What Makes A Good Babysitter?
When you think about leaving your baby or young children with a stranger, it can be highly anxiety-inducing. Will they know what to do in an emergency? Will they calm my child when he is upset? Will they follow my rules for bedtime and screen time?
The answer to all of these questions should be YES!
These are the qualities that make up a great caregiver:
RELIABLE - She or he should keep any shifts they agree to. There’s nothing worse than having to cancel a date night because your sitter cancels at the last minute.
PUNCTUAL - If you need to leave by 7:15 to make your dinner reservation, you can’t have a sitter who shows up at 7:15!
RESPONSIBLE - Whomever is coming to care for your children should follow through with the rules of your house. If you say the children can’t have cookies before a meal, or should not watch TV, then you need a sitter who is able to enforce these rules with your children.
LEVEL-HEADED - If your mischievous 4 year old locks himself in the master bathroom, your sitter should be able to calmly and quickly figure out a solution.
PLAYFUL - You want someone to have fun with your kids! They should be willing to sing, dance, read books in silly voices and more. Having a sitter some should be a fun time for your children as well as the adults who are heading out for the evening!
COMMUNICATIVE - With the children AND the parents. You need a sitter who can relate to your children on their level. The sitter should also be able to fill the parents in on how things went while they were gone. Did baby fall asleep easily? Did someone accidentally break a glass at dinner? A good babysitter will leave a note and/or fill you in verbally on how everything went. Or maybe there’s an app for that?
ATTENTIVE - When someone comes to care for you children, they should do just that. No babysitter should be chatting away on her phone or Snap-Chatting while your kids run wild. They should be paying close attention to everything the children are doing. Not only are they responsible to keep your kids safe, but a good sitter will be interacting with them - not just supervising from afar.
SKILLED - Babysitters should have some professional training, at least in CPR and First Aid. You should be able to leave the house confident that the person in charge is equipped to handle any emergency which may arise. Of course we hope she never has to use those skills!!
By: Lauren Daniels
