Dana Gutkowski
Latest posts by Dana Gutkowski (see all)
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- End Your Silence. Support Black Lives Matter - June 29, 2020
So they don’t quit on you!
Finding a good babysitter who’s reliable, responsible, and trustworthy is no easy task. However, once you’ve struck gold and found that diamond in the rough, you’ll need to keep them happy. In order for your reliable source to return to your family time and again, you’ll need to be mindful of how you treat them. It’s far too easy to take a babysitter for granted.
If you want to keep your reliable babysitter from quitting on you, you have to keep them happy and feeling like it’s worth coming back. If you don’t, they’ll likely seek other opportunities and you’ll be out struggling to find someone to watch your children.
So how do you keep your babysitter happy and prevent them from quitting on you? There’s no guarantee that they’ll stay forever. However, there are things that you can do to prevent them from leaving sooner than you anticipated.
Pay well
If you want to attract responsible people, the price isn’t cheap. There’s no need to drain your bank account every week, but you do have to offer your babysitter enough money so that they are able to pay their bills, rent, eat, etc.
The price will be dependent on where you live. Here in New York, the cost of living is higher than in other areas of the United States. If you live in a larger city, I wouldn’t recommend paying your babysitter anything less than $15 per hour.
Also, if they are hired to watch your children every day, I would recommend offering to pay them a minimum per week. There will be some weeks when you’re on vacation or occasionally don’t babysitter on a given day. But your babysitter is relying on that money, so offer them something rather than nothing. If need to budget just as much as you do. So having consistency in pay will allow them to stay with your family longer.
Pay them on time
One of the worst things that you can do to a babysitter is to not pay them on time. This is their job and they’re depending on that money. If you ask “Do you mind if I pay you next week?”, they might go home and immediately start looking for a new job. Or at the very least, recent you which is not good for your working relationship.
How would you feel if you got up every morning, traveled to work, spent hours executing your job with precision and care, and at the end of the week, your boss said to you, “Do you mind not getting paid this week? Oh, but please come back on Monday at the same time and do what you just did all week long.” I have a feeling you’d be pretty upset. So don’t do it.
If you don’t have cash or you’re out of checks, pay them electronically with Paypal, Venmo, or Zelle.
Keep their hours consistent
Everyone has a situation when every now and then things get hectic and changes need to be made at the last minute. You get a flat tire, there’s an accident delaying you from getting home, someone gets hurt or sick, etc. Sometimes you find yourself scrambling to make changes. That’s life. Things happen.
It’s okay for this to happens on a rare instance, but it’s not okay for it to happen frequently. In both directions, you want your babysitter to stay longer, or shorten their hours for the day, it’s annoying. Your babysitter has a life outside of watching your children. Don’t expect them to be happy if you consistently them to adjust their life to meet your needs.
Don’t ask them to do more than babysit
Expectations and responsibilities should be spoken about in the interviewing process. The pay that they are agreeing to is most likely to only watch your children.
If you want household chores to also be tended to, you should ask if they’re okay with that in the beginning, before you hire them. This way, they can have a chance to determine whether or not they’re willing to take the job in the first place.
However, if after hiring them you tack on other responsibilities such as “There’s laundry that needs folding, can you take care of that?” You’ll be putting them in an awkward situation and will most likely get annoyed with you. The primary responsibly of your babysitter is to ensure the health and safety of your child, not to pair your socks.
Should there be an instance where something outside of the previously discussed scope work is needed, they should be compensated for it. Otherwise, they’ll feel like you’re taking advantage of them.
Have structure and routines in your house
There’s no question that children need structure and routines in their household. You set the expectations for the children and it provides a guideline for the babysitter to follow.
If you don’t have these set in place, your babysitter doesn’t have any authority over your children. They need to know the expectation of what should be done for the day or night and what can be done if they’re not met.
What time is bedtime? What chores need to be completed? Who has homework? Do they have to finish their vegetables? What’s allowed for a snack between meals? All of these things must be told to your babysitter so they’re not struggling to do their job. Â
Don’t chit chat at the end of the day
You want to talk about what went on that day, you want to vent about your husband or wife, you want to make changes in their schedule, etc.
There are a whole host of reasons why you need to keep your babysitter for longer to talk, however you shouldn’t. Like I said before, they have a life and they’re counting on leaving at a specific time. If there’s something that you need to discuss with them, come home earlier, don’t make them wait to leave.
Most of the time parents aren’t aware that they’re doing things like this because you’ve developed a comfortable relationship with your babysitter and it just seems natural to have a conversation. However, they’re a paid employee and should be treated as such.
Much like any other paid hourly employee, if they have to stay behind for a meeting, they’re paid for it. So if you don’t want to pay them extra, don’t keep them longer. They’re yours until the clock strikes the time they said they were needed until.
In Summary
Babysitting may seem like a simple job, but it’s actually a lot of work and responsibility. Many might take on the job and think it’ll be a breeze, but then later find out it’s not such a simple task.
You’re asking the person who’s watching your children
