Babysitters are essential to families.  Parents rely on them to take care of their children while they are out for the evening or at work.  There are times that the parents depend on them even more during school breaks or holidays.  For parents, it’s not easy to find the right babysitter but when they do, they will do their best to keep them around.   When they are choosing a babysitter.

These are some of the qualities they are looking for:

• Reliability
• References
• Honesty
• Experience
• Interest in children
• Age
• Punctuality
• Common sense

This is important to all parents, these are their children.  They want to be assured that the children are in good hands and safe.   For this reason, once the parents find the ideal candidate, they will do everything they can to keep them on board.  First of all, both parties need to remember is that this is a business relationship, it’s a job.  There are times that this is forgotten and they take advantage of each other.  Before they begin taking care of the children, they should have a checklist with important details, such as:

• Phone numbers should be provided in cases of an emergency and they can’t reach the parents (grandparents, neighbor, doctor)
• A list of the foods they can and cannot eat
• List and time of medications that a child may need to take
• What they can and cannot watch on television
• Bedtime
• What to do if they misbehave
• Nearest hospital, insurance information and consent form

They know that parents expect a lot from them and are willing to do exactly what is needed to be done.  This is why the checklist is so important.  As time goes by, they will build a bond with the children and the parents.  Some parents have the same babysitter for years.  However, there have been times that out of the blue they have quit and the parent is shocked.  The reason is that parents become comfortable and forget or take for granted all the sitter does for them.  At the same time the sitter will not mention certain issues in fear that it may cause a problem, such as:

• Hourly rate – the average rate is $10 - $18 an hour.  If they have been with your for a while, they expect a raise but are too scared to ask so they leave.
• Taken for granted – parents coming home late once every so often is not too bad but when they do it all the time it becomes a problem.  Remember, they have other things to do.  If you are planning to come home late, let them know.
• Chores – they don’t mind doing chores that have to do with the children but when the parents make a list where they have to take care of the house, they become frustrated.  This takes away their time from the children.

To make sure both parties are happy with each other and all is clear of what is expected, every so often, they should sit down and talk.  Parents should not be afraid to speak their minds, just be fair and sitters should not be scared to let them know of some concerns and ask for a raise when it’s time.  This is after all, for the children.