It has finally happened—we found a babysitter. Not just a teenager to come over and hang out with the kids but a good, engaging babysitter. We had a hard time finding the right sitter after we lost our favorite to a new job in Oshkosh. (We miss you Sharon!) Then the move to Texas really left us all alone in the babysitting hunt. We tried a few but no one really felt right, until we found the girl across the street. I have compiled a list of qualities that we like in a good sitter. The sitters that didn’t make the cut were lacking in one or more of these areas.
Be friendly and nice to children—Parents think their children are smart, but children are smarter than their parents think. A child can tell when you are nice and when you are not. Plus, golden rule here, this should be a no brainer.
Be enthusiastic and act like you want to be there—this kind of goes with the first two, don’t look at it as just a job. For the kids it is a fun time when Mom and Dad are away, so try to make it as such. Bring a game or activity that the kids have never played.
Arrive early—unless the parents are picking you up, then be ready to go when they come. If you have an anxious mom who wants to go over a few last minute details, you will need time. Plus, the parents want to enjoy their date/meeting/night out with out worrying about being late.
Clean up messes, games, dishes etc.—generally speaking parents try to clean up before a sitter comes over, sometimes working all day to make the house presentable. So when the parents come home from their night out, they would like to have the house in about the same condition. (to win really big points, do the dishes, they REALLY like it)
Play with the kids, don’t just watch a movie—it’s not everyday that the kids have someone come over to the house to play with them. And movies are something that parent use to try and get the kids out of the kitchen while dinner is being made. It can be a good distraction but the playroom is not going to play all by itself.
Stick to the parents schedule, somewhat—parents give you a schedule for a reason, if they say the kids can’t stay up, they really can’t. But that doesn’t mean put them to bed an hour early either. The parents have to deal with the children in the morning and bedtime is everything. Plus, children thrive on routine, and when there is a new person putting them to bed, the routine is the only thing that is the same, kids like that stability.
Last but certainly not least…Be honest—you may think that the parents only want to hear good things about the evening, but they don’t. They would rather hear the truth about if the baby cried inconsolably for an hour than “he was a little sad, but he calmed down.” Or they want to hear, “no, Lucy didn’t eat any dinner” (that must be why she is up at 2 a.m. crying that she wants something to eat) instead of “dinner was fine.” With all lies they are pretty obvious and parents know their kids, and kids will let their parents know how things went, one way or another. So it just looks bad on the sitter if they lie.
I know this looks like a long list but we have had so many not so great experiences with sitters that it’s so refreshing to FINALLY have one we like. Thank Heavens!
