Babysitting Made Easy

Over two years ago, I was blessed to be introduced to the woman who is now my nanny. She is loving, nurturing and responsible. From the moment I met her, I never had any hesitations about leaving my children with her – there was just something about her that felt “right.”

My nanny is not live-in, so on those rare occasions that my husband and I actually have somewhere to go at night, we have to rely on babysitters. Unfortunately, our luck in the sitter department has not been so good. We have been stood up, cancelled on, and once, we even sent a babysitter home when she showed up with her not-so-trustworthy-looking boyfriend. We have also been called home from a night out when our sitter couldn’t get our extremely mild-mannered and easy going son to stop crying. Needless to say, we learned the hard way how to choose sitters and how to make leaving our son at home as stress-free as possible, for everyone involved. Here are our pointers.

Interview your sitter while your child is home
You wouldn’t let a stranger house-sit, why would you let one baby sit? To find a babysitter, use a reputable service or get a referral from a friend. Then, arrange a face-to-face. Ask her lots of questions. What is her background? What sitting experience does she have? Is she okay bathing your child or changing a diaper? What does she do for a living? Also, take notice of how she interacts with your child. Is she calling him by name? Is she on the floor with him? Is she trying to engage him in anyway? What is your child’s reaction to her? First impressions are very important and what the potential babysitter does or doesn’t do during the interview can be very telling. They should want the job.

Arrange a trial run
You are entitled to know exactly how the baby sitter interacts with your child. Arrange for her to mind your child for a couple hours during the week, and stay home. Be out of sight, but do keep one ear open and listen to how she engages your little one. A test run also is the perfect way to get your child used to a new baby sitter without dealing with separation issues.

Chill Out
Even if you are nervous about leaving your child with a baby sitter, act relaxed. Children take their cues from their parents. If you are calm, they will be, too.

Actually being relaxed is even better than pretending to be relaxed. After all, you don’t want to be worrying the whole time you are away. Leave your cell phone number with the sitter, just in case, and assume that no news is good news.

Leave already!
If you need to be somewhere at 8pm, don’t wait until 8pm to leave your house. Just get up and go! Generally, children who cry will settle down after a few minutes. And, for goodness sake, make sure you say good-bye. Don’t sneak out of the house without telling your child where you are going. They will get scared when they suddenly realize you have gone and left them with a stranger.

When all else fails, distract them
Save a new toy or a favourite dinner for a night when a baby sitter is coming. A little distraction can go a long way when trying to soothe an anxious child.