Basic Etiquette For Hiring a Babysitter
When you’re planning to hire a babysitter, one of the key words to dealing with the whole experience is “Rules”. The house rules, first of all, which you will have to impart to the prospective babysitter as well as reinforce with your children. But there are also rules that apply to you. These are the basic etiquette rules when dealing with a babysitter. If you can abide by these, it will help the entire process run a lot more smoothly.
-Before you take a babysitter into your employ, check her references. Do this the same way you would to anybody you intend to employ- professionally and without prior prejudice. It’s a plus if she comes highly recommended.
-Before you leave the children with the babysitter, let her know where you are going, or at least how to get in touch with you. If you can give her more than one alternative contact number, the better. Remember that this is for your child’s safety. You would want to be easily reached if there is an emergency.
-Don’t leave the moment they arrive. If you haven’t already done so during your initial meeting with her, show her around the house. Let her know where to find food, supplies, toys, and the telephone. Acquaint her with the rules regarding certain gadgets or appliances, and how to operate them. Let her know the prohibitions or your imposed limitations to avoid misunderstanding.
-Let her in on secrets on dealing with your children. For example, you must tell her if one of your children cannot sleep without a favorite blanket or snuggly toy. If one is prone to asthma attacks or allergic to certain foods, let her know as well. Consider the babysitter not as a parenting rival but as a parenting teammate.
-Don’t leave her with an ill child, especially if the illness is contagious. Unless you are hiring and paying her as a private nurse, it is not within the scope of a babysitter’s duties to nurse a sick child, except in times of emergency or if not previously known. You will also be exposing her to illness, which is unfair on her part.
-Overestimate the time you will be home. Do not keep the babysitter waiting, and if you have no choice but to be late, call her and inform her immediately.
As long as you practice the right etiquette while dealing with a babysitter, she will be most likely to likewise treat you with respect. She may even like working for you so much that she will be the first to knock on the door the next time you’re searching for a babysitter.
