Tips Your Babysitter Wishes You Knew About

If you're the parent of young children, you know that good babysitters or nannies are like liquid gold! Whether you have a regular sitter who watches your kids in your home during the week while you're at work, or you have neighborhood teenagers come over to watch your kids on Friday nights while you go out for a night on the town, you should make sure that you treat your sitter well. After all, this is someone who is agreeing to take care of your precious little ones! Most parents know about leaving a list of emergency numbers, being clear about what time you'll be home, etc. But there are some things that many parents don't think about! Here are some tips to make sure that, once you find a sitter you like, you can make sure he or she sticks around!

1. Make sure you're offering a good rate of pay! This is a no-brainer, but many parents don't think about what they will pay their sitter. Ask friends or neighbors how much they pay for sitters. The pay rate may differ according to how old the sitter is (a thirteen-year-old neighborhood sitter will probably not ask for as much as a high school, college-aged or adult sitter), how much experience the sitter has, how many children you have, etc.
2. Straighten up your house before the babysitter comes, or assure the sitter that she doesn't need to clean up. A babysitter should clean up after the children while she is there... for instance, she should put dirty dishes in the sink, help the kids clean up their toys, etc... but shouldn't be expected to do much more housecleaning for you. If this is something you expect your sitter to do, you should make it clear before you hire him or her, and possibly offer a higher rate of pay for someone who'd be willing to clean.
3. If you want your sitter to feed your children, provide food! Even young babysitters or those who aren't great cooks know how to make some basic meals like grilled cheese or hot dogs. But if you haven't gone grocery shopping in two weeks, don't expect your babysitter to grab odds and ends from your cabinets and manage to whip something up! You should feed your kids before the sitter comes, leave something out that is easy to prepare, order pizza or other food ahead of time, leave money for the sitter to take the kids to McDonalds, etc. If this is a daytime sitter who comes to your house every day, you can probably relax on giving specific instructions for meals every time, but you should still make sure you have basic staples for your kids to eat! Also, make sure the sitter knows how to operate your stove, your electric can-opener, your microwave, or whatever else he or she will need to operate. Different households have different equipment, so your sitter may have never seen the type of stove you have!
4. Be clear about the rules for your kids. Different households have different rules. Some parents let their kids eat candy before bed, and others don't. Some kids are allowed to climb or jump on the furniture, and others are not. Don't expect your babysitter to just naturally know what your rules are! If you come home to find that your sitter let little Joey play video games for two hours when he's only allowed half an hour a day, don't be mad... unless you told the babysitter about that rule!
5. Leave something for the kids to do! Especially if your kids have a new babysitter, the time will go more smoothly if the kids have something special to do. Some babysitters will bring a special activity for the kids, but its good for you to have something ready as well. Rent a movie your kids have been dying to see, set up a special art project, or pull out a new or forgotten-about game or toy. Having something to do together will help the kids and their new sitter bond.
6. If your kids have any behavioral problems, be honest about it to the sitter. Don't expect a sitter to expertly handle your children's behavior issues when you have trouble yourself! If you use a disciplinary tactic such as time-outs, explain the method to your sitter so she can use it too.
7. If you have a sitter at night, be clear about bed times! And don't tell your sitter that your kids can stay up as long as they want. No sitter wants to be dealing with overtired kids at midnight!
8. Leave, already! Some people decide to hire a babysitter to hang out with their children even though the parents plan to be home. This may or may not be okay. If you're going to be in another part of the house taking a nap, or you're hiring a sitter to help you with multiple children, or you'll be in and out running errands and doing chores, that is one thing. But if you plan on sitting in the living room and playing Xbox all day and ignoring your children, you may make your sitter very uncomfortable! It may also be very hard for your sitter to keep the kids out of your hair when you are right there in their site. If you simply want a day to lounge around in your living room without having to watch your kids, make arrangements for your sitter to take the children out for the day, or find a sitter who will watch children in his or her own house.

If you follow these tips, your babysitter will certainly feel comfortable and happy coming back to watch your kids, no matter if it is every weekday, every Friday night, or once every few months.