For students, babysitting is a rite of passage. Chances are you babysat - or were babysat - by a student at one point in your earlier years. Chances are that you have some fond memories of the time. So you'd like the same for the next generation right? Somehow it seems much riskier when it's your child(ren) in question! Having made the decision to employ a student to babysit, follow these steps to make the experience enjoyable and mutually beneficial so you can enjoy your well-deserved evening off!
EditSteps
EditChoosing the Right Person
- Get some applications. If you don't already know the person you want to hire, you'll need to get a few recommendations or applications.
- Ask around. Ask your friends, neighbours, parents at the school gate or friends from any community-based pastimes if they know anyone who would be available to babysit your children. This is undoubtedly the best way to get a student babysitter as you'll be happy to trust a character reference that comes from someone that you yourself trust.
- Put up some fliers. On the fliers give a brief outline of what you will expect the babysitter to do, the hours in question and the number, ages/grades and special requirements of any of the children they will be looking after. Specify a minimum age and experience, if any. Leave your first name and number or email address and ask them to get in touch if they are interested.
- Youth clubs, sports clubs etc. are particularly good places to put up such fliers as you're more likely to attract the attention of teens who are already involved in child coaching or working alongside younger children, which is ideal.
- You probably have an idea of what age limit you want to set when choosing a babysitter. If you're unsure, ask friends with more experience of teenagers and check the local legal requirement. Generally, teenagers under the age of 16 or 17 are still too young to be solely responsible for a group of children. That age will depend on the isolation of your house, whether or not your neighbourhood is a safe one, the proximity to someone who will help if there is a problem, the duration of the time spent babysitting and the individual's maturity.
- Meet the candidates. You've rounded up two or three students and you want to know who to employ. Call them individually or have them visit your house for a few minutes one afternoon. Don't get too hot and heavy when it comes to questions. Simple scenarios or "what if..." questions will give you a good idea of how grounded and mature they are. Ask if they have any experience with children of a similar age to yours and ask for references from anyone they previously babysat for or, failing that, a sports coach or teacher. Remember to ask their referee about their patience, liking for kids and reliability.
- If you haven't much experience with teenagers, ask a friend who does to stay in the house with you while you meet them and give you their opinion of what the kids are like afterwards.
- Look for qualities such as honesty, a genuine fondness for children, patience, confidence, maturity, openness and practicality. The last thing you want is someone who is easily led, someone who is overly confident in their own abilities or too timid to do a thing.
- Watch the babysitter interact with your kids before you decide to employ them. Have the babysitter call around to your house for interview and let them spend five minutes with the children they'll be minding before you get down to questions. They'll get an idea of how well they get on with the children, the children will feel more secure when they meet the babysitter again and you'll get a good idea of whether or not the student in question is the right person for you and your family.
EditGetting Ready
- Introduce the children to the babysitter. It is very important that an atmosphere of respect towards the babysitter is fostered from the start. Correct any cheekiness and show the right behaviour by example. This will save innumerable problems for the sitter later in the evening.
- Set the ground rules. Be realistic about what the babysitter will achieve and prioritise the most important rules and parts of the children's nighttime routine. Explicitly state what is forbidden in your household, including physical discipline, profanities etc.
- Demonstrate the correct forms of discipline. Basic time outs and verbal correction with a lower tone are realistic. Do not ask the impossible. Specify that if things get out of control, he/she can call your on your mobile phone or call into a neighbour whose consent you have already got.
- Make it clear what the sitter can and cannot do. What can they discipline for? What rooms can they go into? What must they absolutely not do?
- Write or type out a list of the most important rules and stick it to the fridge.
- Decide what you want the sitter to do. Will the sitter do homework, give them a snack, read them a bedtime story or let them watch a movie? When the children are asleep, would you like the sitter to clear the table, wash the dishes, make the kids' lunches for the nest day or do some ironing? Let the babysitter know and make sure they know where everything they'll need is.
- Get organised. Make sure the babysitter can concentrate on the kids and not all the little details which they may or may not remember.
- Get snacks organised beforehand. This is very important if your children follow a particular diet or if there are any allergies. If the sitter will prepare the food, make sure you have everything they need laid out on a tray or in one cupboard/fridge. Let them know what the children should eat and what portions your children need. Make sure the food is quick to prepare and does not require much skill; on the first night your sitter will need to keep all their attention on the children.
- Make sure there is a back up plan. Tell a trusted neighbour that you'll have a babysitter tonight so you'd appreciate if they'd keep an eye on the house. Give the babysitter your number and keep your phone switched on and with you all evening. Make sure your babysitter knows the local emergency numbers, including that of the GP.
EditOn the Night
- Get the children settled before you leave. For the first night it might be best to give them a snack and settle them in front of a film before you go whilst the sitter is settling in.
- Call the sitter just before the children should go to bed. Speak to older children for a few minutes, using a calm tone to encourage them to enter rest mode. This will give you peace of mind and help the sitter convince mischievous children that Mom will know if they don't do what they're told!
- Talk to the sitter before they go home. Find out about any problems that cropped up and work out how they might handle them if the same thing happened again. Check on the kids yourself before paying the sitter.
- Make sure the babysitter gets home safely. Giving them a lift shows your gratitude and also means you're more likely to become friendly with them, resulting in greater employee loyalty and greater honesty, ensuring you'll find out about any minor problems which can be nipped in the bud.
EditTips
- Pay for babysitters is usually equivalent to the cost of a night out. Find out the prices of the local underage disco or a standard night out. You should pay more if they are there for the evening too, working on a socially important night, do extra housework for you or if the children are particularly demanding, i.e. very young children or children with special needs.