We all go through it, you book a babysitter and you guiltily leave the house even though you KNOW you need some time away from the kids and have some adult time with other adults or your partner. You doubt your babysitter’s abilities, and if they are going to treat your home and kids with respect. Here are some pointers for you.
You know you have a good babysitter when:
- Upon return your house is in good order including dishes are put into dishwasher (of course you can’t expect this if the dishes haven’t been done by your for more than a day).
- Counters are wiped down.
- Toys are picked up and put away nicely.
- There is no chaos, seriously zero chaos, seen upon your return.
- The next morning the kids are happy, they talk about all the fun stuff they did with the babysitter (if they have verbal skills),
- Pajamas are clean.
- No diaper rashes (if children aren’t prone to diaper rash) diapers aren’t saturated.
- Bedrooms are orderly.
These are pretty good indicators that you have a good babysitter.
12 indications you have a bad babysitter:
- The house is in chaos and toys everywhere.
- Kids are still up hen you get home even though they were supposed to be in bed long ago.
- Your home looks like a bomb went off in it.
- Kitchen full of dirty dishes even though when you left it looked acceptable.
- New dirt, spills, etc are apparent.
- Kids are naked or partially dressed and this isn’t normal for your family.
- Toilet paper is clogging the toilet.
- Kids are crying.
- They’re asleep but diapers are saturated with urine or “the other”.
- They habitually cancel, are late, or don’t show up all together.
- Your children’s little faces look red and puffy from crying.
- The babysitter is sitting in front of the TV or on their phone when the house is in utter disarray.
If you ever feel concerned about your babysitter you should listen to your intuition and never have them watch the kids again. I’ve learned that your intuition is usually correct. So many times I’ve gone against my intuition, and I normally get burned; thankfully not seriously but it’s been close. I’ve checked references and done the background check, everything looked good on paper. I interviewed but there was something that set my alarms off, nothing blatant but there was something (couldn’t put my finger on it) that told me not to hire this person, and I push it down and hire them. Unfortunately, they’ve been flaky, full of life drama, and lazy. I feel completely duped when this happens, and I pay the price.
When it comes to your children learn from my mistakes, and never settle for a babysitter that doesn’t engage with your children and keep them off of screens unless you specify otherwise. You pay them and they should be doing their job. There are terrific babysitters out there, but you need to do due diligence in finding them and listen to your intuition. Trust me it isn’t easy but when you’re risking the safety of your children and their happiness you shouldn’t settle nor should you settle for the bare minimum. You wouldn’t be able to keep your job if you did just the bare minimum; would you?
{{cta(‘5c9e460e-97fd-4168-ab6e-81725e70cb03′,’justifycenter’)}}
