With Miley and Peyton Smith
It’s been awhile since you’ve been out for some one-on-one with your spouse. It’s been a week of wrangling toddlers and helping your 1st grader with her “All About Me” poster, and you need some adult conversation.
Cue the Baby Sitter!
We’re talking today with two real-life baby sitters who are in the know when it comes to how it’s done: Peyton and Miley Smith.
INTRODUCE
As always, we’re curious word people, so we looked up the term babysitter. It’s one of those words that if you say it often enough it starts to sound weird. Where did it come from anyway?
It was born in 1937, although the VERB babysit wasn’t in use until 10 years later. It’s believed to have originated from a caretaker “sitting on” the baby in one room while parents were entertaining in another. It also brings to mind the image of a mother hen sitting on her eggs or chicks.
Typically, it’s someone who cares for someone for short periods at a time—unlike a nanny, who’s typically available on a daily basis.
How long have you been babysitting and what got you started?
Did you have younger siblings or other experience with younger children before your first jobs?
Did WE ever babysit?? Why/why not?
(oldest nephew, 2 kids of single mom a few times)
What do you think might be a good way to introduce young people your age to babysitting situations? (interaction with siblings, relatives? Helping alongside in nursery or daycare settings? Being an assistant at kids’ camp or other kids events—VBS?)
We’ve hired our share of sitters when our kids were little. Once the oldest turned 12, we stopped and allowed the older to watch the younger for shorter periods when we went out now and then. When they were VERY little, we didn’t have sitters at all. We’d ask grandparents to step in. Not as comfortable with it when they were babies.
I felt the same in the church nursery setting. I didn’t leave my kids in the baby nursery typically. If they cried, I’d take them out of the service and walk around with them, etc.. It wasn’t until they were toddlers—maybe 18 months or so—that they started regularly going for the 40 min stretch in a “class”.
It probably wasn’t until the youngest was 2 ½ that we paid someone outside the family to watch them for shorter periods. Renee?
Some sitters were better than others. What made for a good sitter that we’d ask back?
Word-of-mouth references.
Feedback from the kids themselves (if they were old enough to speak for themselves)
What condition they left the house in
The sitter’s feedback
Not a lot of last-minute cancelling (this is something that could be worked thru at time of hire)
Miley/Peyton: What makes for a good family to sit for? What spells disaster?
How much notice do you typically need? The pool of people available for babysitting is typically the same age group that can be very busy with school and extra curriculars.
What’s the longest you’ve ever babysat? Have you ever done an overnight?
What do parents ask you/require? Do you have to make meals? Are you expected/allowed to take the kids somewhere or have you always stayed at home? Do you ever have to give baths?
(That brings up a potentially touchy issue….which is child’s privacy/safety)
Do parents expect any sort of training or classes? How about CPR? If you have this sort of training, could you charge more?
Do you have parents check in on you –call or text – while they’re gone?
Some Rules of Thumb for Sitters:
Always call or text for help if there are any problems or questions. Never open the door to strangers. Never leave the children alone in the house – even for a minute. Never give the children any medicine or food unless instructed to do so by the parents.
Don’t leave them unattended by water (even toilets).
When to call parents…. Have you ever had to call parents for an issue (behavior, injury, etc.?)
Follow parents’ wishes: regarding screen time, sweets, bedtimes, etc.
Don’t watch inappropriate movies/videos…. Not the time for horror movies or 50 Shades of Gray on someone else’s cable access.
PHONE USAGE
Language— not just swearing like a sailor, but are they going to talk about their piercings or tattoos (if that’s something you’re not on board with), or what they did with their latest crush, or talk negatively about teachers, church, parents, etc…???
Are sitters going to share about your family or your household? Are they trustworthy? Or are they posting pics of what’s in your nightstand drawers?
Housekeeping— Basic: clean up after yourself and the kids. Parents don’t want to walk into a trashed house. IF, after the kids are in bed, you want to leave a list of optional things a sitter could do for extra $, that’s between you and the sitter. But their first priority is the children.
Discipline/How to Handle Behavior Issues…. What has been your experience here?
Visitors—not the time to ask friends over.
What about posting stuff? Have parents ever asked you not to take/post pics of their home or kids?
Have you ever been told certain areas of the home are off limits?
From time to time, we have group meetings where several families are together — sometimes have hired sitter (s) for that setting and families have all chipped in. Have you ever done something like that?
FROM SITTER’S POV:
- Pay them. What’s the going rate? $10/hr plus dinner 20 yrs ago. Average in the US is around $15, but can be as high as $30 depending on responsibilities and number of kids.
- Pay them with money, not cookies or gift cards
- Arrange for transportation if the sitter doesn’t have a license yet (you drop them at home after or pay for an Uber if their parents are ok with that)
- Come home on time – be respectful of their schedule/calendar
- Cameras? Nanny cams?