March 2017 - EASTERN OREGON PARENT - 5
Great expectations . . . for your new-found babysitter
By SUZANNE KENNEDY
Tonight is the night. You’re
ready. You’ve been planning this
for weeks. You are finally going out
without the kids!
Maybe you haven’t had a teen
sitter before, but you checked with
all your mom friends and gathered
the names of theirs. By the way,
if that doesn’t pan out, call your
local high school. The women in
the front office know who the good
kids are and will probably be able
to help you out.
How far away does the sitter
live? Can she drive? Are you pick-
ing her up? (For our purposes, we’ll
assume you’ve hired a girl.) Always
offer a ride, even if she drives. It’s
polite and she’s doing you a favor. If
she lives close enough or wants to
drive, she’ll let you know whether
she would rather do so herself.
This is the time to address a big
issue. I learned my lesson about
bringing friends when my oldest
was a baby and my husband and
I were going to a Mardi Gras ball.
Our sitter showed up (she was the
neighbor’s daughter) with her boy-
friend. Um, no. I panicked. I didn’t
want him there, but I sure didn’t
want to miss the big party. I told
her he could stay for a minute, but
had to leave before we did. Appar-
ently, she hadn’t wanted to sit for
us from the beginning, so she took
that opportunity to cancel. Right
there in my house. Thankfully, her
parents felt awful and babysat for
us (which I was way more comfort-
able with anyway).
Here in Oregon, we totally
lucked out with a great babysitter
right next door. Perfect!
What else should you expect
from your sitter? You shouldn’t ex-
pect anything if you haven’t talked
about it with her. Is it dinner time?
Then you should provide dinner,
and let her know what to do with
the dishes when they are done. Be
specific. Where do the leftovers go?
Are the kids allowed dessert? What
kind? How much?
Do you want her to be on her
phone or watching TV all night, or
maybe after the kids go to bed? If
you don’t, just tell her that you’ve
told the kids no electronics tonight
and set out a bunch of board games
for them to play. She should get the
hint. If it’s okay after the kids go
to bed, tell her that. Let her know
what kinds of shows you don’t
allow in your home, and decide
ahead of time if you will give her
the wi-fi password. Better to be
upfront about it than annoyed
when you get home. Be sure she
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knows how to work the television
so that she doesn’t get stuck and
end up having to read the book she
brought with her or finishing her
homework. Sorry, reminiscing.
Tell her that whatever gets taken
out needs to be put away before
the kids go to bed. Describe your
bedtime routine (brushing teeth,
lights out, etc.). That should cover
any issues with messes and fights.
Good babysitters will tell you
how the evening went. Great
babysitters will be honest. Superb
babysitters will write down what
they all did on her American Girl
Babysitting Kit notepad. Jealous? (I
told you I lucked out.)
So you went out, had an amaz-
ing time, and you’re back. I always
text my sitter when we are on our
way back so she is not surprised
when the front door opens. Make
sure you have enough cash to
pay her, and have it out so that
you aren’t awkwardly rummag-
ing through your purse. I’ve never
known any teen sitter who charges
a set amount for sitting, but I
always ask a new sitter if she has
one. Every single one has said
that the people just pay them
whatever they feel like. It’s best
to ask other moms in your
area how much they pay.
I generally pay $10 per
hour (three kids) when
the kids are awake
and $5 after they go
to bed. So, if we’re
gone from 5:00-10:00
and the children go to
bed at 8:00, that’s $40.
If you drove her,
take her home. If
it’s dark and she
walked more
than what you
Strategies
can see from your house, drive her
home. If she walked less than a few
houses, watch her from your front
yard. I would advise not letting her
walk home in the dark as you are
responsible to see that she gets
home safely. I’m sure she’ll be more
than happy to come back again.
________
Suzanne Kennedy is a former
middle school teacher who lives in
Pendleton with her husband and
three children.