Introducing A Sitter to Your Kids

You can be pleased with your babysitter and your sitter can be pleased with you but things are not going to work out well unless your kids get along with the babysitter as well.

Whether you have hired a babysitter 'on the fly' or from an agency, you absolutely must spend some time introducing the children to their new friend. Introduce your pets to the babysitter as well. You can find the babysitter of your dreams but he or she is not going stay if feeling attacked or disliked by the kids and the dog.

It is also important that you do not blindside your kids by leaving them in the care of someone they have not been introduced to. Even if your kids are asleep when it is time for the babysitter to arrive you should take care to introduce him or her so they are not startled at the sight of a stranger in the house if they do wake up later.

It is also important to give the babysitter a tour of the house showing him or her any area that you consider to be off-limits to either the sitter or the children.

You should also show the babysitter where to find emergency telephone numbers, the numbers of friends and neighbors and the number where you can be contacted. Leave this information in a prominent place such as on the refrigerator door.

Also make sure that the babysitter is aware of any medical conditions or allergies or quirks of any kind that your child might have. For instance if a child walks in his or her sleep or has nightmares this is a condition that he or she should be informed of.

If you do not want your babysitter to entertain visitors while you are gone then make sure you make that clear.

The purpose of this introduction is to familiarize the kids with the sitter and in turn familiarize the sitter with the routines of your household including snacks, chores, bedtime, homework and other activity.

Make it clear what is allowed and what is not allowed and outline how you discipline children. This communicates to the children that the babysitter is not someone to be taken advantage of.

It is also a good idea to let both the babysitter and the kids know when you will be home and then keep your promise. This builds trust between everyone!

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3 Things to Look for in a Babysitter

Sometimes when you are busy, when you are short on help, when there just aren't any other options available to you there is a temptation to just let anyone who is available babysit your kids.

Unfortunately this is not the greatest idea. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency in the United States 4 percent of the reported crimes committed against children in the form of neglect, assault or sexual abuse are committed by babysitter. This is why it is so important to really be able to assess the character and then predict the behavior of anyone that you hire to look after your child!

Lots of the time we assume that a friend or relative is the best choice to look after our kids. This is not always true unless the candidate has demonstrated to you that he or she is –
1. Mature
2. Responsible
3. Capable

As you know 'liking the person', familiarity with the person and even age may have nothing to do with this. Some of the most likeable people in the world don't like kids or may do you 'the favor' of looking after your kids because he or she feels obligated.

Furthermore familiarity with a person does not always mean that they are familiar with how to look kids or the basics of First Aid. In fact, if you really think about it, some of the people we are most familiar with in our lives, especially family members, tend to lean towards the dysfunctional side (but we love them anyway!)

Also, 'being responsible' does not necessarily come with age. There are lots of sixty year old out there that are much more thoughtless and reckless than the sixteen year old down the street.

Then there is the issue of capability. If you have a toddler going through the 'terrible twos' you do not want to have someone frail or nervous looking after your kid. You want someone who knows how to dry tears, bribe a kid out of it or give him or her Time-Out. You want someone skilled with children and someone who is able to 'make the call' about whether or not to take a trip to emergency if your child is hurt.
In a nutshell, you want an individual who is mature, responsible and capable because anyone who fulfills those three criteria is going to be someone that you can trust when you are not at home!

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