by S.S. McDaniel

Created on: July 28, 2009

The very first thing a babysitter should know about your family is your emergency contact information. Should anything happen to your child, your house, your pets or the sitter themselves, they need to be able to contact the proper people and initiate a proper response. Imagine that your child has an accident and the sitter does not know how to contact you. He or she rushes the child to the hospital, but has none of the necessary information to give the doctors and has no idea how to contact you, or who else to contact to get that information. It is his or her responsibility to ask you for this information, but you as a parent should always give it whether they ask or not.

The second thing a babysitter should know about your family is any allergies of the child you are leaving with them. Is your child allergic to cat dander? You should mention this before the sitter even arrives as he or she may own cats and may have enough hair on them to cause the child to react. If your child has any food allergies, you should make a list which you leave somewhere prominent for the sitter to refer to. On the off chance the child does somehow manage to consume foods that trigger their allergy, an epi-pen or similar device should be placed where the sitter will have easy access and he or she should be informed where to find it and how to use it.

The third thing a babysitter should know about your family is whether you have any strong preferences towards their behavior and activities for the evening. Does your child always do certain things before bed? Can they be trusted to brush their teeth, or does the sitter need to watch? Do you want the child to go to bed at eight, or simply whenever they feel tired? Once the child is in bed, is it acceptable for the babysitter to use your computer, watch television, or read a book? If the sitter is working during the day, do you want the child engaged in activities, or is it acceptable to let the child entertain themselves? It is unfair to expect a babysitter to preform as you expect in these regards if you have not told them what you expect them to do.

Finally, your babysitter should know that you are trustworthy, punctual individuals. Parents often look for this quality in a sitter and do not realize that sitters would like the same quality in parents. Much as you would not continue to use a babysitter that shows up late, sitters will not want to work for you if you are consistently late coming home. Be courteous and you can expect the same from your sitter.

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