<p>So last Thursday I was called to babysit at one of my teacher’s houses. The dishes were piled high in the sink, toys were everywhere, and clothes were thrown throughout the bedroom. I had the kids pick up their toys when you they were getting ready to go to bed, and I cleaned up some of the dishes. </p>
<p>The next day at school, one of my friends who also babysits said she ALWAYS makes sure the house is spotless the time the couple gets home. “It’s part of babysitting,” she told me. </p>
<p>So, parents, say you were to hire a teenage babysitter. Do you expect them to go above just babysitting?</p>
<p>I expect them to (1) make sure my child is cared for and safe. That is the TOP priority! (2) Ideally that my child was played with (games, reading, crafts, whatever), not plunked in front of the TV; (3) Any mess made while the sitter was there is picked up (eg, anything played with is put away, bath towels hung up and clothes in the hamper, any dishes from snacks or meals are done, etc.).</p>
<p>Anything beyond that is gravy. I am hiring a sitter, not a maid. That said, a little extra picking up once the kids are asleep wouldn’t go unnoticed :)</p>
<p>I just expect babysitting, but if giving the kid dinner or a snack was part of babysitting time, I’d expect you to put the dishes in the dishwasher and food back where it belonged. (But I’d tell you this ahead of time too.) If the kid is old enough I’d expect you to enlist their help. I’d expect toys to be put away within reason. You aren’t a maid. If you did clean up though I’d give you a very nice tip.</p>
<p>I would expect a babysitter to leave the house in the condition it was when they arrived, plus having the kids pick up their toys if there were a few scattered around (not, for example, a CARPET of toys spread throughout the house.) So, yeah, I’d expect the babysitter to put food away if they took it out or put dishes they used/fed the kids on in the dishwasher. But if the sink was already full of dishes when they arrived, I wouldn’t expect them to do anything about those.</p>
<p>“If the kids are well cared for AND the house is spotless, you will get the first call and a big tip every time.”</p>
<p>I don’t think this is true. I think that anyone whose house is a pigsty when a sitter arrives isn’t likely to tip or even to come home on time.</p>
<p>I expected babysitters to leave the house in the condition that they had found it. I expected them to take good care of my kids while not doing things like phoning and texting their friends or watching their favorite shows on TV.</p>
<p>It’s hard finding good sitters because so many teens no longer do babysitting, and the most responsible teens are the ones who’re most likely to get better paying jobs. I don’t think that someone needs to offer extra maid service in order to get hired as an occassional babysitter.</p>
<p>If there was a sink full of dishes and a mess everywhere, I would tell the babysitter that I didn’t expect him/her to take care of those things. Since your teacher is (presumably, since she’s a teacher?) good at giving instructions, the fact that she didn’t say anything to you about the mess might imply that she was simply hoping you would clean up at least some of it.</p>
<p>Well, OP…looks like we all agree with you so far. Frustrating because it’s a TEACHER so you want them to think you did a good job…even more than other clients…I’d imagine. </p>
<p>My daughter babysit’s one of her teachers’ children. I wouldn’t care if she did their existing dishes but I’m assuming there is no way she’d do that, not even think of it probably. But of COURSE she cleans up whatever they mess up. What’s next? Should you throw in a load of laundry and scrub the toilet? I agree that only “tidying” is involved, and only your mess.</p>
<p>Like another poster said…I’m guessing I’d even mention it to the sitter (“gosh, I’m sorry the house is a mess…I’m a bit behind today”). But then I’m really a neat freak. So, if the house looked like this when you came, I’m not even sure they’d notice or care if you did their dishes.</p>
<p>I would be embarrassed to leave a sink full of dishes, and I am not a neat freak. I did a great deal of babysitting when I was in HS and I never saw a house in the condition you describe. I remember neat houses. That was in the days when we knew our neighbors, so maybe they did not want my mom to know any tales from their house. I would not feel obligated to clean if I was hired to babysit. I think leaving the house as one found it is a good rule of thumb.</p>
