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What Would You Do to Keep Your Sitter Happy?
Filed under: Childcare, Baby-sitting
My father likes to tell people that we got our first color television, in the early 1970s, because they were having a hard time finding a babysitter; sitters were hard to come by, he says, and you had to have an edge. They were already offering to pay the sitters slightly above the neighborhood rate, but my mother refused to out bid her friends, so they had to come up with some other idea if they ever hoped to go to dinner without my brother and me.
So my dad bought a new TV.
I suspect, of course, that this story may be nothing but a Family Legend, but it got me thinking -- what will YOU do to keep your sitter, or to lure a new sitter? I have been known to bake cookies and buy special snacks and leave money for pizza. I also sell the fact that my kids go to bed early, often within an hour of my husband and me leaving the house. Babysitting for me is a sweet deal, really! Are you free on Friday?
We even have a color TV!
In my neighborhood, sitters are hard to come by; high school kids -- at least the really reliable ones -- are working or playing sports or doing homework, or whatever it is that teenagers do after school these days. There are babysitting services, but honestly, that always feels a little like leaving my kids with a complete stranger; I like to have a first-hand reference from a mom I know and trust. And don't even get me started about finding a sitter on Cragislist; if I wouldn't go there for a sofa, why would I go there for childcare?
How about you -- what lengths will you go to for a good sitter?
So my dad bought a new TV.
I suspect, of course, that this story may be nothing but a Family Legend, but it got me thinking -- what will YOU do to keep your sitter, or to lure a new sitter? I have been known to bake cookies and buy special snacks and leave money for pizza. I also sell the fact that my kids go to bed early, often within an hour of my husband and me leaving the house. Babysitting for me is a sweet deal, really! Are you free on Friday?
We even have a color TV!
In my neighborhood, sitters are hard to come by; high school kids -- at least the really reliable ones -- are working or playing sports or doing homework, or whatever it is that teenagers do after school these days. There are babysitting services, but honestly, that always feels a little like leaving my kids with a complete stranger; I like to have a first-hand reference from a mom I know and trust. And don't even get me started about finding a sitter on Cragislist; if I wouldn't go there for a sofa, why would I go there for childcare?
How about you -- what lengths will you go to for a good sitter?
| Pay more than the going rate. | |
|---|---|
| Snacks! Drinks! Movies! | |
| Nothing - I'm paying her to watch my kids; that's enough. | |
| I don't even HAVE a sitter. |
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-02-2008 @ 9:29AM
Jenni said...When I was a babysitter, I loved the families that would think of me. Most of my regulars made sure to remember my birthday, they would find out when prom and homecoming were and would take an interest in what I was doing. They also ALWAYS paid me more than my fee. And scheduled me for the next time when they got back.
I also was a high commodity; they would NEVER tell their friends about me because they were afraid I would get taken up. The only time they would "allow" friends to use me was when they went out together and I watched both families.
I did have several families at once that I worked for, but could usually only hold 2 or 3 families at a time because they used me very regularly.
So, remember that your babysitter is a person and you probably will go far!
Reply
12-02-2008 @ 9:48AM
LS said...we made her part of our family. She's our neighbor, and we met her when we moved in and she was, I think, a sophomore in HS. we hit it off immediately, and she started hanging out over here, when she would have a disagreement with her parents or her friends were busy. Our relationship bloomed from there, and now, several years later, I call her the little sister I always wanted.
Not only does she babysit for us on occasion, she house-sits, pet-sits, and goes on family outings with us. She can also be found here on weekends, playing games, wrestling with Little Man, and just hanging out.
We are so lucky.
Reply
12-02-2008 @ 8:59PM
ame s said...My parents are my sitters, though neither they or my children consider it "babysitting". They live less than 5 minutes away.
Reply
12-02-2008 @ 3:13PM
Melissa said...I know what you're talking about Jenni....I loved those families that always thought of me and remembered me at the holidays, and at birthdays....I was always paid a "tip" of sorts (more then my rate), and my "families" NEVER gave out my number! I had one woman who was a friend of a celebrity, and that celebrity wanted my number so I could watch her kids, too (and pick them up from school, and watch them overnight, and house sit and pet sit), and that woman would not give out my number! She told her, "Melissa is MY sitter, and you can't have her!" You really have to treat them like part of the family because they are, in a sense, helping raise your kids to be the good kids you want them to be! I am lucky enough to have my mom around to watch my daughter when I need to go out lol, so I don't need to find a sitter!
Reply
12-02-2008 @ 3:32PM
Anita said...When I used to babysit, the families I loved best had the kids who were well behaved and who really liked when I was there. If the kids did not behave, I would not sit for that family again.
Now that I am a mom, I can't get a sitter. The going rate where I live is $7-10 dollars an hour and that is per kid. Mostly we just trade off with friends. Since my kids are now 6 and 8, they can stay up a bit later on weekends or if we are out really late (very rare) they sleep over at the friend's house. It's cheap.
Reply