Babysitter Services

It’s a story as old as time, applicable to both ancient Greco-Roman relations as well as Child-Nanny relations. The two parties seemingly interact well. Both claim a close and special relationship with the other. They enjoy perhaps a protracted period of relative peace, when out of nowhere, one party does something so unconscionable the result can only be war.

The triggering incident? Could be the kidnapping of Helen of Troy, or, a provider of babysitter services announcing the dreaded bedtime or that mommy wont be home until later! Both the King of Troy and the child under the care of nanny help feel betrayed and angry. What can be done?

In the King’s case, he launched 1000 ships. Luckily, the provider of babysitter services has a few other options to preserve the peace.

The Nanny Help Can Prevent Chaos by Planning Ahead

Hopefully, the parents have given their children a consistent nightly bedtime. Children already in a good bedtime routine will be easier to deal with. Hopefully you will have asked the parents about other aspects of the routine as well. i.e. what time do they eat dinner, what kinds of desserts are they allowed to have, etc…). Either way, while the parent(s) are still home – have them announce, to the child and nanny, when exactly is bedtime. Twenty minutes before bedtime, make sure to remind the child(ren) that they should pick their last activity because, “as mommy said” bedtime is coming up SOON.

It is important to make sure that this last activity is not too active. Nothing involving running around is allowed so close to bedtime, as this will just get them worked up.

One great activity is offering to read a bedtime story (but first, make sure teeth are brushed and kids are in pajamas). Make sure the story is read in a low soothing voice, avoiding dramatic tone shifts and gesticulations. Do not try the “last one to get ready for bed is a rotten egg!” as this could provoke a frenzy of activity and overexcitement that you are looking to avoid.

Where Is Mommy? / I Want Mommy!

Whether its right after the parents leave for the evening or right before bedtime, when the child usually has mom or dad kiss them goodnight – when you hear either of the above phrases your immediate reaction can mean the difference between tears or a happy child. Possibilities:

(a)    Reassure child that mommy and daddy will be back soon and that you will have so much fun together.

(b)   Ask child to imagine how proud mommy and daddy will be when they hear how good the child has been.

(c)    Try to distract child immediately. Ask to see their favorite toy/game/movie.

(d)   Make very sad eyes, start sniffling, and softly pretend to cry yourself. Sometimes the child will want to make you feel better (essentially it makes them feel like they have more control over the situation). Be careful not to directly imitate them or cry even louder – as this strategy has the potential to backfire.

(e)    If you can plan ahead:

                                i.            Try to visit child before your first babysitting experience, so you are not    a complete stranger.

                              ii.            At beginning of night bring a piece of paper and star stickers. Explain that – every time they do something good, they will get a GOLD STAR – and they can keep the star-chart to show mommy and daddy tomorrow.  

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American Red Cross is holding a Babysitting-Services Training for students, ages 10-15, who want to become responsible babysitters. Babysitters will learn how to: What you need to know and what every parent wants in a safe and responsible babysitter!

Designed for 11 to 15 year olds, the Babysitter’s Training course can enhance your babysitter-services resume by demonstrating that you know how to properly:

• Provide babysitter services for both infants and children;
• Become a great role model;
• Learn essential leadership and decision-making skills;
• Keep the children receiving your babysitter services (as well as yourself) safe;
• Deal with sudden illnesses, injuries, accidents and other emergencies you may encounter while performing babysitter services.
• + more

The cost for the American Red Cross Babysitter Services course is typically $40.00, and will come with: Emergency Reference Guide, CD-Rom (with a resume template, client-info organizer, emergency preparedness info, activities, games, crafts, recipes, etc…), a Babysitter’s Handbook and Red Cross Babysitter’s certification. For more information please contact your local Red Cross chapter here. Or click on this Babysitter Services Training Course link (which has great babysitter services resources)

Babysitting is a huge responsibility. More than ever, parents are looking to hire only the most responsible of babysitters.

Click here to learn more about American Red Cross.

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A recent National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) report indicates that a parent’s first concern when choosing a babysitter or nanny help, from any of the babysitter services, is hiring someone with experience and of high quality. They want their children to be in an educational, safe and fun environment. However, babysitter rates or nanny cost (Babysitter-Services.com uses those terms interchangeably) are a very close second. The average babysitter rates and nanny cost is about $10.00 per hour. But, there are several factors that will play a role in determining how much babysitter services charge for quality help:

Responsibilities / Duties

Will your babysitter services or nanny help responsibilities include driving the children around town (i.e. picking up and dropping off for soccer practice), make sure to increase your rates to cover your gas mileage. Are cooking, cleaning, bathing and housework part of your babysitter services provided? Increase your rates accordingly. Will the children be sleeping for most of your time on the job? If so, (unless you are a Doula) your babysitter rates should lower as compared to being with the nanny help for children while they are awake.

Experience

Are you trained in first aid, CPR, Heimlich maneuver? These are important babysitter services to mention and highlight. Do you have any special education or experience in early childhood education? Are you a teacher? Any other relevant degrees, licenses or accreditations? If so, you should be able to adjust your babysitter rates or nanny cost higher.

