Six Things Your Babysitter Should Know

While seeking to ensure that you leave the child in a protected environment, you have to teach your child some basic tips on how to stay away from strangers. You have to let your child know the difference between a ' good stranger' and a ' bad stranger'. If your child is still too young to understand all of this, then instruct your sitter about what to do if threatened by the presence of a stranger in your absence.

Not all people who are unknown to your child are necessarily dangerous and you have to make your child as well as the sitter understand that. Examples of "good" strangers could be police officers, teachers, security guards, etc. Examples of bad strangers could be guys who insist on taking kids out for ice creams or sodas, while trying to separate them from the sitter.

The idea is to make your child aware of the fact that he or she is responsible for his or her own personal safety. You must make it a point to inform your sitter about the many perils of letting a stranger in to your house.

Ask her to refrain from talking to any stranger in a public place and to refuse any goody that a stranger may offer your child. These are important tips especially if you plan to hire a teenager as a babysitter.

In event of any danger, teach your sitter how to call for help or to approach the local police station. If the sitter or the child is manhandled, teach the sitter how to struggle with complete force and use any object that may come to her defense. The motive behind this is to ensure the safety of the sitter as well as your child.

Guest Menace

A point that attracts constant debates is whether you should allow your sitter to bring along her guests into your house. Different people may have different views regarding this issue. Some parents are open to the idea of same sex friends being invited to their place in their absence.

They claim that it makes the job of the sitter easy since more than one person can keep a watch on their child. However, the downside of such a setting is that the sitter may get too engrossed in talking to her fiends any may start neglecting her responsibilities.

You can ask your sitter whether she has a boyfriend or a lover. In event of an affirmative answer, you could ask her not to invite that person over to your house while she is babysitting.

Children are observant and learn a lot from their surroundings. You would not want your child to ask you awkward questions based on his observation of the sitter's behavior towards her lover!

Additionally, the sitter's lover is a stranger to your child and the perils of introducing your child to a stranger are many. You may be in a position to vouch for your sitter's character, but the same cannot be said when it comes to her boyfriend or girlfriend!

Before making up your mind on whether to allow the sitter to call her friend's over, do take some time to judge what sort of a person she is. If you are confident that she is a good person, then you may allow her some liberties. Moreover, you can also have a chat with a few of her friends to find out more about her conduct and tendencies.

Activities guidance

Depending on how old your child is, you may introduce him or her to varied levels of activities. For example, toddlers can be taught games like peek-a-boo, patty cake etc. Children of this age love to make noises and you can ask the babysitter to encourage him or her to sing rhymes.

Similarly, infants may love playing with colorful objects. Older children, typically of the age group of six to eight may be introduced to drawing and craft skills. Make a list of all the activities that your child enjoys and let your sitter know about all of this.

Instruct her about the kind of activities that are suited for your child and also about the activities that a child should be kept away from. For example, she should not allow your three year old to paint using water colors because such colors can be toxic if consumed.

The behavior guide

One of the most important tips that you must offer to your babysitter is the way you expect your child to behave and how you would like to have any misbehavior checked. All children tend to misbehave; it is a normal part of growing up, but the decision to punish them should be entirely yours.

Tell your sitter as to how well-behaved your child normally is, in case she complains about having a hard time when it comes to dealing with your child's tantrums. Explain to her the reasons why the child could be misbehaving. You could tell her that your child would only misbehave if

Your child needs a nap.

Your child may be ill.

Your child may be hungry.

Your child may be bored or frustrated.

Your child may be scared of strangers.

Your child needs attention or a sense of power and control.

You can give a list of methods that you may employ to control your child's erratic behavior. Given below are few suggestions that you can offer to your sitter.

Using encouraging words in place of constant reprimands will definitely allow a child to realize his or her mistake.

Being positive and telling your children what they should do rather than what they should not be doing.

Setting limits is a good way to tell a child what is expected. Too many rules may result in your child getting overwhelmed, but a few essential rules may correct erratic behavior.

Offer your child choices in order to let him feel a sense of power. For instance, your sitter could ask your child whether he wants to watch cartoons or play patty cake, thus allowing him the chance to make a choice.

Your sitter may resort to light humor in order to encourage the child to behave well.

Change of environment will make the child 'forget' the misbehavior. For example, if your toddler likes to tear newspapers, keep the newspaper out of his or her reach.

Teach your sitter to give them stern warnings if they refuse to obey. This mostly works and often the child stops misbehaving instantly.

When you hire a helper to look after your children, it is your responsibility to ensure that your children are well behaved when they stay with the babysitter. Of course, every child has his or her bad days and may misbehave on some occasions, so ask your sitter to be patient and understanding.

You must place enough power in your sitter's hands so that she can check such errant behavior. Remember, if your child is too pampered, no sitter would be willing to take care of him/her!

A guide to your child's routine

Every sitter should be provided with a guide to your child's routine. This includes the manner in which your child is fed, bathed, dressed or put to bed. This also includes when and how much your child should play.

Remember to ask your sitter to stick to the daily routine as far as possible when it comes to taking care of your kids, because the basic intention behind hiring a sitter is to see to it that your child's routine remains unperturbed even in your absence. Ask your sitter to refrain from giving in to your child's demands. For instance, your child may seize this opportunity to avail an extra hour of late night TV, in your absence. Remind her that such tantrums are to be ignored and she is to stick to the routine as far as possible.

A guide to your child's likes and dislikes

Each child is a unique person, and thus would have unique whims and fancies. Even an infant has the right to make choices! So, it is necessary that you inform you sitter about your child's preferences. Your child may not like a particular brand of cereal or may not like to play a particular game; so the best policy for your sitter would be to offer them something else or give them a little bribe in the form of treats or activities allowed by you.

Let your sitter know about such little fussy quirks your child may have. The idea is to make your child and the sitter comfortable in each other's company. Your child should not miss his or her parents too much while the sitter is tending to it. Such children may become fretful, irritable, and basically difficult to deal with.