So, I'm new to the whole routine of hiring a high school aged babysitter and I'm totally out of touch. So far, I've had 4 different high school aged girls (17 or 18) recommended to me as babysitters. The girls are all very nice and, as far as I can tell, they come from nice families. I feel comfortable with the sources that recommended them.
First, what should I be asking them when they come by to meet/interview? I've been mostly chatting with them to get a feel for whether they are nice girls, where they come from, etc. I get their contact information, full names, etc. I ask about their schedules, experience and expected pay (Is it strange that all the girls say that they are typically paid "whatever people want to pay them" and don't have an expected rate? Should I just tell them that the job pays $X/hr.) I watch their interactions with my children and tell them a bit about the boys' routines, my expectations for sitters. It's very informal.
Second, and I want feedback from parents of teenaged babysitters here too, how much interaction, if any, should I expect to have with the girls' parents. Seems that each of these girls have their own cell phones and cars and they control their own schedules. They never mention curfews or asking their parents' permission or even suggest that their parents would like to speak with me or know who I am. When I ask them if their parents would want to talk to me, they giggle and say no. Am I a total dinosaur? I'd want to know where my daughter was, who she was meeting, and when she'd return home at the very least. I'm even more concerned for teenaged babysitters who are contacting me via care.com. (FYI: I may be more paranoid about this than other people. The day before my high school graduation, a Junior commit suicide. It later came to light that she'd been having an affair with the high school band teacher for whose children she babysat. I get queasy about adults having unsupervised communications with teen girls.)
Third, if one of them comes to babysit, should I have the boys fed/bathed before the sitter comes (which would mean starting the evening later). How specific should I be about house rules and expectations for the sitters like "no guests while babysitting" or what snacks the sitters can eat from our kitchen?
Fourth, the girls are enthusiastic when they are interviewing but then "unavailable" when I try to schedule actual babysitting. Are they really unavailable or am I putting them off somehow? Should I stop asking them to sit if they are unavailable 2+ times. I'm like a clueless teenaged boy trying to communicate with and read these girls. I'm having to text or e-mail the girls to schedule. They don't call; they text to landline if they don't have my cell phone number. WTF? Really, I feel like such an old lady.
Gosh, it was so much easier when I was a teen and I babysat for my parents' friends and my mom could just run interference if I wasn't interested in a job (or a boy). What's the etiquette.
First, what should I be asking them when they come by to meet/interview? I've been mostly chatting with them to get a feel for whether they are nice girls, where they come from, etc. I get their contact information, full names, etc. I ask about their schedules, experience and expected pay (Is it strange that all the girls say that they are typically paid "whatever people want to pay them" and don't have an expected rate? Should I just tell them that the job pays $X/hr.) I watch their interactions with my children and tell them a bit about the boys' routines, my expectations for sitters. It's very informal.
Second, and I want feedback from parents of teenaged babysitters here too, how much interaction, if any, should I expect to have with the girls' parents. Seems that each of these girls have their own cell phones and cars and they control their own schedules. They never mention curfews or asking their parents' permission or even suggest that their parents would like to speak with me or know who I am. When I ask them if their parents would want to talk to me, they giggle and say no. Am I a total dinosaur? I'd want to know where my daughter was, who she was meeting, and when she'd return home at the very least. I'm even more concerned for teenaged babysitters who are contacting me via care.com. (FYI: I may be more paranoid about this than other people. The day before my high school graduation, a Junior commit suicide. It later came to light that she'd been having an affair with the high school band teacher for whose children she babysat. I get queasy about adults having unsupervised communications with teen girls.)
Third, if one of them comes to babysit, should I have the boys fed/bathed before the sitter comes (which would mean starting the evening later). How specific should I be about house rules and expectations for the sitters like "no guests while babysitting" or what snacks the sitters can eat from our kitchen?
Fourth, the girls are enthusiastic when they are interviewing but then "unavailable" when I try to schedule actual babysitting. Are they really unavailable or am I putting them off somehow? Should I stop asking them to sit if they are unavailable 2+ times. I'm like a clueless teenaged boy trying to communicate with and read these girls. I'm having to text or e-mail the girls to schedule. They don't call; they text to landline if they don't have my cell phone number. WTF? Really, I feel like such an old lady.
Gosh, it was so much easier when I was a teen and I babysat for my parents' friends and my mom could just run interference if I wasn't interested in a job (or a boy). What's the etiquette.
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