Essential Information & Instructions For Your Babysitter  

Babysitters and nannies should always be 15 minutes early so that you could brief them and give them the necessary information before leaving your child to her care. This will ensure the caregiver will know how to handle any emergency and that your child will be in safe hands while you are away. In order for you to leave your child safely with the babysitter, it is important you let the nanny or babysitter have the following:- 

Contact numbers for you and your spouse. This should include home number, work phone numbers and extensions, and cell phone numbers. If you are attending a function at a restaurant or friend's house, it would also be wise to leave the telephone numbers of these places.

Tell your sitter not to open the door to anyone she's not expecting, and warn her if anyone will be stopping by or calling. Tell her that it is okay to call you and check with you anything she is not completely sure. Although you might be inconvenienced slightly if she does call, but it is always better not to leave things to chances.


Emergency contact numbers- A comprehensive list of numbers including fire, police, family doctor, and hospital numbers should be drawn up and displayed at a prominent place. There must also be a backup list of one or two designated relatives, neighbors or friends whom your caregiver can turn to should you or your spouse cannot be reached. Make sure your babysitter has their names, numbers, and addresses.


Fire escape and other contingency- Your babysitter should know where to find the fire extinguisher and first aid kit in the house. In case of a power outage, she should know where the circuit breaker is and where she could find torch lights and candles in case of a power failure. Most importantly, all possible fire escape routes must be clearly made known to her in case of crisis that requires hasty evacuation.


Medical information of your child- Inform your nanny of any medical conditions such as asthma or allergy in advance. If your child is currently under medication, remember to draw up a schedule that the nanny must follow. Other non medical information such as tendency to spit up food at meal times and how you usually handle the situation should be made known to the nanny.


Feeding Times - Ensure the babysitter has a schedule for feeding your child. If your child is currently still on milk feeds, ensure the babysitter knows how to prepare formula or warm up expressed breast milk. If your child is on solids, ensure nanny knows what foods she can and cannot give your child to avoid choking and allergy.


Daily Activity schedule- A child may not feel completely at ease when mummy or daddy is not around. You could minimize this anxiety by ensuring that your child sticks to his usual routine such as meal times, bedtimes etc. Any specific habits such as a special toy that will calm baby down or a special song that you sing at bedtimes must be made known to nanny. Ensure your caregiver has an activity schedule and inform her to stick to the schedule. She should fill up the sheet so that upon return you will be able to know how your child has spent the day and whether he has eaten and how much or how long was his nap etc. without having to rely on the memory of the caregiver.