There is nothing more important for a parent to do than to make sure the children are safe. Hiring the right babysitter by being armed with applicable questions at the interview will help you make a good decision.
Whether you need to find a reliable sitter for your children for the school break over summer or for an occasional weekend night out, there are ways to help you decide how to make the best choice from among the people you may be interviewing.
Even after you hire someone, there are steps to assure that you have made the right choice. The most important thing to remember is that when your child's welfare is in question, you have every right to be equipped to make the best decision you can make. Sitters can, of course, be male or female, but for consistency in this article, I will use the pronoun "she" in reference to the potential sitter you will hire.
I Need a Sitter. So Where Do I Start?
1. Decide if you want a teen or adult babysitter. Many parents will not hire anyone under sixteen, but that is especially important if an infant is one of the children the caretaker will be watching. Be aware that some states even have laws concerning the minimum age for babysitters to be left alone with children.
2. Decide if you will be taking the child to the sitter's home, or having someone come into your home. Children are often more comfortable in the surroundings with which they are familiar, so if it is at all possible to have the caretaking done in your own home, it is usually the better choice.
3. A family friend or neighbor isn't automatically the best choice just because they do or have done babysitting in the past. It is a good idea to interview someone you know or have heard about just as you would do with a stranger. It is often tempting to hire someone simply because it's a friend or colleague's niece or nephew, but taking the time to find who is best suited to care for your children is always time well spent.
4. Ask the Red Cross for referrals of people who have finished their babysitting course and are from your area. This is sometimes the best way to find a sitter who will know how to handle any situation that may arise.
Okay, I Set Up an Interview, What Now?
5. If the child is older, let him or her spend some time with the potential sitter while you are present. Watch how they interact and how the child seems to get along with the sitter. If it is an infant or younger baby you can still watch the interaction the interviewee has with the baby.
6. Take note on the punctuality of the potential sitter if the interview is at your home. Being on time will be important when arriving to the job, so see if she arrives for the interview in a timely manner.
7. If the potential sitter is a teen, find out if she has taken any of the readily available babysitting classes that many areas offer. Has she had first aid or CPR training? The Red Cross offers a babysitting course (mentioned above) and it is definitely a plus if you can find someone who has taken the time to utilize such a course.
8. Don't be afraid to ask questions at the interview. How long has she been babysitting? What are the ages of children she has watched? If your interviewee is a teen, are there younger siblings in the house that she helps to care for?
9. Get references and make use of them. Know the questions that you want to ask the references, especially those people she has babysat for in the past.
10. Ask her if she has a disaster plan if something happens while she is staying with the children. (Some parents choose to ignore this one so it doesn't scare the potential sitter, but it is good to know, especially if your home is in earthquake or tornado areas, or in one of the spots terrorism is more likely to occur).
11. Find out what times and days she will be available so there isn't a last minute misunderstanding.
12. Tell her right away how much you will be paying, again to avoid misunderstandings later.
After the Interview, What Shall I Do?
13. If you already haven't done so for previous sitters, write down your house rules (again, provided the sitter will actually be coming into your home.) Don't make rules up on the fly if she asks your policy on phone calls, for instance, during the interview. The issues for which to create a policy include whether or not she should have access to a computer or internet in the home, if she is allowed to make phone calls, and if you want her to have any visitors stopping by while she is watching the children.
14. Make a list of emergency phone numbers including those of a neighbor, nearby family member, the poison control center, and the number at which you can be reached at any given time while you are gone. A cell phone, of course, works best for this purpose.
15. Make a list also of phone numbers that include contact information for the baby's doctor and the hospital's emergency room. If you live in an area where the 911 system is not being used, add numbers of police and fire station to this list.
16. Write a list of any "special" instructions that might be necessary such as any medications a child needs, and the precise amount. Also in this category, be sure she knows that she is only authorized to give any medications that you have approved.
She'll be Here Tonight! Am I Ready?
17. Do not expect the sitter to automatically remember things that you request verbally such as feeding, bath, and bed times for all of the children. Have this written down and placed in a central location along with a list of any food allergies the sitter should be aware of if you haven't prepared the food yourself before leaving. This list will be the schedule for the children, so if there is a "cut-off time" for television or playing, add it to this list. (As a side note here, many parents will not require bath time on the nights a sitter is with the children due to the safety risk factors.)
18. Show the sitter where fire extinguishers and the first aid kit are kept, and show her the fire escape route from various areas of your home.
19. Be sure the sitter knows the address and phone number of your home in case an emergency needs to be reported.
20. When the sitter arrives, show her where everything is kept that she will need to use, and where you have put the emergency numbers and special instructions.
21. Talk with the sitter about discipline and what is acceptable and not acceptable. It seems as if it should already be clear, but not so... if you don't want your children physically spanked, you need to tell the sitter that. It is something that is too important to forget. If a "time out" in separate rooms for half an hour is acceptable for when older children fight, tell her that, too, but any other forms of discipline, if they are off limits to the sitter, need to be mentioned.
22. Go over security issues if you have hired a younger sitter, such as not opening the door to strangers, or not divulging that no one older is in the house. This would include how to answer the telephone, things such as saying you are busy instead of saying you are not home, etc.
What Do I Need to Do After the Sitter Leaves?
23. Once the sitter has left your home after babysitting each time, take notice how the children are acting after she leaves and you are home again. Are they withdrawn or sad? Do they appear to be very hungry? Do they seem scared? If an infant is involved, is the baby clean and dry? Does the baby seem in distress? If older children are involved, be sure to ask them for a report of how the day or evening went. It goes without saying that new bruises on the children need to be investigated.
24. Do not ignore things that you see which may indicate that the sitter did not follow one of your house rules. Some of them would be difficult to know, but a neighbor may be able to tell you if the sitter had visitors coming to the house. If you suspect internet use after you have told her not to use it, there are histories to check. This may seem sneaky, but keep in mind that if the caretaker of the children is spending a lot of time on the internet or entertaining friends, she isn't really caring for the children at all, so it is important to be sure you know what is going on when you are not in the house.