Babysitting for family members can be great: you know the children and they are more comfortable being left with you but there are still potential pitfalls.
When I started out babysitting, it was as a way to top up my income while a student, and the childrens’ ages ranged from one upwards. Nowadays the children I look after are generally old enough to fend for themselves, I am really just there to police bedtime, mediate disagreements, make sure nobody does anything silly or dangerous and, once, figure out why the electricity went off.
Into the mix have come a number of nieces, nephews and whatever one is supposed to call your cousins’ offspring (cousins-once-removed, I believe, is the genealogical term but that makes you sound like the relative they would rather forget they had!). It’s a wonderful thing to have so much family to bond with; but when it comes to babysitting for your family – what are the boundaries?
Here are my top five tips when babysitting for family:
1. Stick to the children’s usual routine
They are likely to get excited and want to read the entire Thomas the Tank Engine compendium (60 stories) but Mum and Dad will not appreciate the effects the next day so dinner, bath and bed times should still be observed.
2. Don’t necessarily expect payment
I have been offered dinner, petrol money if I have driven any great distance to sit and a box of chocolates never goes amiss but directly asking for money from family members at the end of a night’s babysitting is a sure way to set off misunderstandings. If you need to earn money, make sure that this is tackled before you agree to regular family babysitting.
3. It’s about give and take
Instead of exchanging money for your time why not swap favours? Babysitting your own children, if you have them, help in the garden or a lift to the supermarket while your car is at the garage are some ways your family members could reward you for your time.
4. Agree your terms
You should know where your relatives are going, how to contact them and when they expect to be home. If they are running late you should be informed; no-one likes to find themselves holding a crying baby two hours after they should have gone home!
5. Keep track, not score
You should know how often you are providing your services to your family but if you feel they are not holding up their side of the deal with reciprocating favours you need to find a way to deal with the situation tactfully. Why not ask them to return the favour with a specific task you need to complete – for example, advice with writing your CV, or a lift to an important appointment?
