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The Babysitter Next Door
Choosing a Responsible Tween or Teen Sitter for Your Baby or Toddler
By Kelly Burgess
- Plan to meet her before the first job and make up a list of questions to ask her.
- Look for activities that indicate a sense of responsibility. This would vary according to the age of the sitter, but may include volunteer activities, anecdotes about other babysitting situations, etc.
- Ask if they know how to care for a baby; how to change a diaper or warm a bottle.
- Have them care for the baby while you're there, showing that they know what they're doing.
- Ask for any training, a babysitter's course, first aid or CPR.
- Ask for references.
- Call the girl's family. Get to know a little about the girl before bringing her into your home.
- Trust your instincts. If the sitter seems like the greatest in the world on paper, but something just doesn't feel right, go with your gut feeling.
Once you've hired a sitter, Currin and Masson both agree that the most important step to avoid problems is setting clear expectations and guidelines.
"We tell our sitters that when they babysit they're not supposed to sit in front of the television or let the child sit in front of the television," Currin says. "They're supposed to engage with the child and play with them and help them with homework and be a part of that child's life."
By the same token, leaving a sitter without clear instructions – such as what the children can and can't eat, a plan for mealtime, if necessary, andclear timelines for bedtime – can result in a chaotic evening for the sitter. Masson says she leaves notes for what her children can and can't eat, and when she's going to be out late she talks the sitter through the bedtime rituals. She even goes over her time-out procedure in case of problems, but she thinks those can largely be avoided.