<p>I would expect the babysitter to wash and wax all the cars, but I would not expect her to paint the garage. Although it would be nice if she could make a good start on it.</p>
<p>I always expected my kids to be taken care of. I never expected the sitter to do my housework. I always expected the sitter to clean up after the kids, but no other cleaning. If cleaning up a mess made prior to the sitter’s arrival is expected, that is taking advantage of the sitter.</p>
<p>I would not even expect the sitter to clean up after the kids if the kids are young enough to need constant supervision. It is better for the mess to remain all over the floor than for the toddler to wander out into the street because the babysitter was distracted by the need to clean up.</p>
<p>Another vote for “spend quality time with the kid, and leave the house in the condition you found it.”</p>
<p>I’m probably in the minority here, but I would avoid babysitting for a teacher. The teacher-student relationship is too one-sided, and what if you find out the teacher is a nut job, the house is a pig sty, the kid is a holy terror, etc? Are you stuck with the babysitting gig out of fear that your grade will suffer, or you’ll get a bad reference, if you quit?</p>
<p>I say save the babysitting for relatives and neighbors. But maybe that’s just me.</p>
<p>Ha! And she should remember to move the car forward 12 inches while washing the tires. Otherwise you end up with that one dirty spot where the tire was touching the pavement and didn’t get washed!</p>
<p>" would avoid babysitting for a teacher. The teacher-student relationship is too one-sided, and what if you find out the teacher is a nut job, the house is a pig sty, the kid is a holy terror, etc? Are you stuck with the babysitting gig out of fear that your grade will suffer, or you’ll get a bad reference, if you quit?"</p>
<p>I think that most teachers aren’t like that.</p>
<p>When I was a professor, I asked my most responsible students to babysit, and paid them well. I treated them fairly, and they were excellent sitters. More than 10 years later, I remain close to some, who now are professionals raising kids of their own. Some of my ex students have become close friends who are like part of the family.</p>
<p>I expected my kids to clean up when it was age appropriate, not the babysitter. I expect the babysitter to supervise the kids and see that they clean up.</p>
<p>This was set out in writing before summer babysitting began. Otherwise, the clutter got out of control, and we would come home and be upset with everyone. I never really thought it was the sitter’s job to clean my house. </p>
<p>Summer was when we used the most babysitting services, and it became a time to get the kids to take charge of light housekeeping (vacuum, load and empty DW, dust, laundry), cold food prep and clean up, and clutter pick up. After we made a list of possible activities that needed to engaged in, the sitter was to manage that some of those things were accomplished. It didn’t always happen, but it generally worked.</p>
<p>It’s been years, but we definitely had sitters who would do some cleaning after the kids went to sleep and were happy to pay them extra and tip them well for going above and beyond.</p>
<p>I think its just me, but I have a problem with teachers asking current students to be babysitters. I’ve used students, but only after they finished my course and I was no longer responsible for grading them. It just seems like it could be ripe for perceived conflicts of interest and best not to overlap one’s professional life with personal life.</p>
<p>Leave the house as you found it and take care of the kids.</p>
<p>If you put away some toys that were out already while cleaning up the ones used during your stay, that’s reasonable. If you put a few dishes that were in the sink when you arrived into the dishwasher or wash them while clearing up dishes you used, that’s reasonable. (Don’t run the dishwasher, though: maybe those things were in the sink because the householder doesn’t like to put those items in the dishwasher. They won’t thank you for washing the pattern off great-grandmother’s hand-painted china. I admit that this scenario is unlikely. )</p>
<p>A little extra neatening is nice. Too much could be an implied criticism. And a babysitter for the evening is not a maid. A “mother’s helper” for the summer may reasonably be expected to do a little light housecleaning.</p>
<p>I agree with those who are uneasy with the idea of a kid babysitting for a current or future teacher. Past is okay.</p>
And a babysitter for the evening is not a maid. A “mother’s helper” for the summer may reasonably be expected to do a little light housecleaning.</p>