitter to accompany us to the restaurant area and simply entertain my daughter if she gets antsy and wants to run around outside so we can have one nice dinner - I understand there are several restaurants with lovely patios and green space nearby so this may be doable). Oh, and I will also be sure to remember, as any good mother should, to teach my daughter never to be rude and judgmental of others

audreyleigh99

Well said!

I will be in Lake Como later in the week, and wonder how you went with the search for a babysitter? We have a 2 and 4 year old, and are looking for a nanny or sitter for a couple of hours here and there.
Ps- I have never seen such nonsense in my life with those posts carrying on about babysitting. For goodness sake! We live abroad and travel frequently, and have met some of the most divine ladies through babysitting (So that my 2 cents worth).
Back to the question; we really would like a recommendation of a keen and able sitter from 27-1 Sept 2011. Dongo area. Thanks a lot!

Burnleyrichmond: This thread is a year old and the OP hasn't posted in more 10 months.

My wife and I never had the luxury of using a babysitter for our four children when we travelled. We did not have anyone with which to leave our children, so we took them everywhere we went. Let me say this--our kids learned to be quiet and respectful and they grew up with a feeling of having participated in all of our adventures. When we recount our travel adventures, they are right there enjoying the moment with us. That's not to say that we didn't use a babysitter at home. That's a horse of another color.

Thanks janisj for pointing that out, which demonstrates that people do still keep an eye on old threads. And Waldo, I take your point and am glad you have such fond family memories. That sounds like fun with a large family.
We travel extensively with a 2 and 4 year old and are joined at the hip for 99% of the time. So with respect, we do want a babysitter or a nanny for a few hours, and hope that someone reading this might have a contact point for one in Lake Como.