What Makes a Good Babysitter?
Babysitting is a popular topic in our ECFE parent classes. Most parents want to know where to find one, how to keep a good one, what to pay, etc. Having a good babysitter can be a wonderful gift for a parent! A babysitter that both you and your child like, and who enjoys your family, is truly a valuable commodity.
What makes a good babysitter? Each of us looks for different characteristics in a sitter based on our own children and what makes us feel comfortable. We can help find a match of our child and the right sitter by considering three things: knowing our child, knowing our self, and knowing the situation.
Knowing our child includes many things. We should think about our child’s age, temperament, likes and dislikes when choosing a babysitter. Do you want someone who will play with your child or would a calmer, grandmotherly type put your child at ease? Something else to consider is that developmental stages will affect your child’s reaction to separation. Toddlers may still have separation anxiety when parents leave. Shy children may also have difficulty, since they are often slow to warm up to new people.
In order to help us to make a good choice in a babysitter, we must first know ourselves. Allowing another person to take care of the most precious person in your life is naturally difficult at first. Hiring babysitters you can trust will make this easier. Decide what qualities are most important to you. The basics include: kindness, patience, sound judgment, and a genuine liking for kids.
Knowing the situation is also another consideration in making a wise choice. You may be willing to leave your child with a less experienced sitter for a short time during the day, while you may want someone with more experience for evenings. In many communities, it is a seller’s market. Good babysitters have their pick of jobs. While you don’t want to relax your standards just to get a sitter, neither do you want your rules to be so strict that someone would feel uncomfortable babysitting in your home. Keep in mind that your want your babysitter to be happy and willing to come back. If you find a good, reliable babysitter, you may be willing to pay more to insure their return. Also, remember to be on time when coming home.
Finally, there are benefits for your child in hiring a babysitter. Seeing parents go out shows that this is an important relationship and deserves attention. Children need to learn how to form relationships with other people besides their own family. Getting to practice in the comfort of their own homes is valuable and easy. Babysitters can provide things we may not know how to do, have forgotten, or are too tired to do. In addition, comments from a sitter can help us view our child from a new perspective and give us new insights on how to handle problems.
Jill Phillips
ECFE Parent Educator