How to Decline a Babysitting Job

Whether you have another babysitting job scheduled or would rather not watch a specific set of kids, learn how to decline a request without offending the parents or jeopardizing future work in the neighborhood. Use these tips to turn work down and still keep your babysitting business up.

Instructions

1. Have a reasonable excuse for not being able to babysit. Most parents will understand if you have to spend the night studying for an important test or are attending a family get together. Let them know you've already got a babysitting job scheduled if another family contacted you earlier in the week. It's better to be honest than to have a good customer catch you in a lie.

2. Consider asking both families if you can watch all of the children at your house if two clients want to book you for the same night. However, the parents may only be comfortable with the idea if they know each other and you may still have to decline one family if neither feels comfortable with you watching that many kids.

3. Help the parents find a back-up babysitter to take your place for the night so they don't have to look elsewhere. Introduce them to one of your friends who's not only responsible, but also has a bit of experience taking care of children.

4. Let your favorite clients know when you're available to babysit again if you had been turning jobs down because you were studying for exams, going on vacation or putting in extra hours for another part-time job.

5. Ask your parents to decline the job on your behalf if there's a reason why you didn't feel comfortable or safe babysitting for this particular family in the past. If your mother explains that she's asked you to cut down on your babysitting so you can spend more time on your school work or household chores, for example, the family will be less likely to ask you again.