Qualities of a Good Babysitter

Whether parents are leaving their children for a 10-hour work day or a quick trip to the convenience store, there are basic qualities and skills they should look for in a babysitter.

References

A good babysitter comes with good references. Parents should ask a sitter for the names and contact information of at least two previous or current babysitting clients. Preferably, those clients should have children in the same age range. Babysitting a 10-year-old child requires different skills than sitting for a set of infant twins.

Reliability

A good babysitter keeps his or her commitment to the client. Last-minute cancellations or late arrivals for assignments are unacceptable. Likewise, a sitter should not make on-the-spot requests for a client to be home at a certain time. If a sitter is limited to a certain time frame for an assignment, that should be noted at the time of booking.

Rules

It is the responsibility of the client to set the rules for a sitter to follow. It is the responsibility of the sitter to follow those rules. Those rules include bedtime hours, acceptable snacks and appropriate discipline. If a client has a "No TV" rule for children, then the sitter should not plop the kids in front of the set to keep them quiet. Good sitters have creative ways to keep children entertained, whether it's taking the children for a walk, reading to them, or playing their favorite game.

Focus

A babysitter's primary responsibility is the well-being of the children in his or her care. Good babysitters stay focused on the children and their activities and do not get distracted by personal phone calls, text messages, music or TV.

Misperceptions

Many babysitters believe their responsibilities end as soon as the children in their care are asleep. A good sitter always makes the extra effort to straighten up a home after the children are in bed. If children are served a meal, the dishes should be cleared and cleaned. If the children make a mess in the playroom, the toys should be put away. Though these chores may seem more like housekeeping duties, good babysitters always leave the home at least as neat as they found it.

Pay

Experienced parents understand the way to keep a good babysitter is to pay more money than the competition. A little extra cash is a small price to pay for peace of mind.