Geographic Location

Nanny cost / babysitter rates, like any other line of work, vary depending on where the babysitter job is needed. Babysitter rates for babysitter services in metropolitan New York City or Los Angeles will be substantially higher than the nanny cost in relatively rural Tifton, Georgia. Within a city, babysitter rates will vary as well. To get an idea of a typical nanny cost in your area, ask neighbors what they have paid for previous nannies jobs. Call other babysitter services to ask what they charge parents in your desired babysitter job area as well. Once you determine typical babysitter rates in your area, you can then adjust your price higher or lower depending on the other factors listed in this article.

Number of Children, Age, Special Needs

Your babysitter rates should essentially be the same if you are providing babysitter services for one or two kids (absent any special requirements). But once more than two children become part of your babysitter responsibilities, the nanny cost should start to go up. If there are any infants and toddlers, the nanny cost should increase as well since the amount of attention, care, and physical exertion on your part will substantially increase. If a child has special needs, your babysitter rates can adjust upwards depending on the additional responsibility you, as the nanny help, should be reasonably expected to incur.

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USER QUESTION: “Can Babysitter-Services.com suggest games? I am running out of ideas!”

Babysitter-Services.com ANSWER: Depends! Are you looking for indoor nanny games or outdoor nanny games? How old are the children being watched? Here are some suggestions that should cover a wide variety of situations:

Indoor Nanny Games

- watch an appropriate babysitter video (disney channel, luney toons, pbs, etc…). Click here for some babysitter video suggestions.

- mystery object: place large/textured/safe items in a paper bag (so child cannot identify by sight what is inside) and let child feel and make guesses. Give fun clues!

-   Hide and seek

- fun board games (chutes and ladders for young children, checkers/monopoly for older children). BONUS: show parents you take your babysitter services seriously – bring a few games with you!.

- see who can make the scariest, happiest, weirdest face in the mirror (let other children/siblings judge (create number cards)

- bring a cookie or cake recipe (try to find a low sugar/healthy alternative. Many brownie recipies will use yogurt (or even apple sauce) instead of whole milk.

- kids love to teach….let the show you how to play their favorite game, tell you about their favorite television show (ask lots of questions).

- play “treasure hunt”: hide fun objects in different rooms and give clues until children can figure it out. Bring prizes (stickers, cookies, ribbons, etc..)

- bring an activity book, such as Highlights, or any puzzle book or coloring book to keep the kids busy for hours.

Outdoor Babysitter Games

If its a nice day outside, exercise is so important for children. (BONUS: you get to tire the kids out so they go to sleep early).

- Play any sport (light plastic bat and whiffle ball go a long way, kickball/small basketballs are fun too). Make up your own sports.

- Create an activity contest. Kids are naturally very competitive. (i) Ask “who can run up and down the sidewalk for the longest time.”…they’ll be ready! (ii) Try the “red light / green light game” where when you say “green light” the children run and have to immedately stop when you say “red light.” (iii) duck duck goose is a lot of fun as well. 

- Play Marco Polo: blindfold one child and let him/her try to find the nearest person – or you – by having all other participants reply with an emphatic: “Polo” every time the blindfolded kid says “Marco.” (make sure to find an open field where children cannot get hit by anything)

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While exercise and outdoor fun is always important, babysitter and nanny help have to always be prepared for the rainy day, and of course have evening activities. Part of all nannies’ jobs is to always keep the children entertained. Babysitter-Services recommend the following babysitter videos:

Recommended Babysitter Videos

101 Dalmatians (ages 6+); Aladdin (ages 6+); The Aristocats (ages 4 +) Babar: King of the Elephants (ages 4 +); Babe (ages 5 +); Bear in the Big Blue House Live! (ages 2 to 6); Beauty and the Beast (ages 6 +); Charlotte’s Web (ages 4 +) Clifford Tries His Best (ages 2 to 7) Doctor Dolittle (ages 4 +) Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas (ages 3+); Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat (ages 3 +); Dumbo (ages 4 +); Finding Nemo (ages 6 +); The Jungle Book (ages 4 +); The Land Before Time (ages 5 to 12); The Lion King (ages 6 +); The Little Mermaid (ages 6 +); The Looney Tunes Golden Collection (ages 4 +); Mary Poppins (ages 4 +); Peanuts Classic Holiday Collection (ages 3 +);  Toy Story / Toy Story 2 (Ages 5+);  Up (3+)

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 Conduct a Nanny Interview, Ask for References, Consider a Background Check*

What do you look for when screening your child’s nanny or babysitter?

In your nanny search, consider finding nannies for hire by using one of the babysitter services brought to you by Babysitter-Services.com. But whether you use one of the respected babysitter services or give the babysitter job to someone referred to you by a trusted neighbor – when screening your child’s nanny help, you must put the applicant through both a subjective and objective test.

