Was your mother a member of NOW? :)
I never had a baby sitter other than my mother or father.
I guess your parents didn’t get out much. We only got out for a relatives wedding or anniversary dinner. Nothing excessive. I was a stay at home Mom and proud of it!
What difference does it make to the subject of the thread? My dad was born in 1911, the youngest of six, and mother came along in 1914, the oldest of eight. Nothing was ever said about these grandparents of mine going out to restaurants, concerts, bars, you name it. I'd be amazed to know they ever paid a babysitter.
The only ones who minded my brothers and me at times were an aunt or uncle or my grandparents.
My husband and I did have babysitters...the daughters of our good neighbors, and sometimes their friends whom they highly recommended. They all happened to be teenage girls. Never a problem...all trustworthy.
Two of our children totally trust my oldest grandson to babysit their kids. My youngest daughter has had a neighbor boy stay with them in the past. No problem. (None of them are little babies, of course).
It all comes down to having and using good sense and our gut instincts. I would never have put my children in harm's way, nor did my ancestors. Our lifestyles change, circumstances are not all the same in any era.