·          Subjective test: this includes a telephone or in-person nanny interview. But this can be tricky, because you have to be prepared and ready to ask atypical questions that will allow you to draw out genuine responses (i.e. getting the applicant to move beyond their canned answers to questions they’ve been asked many times before). To nannies jobs are each different. Make sure to be completely up front with what you will expect from your babysitter services or child’s nanny help. What kind of babysitter services will the nanny help be providing? Will they be cleaning the house as well as taking care of your child? How often do you expect the babysitter applicant to stay with the care-receiver? Overnight? Are you looking for live in nannies year round or just a summer nanny? How would your child’s nanny, babysitter or care-giver respond to an emergency situation? Has he/she ever had to deal with an emergency? Let them tell you about those experiences. Ask what babysitter services he / she has provided to other families in their prior nanny positions. 

How much should a nanny cost? Click on one of these links to determine fair babysitter rates.

If the nanny interview is in person, it is always a good idea to introduce your child to the potential nanny help or babysitter applicant. Different children will respond differently to the same adult babysitter. Their first interaction can be telling as to how the babysitter job will eventually work out.  

·          Ask for, and actually follow up with, references. This is one of the best ways to check up on your prospective child’s nanny help before actually hiring them. Make sure to hire someone with good prior experience. You don’t want your child to be your nanny help’s on-the-job training. Ask similar questions as listed above: did the sitter ever have to deal with an unusual or serious situation? How did he/she handle themselves? Do they focus on playing interactive and educational games with the children – or do they sit in front of the TV all day and occasionally serve a microwave meal? Some parents simply want a person there to call the police or drive their children to the hospital in case of the worst…others want their nanny help to include babysitter services such as paramedic experience, and other forms of training. 

·          Ask your potential nanny help if they have any questions for you. See our follow up article in a few days for some questions to expect.  

·          Objective test: Make sure you ask your potential nanny help for a valid government-issued ID (i.e. passport, drivers license – especially and obviously if part of the babysitter job is to drive your child to/from school, daycare, etc). You may want to consider running a background check on your potential nanny help. They are surprisingly cheap and may return information that your child’s prospective nanny would never voluntarily disclose during your interview. If a lot of driving is involved, you can also run a motor-vehicle search on your babysitter applicant to make sure he/she has not received an unseemly number of traffic tickets or been in an unacceptable number of traffic accidents.  

Babysitter-Services.com has a relationship with ScreentoHire.com, a respected background check company used by other babysitter services (as well as a variety of other types of businesses). Screen2Hire can provide you with the background and traffic records checks to give you added peace of mind. But remember, the subjective test is just as important as the objective one. Ultimately, the hiring decision is yours. Personalities vary tremendously, and it’s up to you to make sure you only hire someone you feel comfortable leaving alone with your child or any care-receiver.  

Once you have made the decision, what should you do after hiring a babysitter (see our article in a few days to find out)?  

*Excerpts taken, with permission, from www.screentohire.com/nanny.

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Babysitter: Colloquially, the term can refer to your neighbor’s teenage daughter looking to make a few extra dollars for a few hours of work on a Saturday night (so you can spend some quality time with friends or significant other). But a ‘babysitter’ refers to an 18 – 90 year old experienced care giver, often trained in first-aid, Heimlich maneuver, etc… Usually, “babysitter” refers to someone’s part-time (less than 20 hours per week) job keeping an eye on your child. It is not uncommon to seek the assistance of babysitter services when trying to locate a highly qualified babysitter.

• Babysitter Services can refer to an agency or service that refers babysitter or nanny help to you.
  • E.g. “I found my child’s nanny help (or part-time babysitter) at one of the agencies recommended by Babysitter-Services.com.”  
• Babysitter Services can also refer to the actual responsibilities in a particular babysitter or nanny help job.
  • E.g. “This babysitter job requires the following babysitter services: pick up child from school and oversee his homework until parent gets back from work between 6:00 and 7:00pm on Monday and Wednesday.”  

Au Pair: Au Pairs are usually European and between the ages of 18 and 25. Au Pairs come to the United States, to live in an American home, usually for a year or two, and act as a full time care giver. Depending on which country the Au Pair comes from, he/she may have special nanny help or other babysitter services child/care giving training (different countries have different ‘Au Pair’ standards). Similarly, many babysitter services can refer you to a high-quality au pair.  

Nanny:  Babysitter-Services.com highly recommends using a babysitter service when looking for a full-time or semi-full-time nanny help – because your child’s nanny are usually expected to live in your home or apartment. Nannies may expect a weekly salary (and should be considered your employee). Nannies can be great for watching your young children while you get work done in the home and perform their care giving role when you need to leave for work or at night. Babysitter-Services can help you find high quality nanny help that will alleviate some of the stress involved in raising children.  

Doula: A Doula receives special training to assist with the birthing process. After the infant is born, Doulas may spend some time living with the family – as nanny help – while the new mother recuperates from the exhaustion associated with pregnancy and giving birth. Many babysitter services do not offer doula-referral services. No worries! Babysitter-Services.com has found babysitter services that do.

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