5 THINGS FOR MANAGING BABYSITTERS

5 ThIngsS FOR MANAGING BABYSITTERS

5 things to make managing babysitters easier

“I’m so that Mom-ing” is a tsunami of sleep deprived adorableness combined with crumbs, crusty, crisps, messy mouths, muffins, and sweet curious chaos. Lemuel (Lemmy) the  aby if the family (like myself) is currently the king of “no” and hates sleeping early. Big brother Joseph gets braver, more mobile and more opinionated by the day. Especially with his clothes (puff). Plus, someone has to feed these two at least 3 times a day.

With such a long break due to the pandemic, meant no school for both of them and finding a stable and capable babysitter here in Eswatini has been mission impossible for me. Perhaps it’s my home and family standards It was me and 2 kids all day, every day for a whole month. (See tip #4.)

Here are 5 ways to make finding, organizing, and paying babysitters easier.

1. How to find babysitters: Word of mouth and agencies were our 2 most used attempts, but if that’s not working out, consider reaching out to a local school or daycare center. I have had some positive and negative results and great lessons learned with hiring a babysitter

2. Keeping babysitters organized in your phone or choice of filing system: I add or record every babysitter that ever sits for us into my contacts as “Babysitter First Name, month and year”. That way when I need a sitter, I can scroll to the “B” section and (fingers cross) find one easily!

3. Face with a name: Now that you’ve got all of your babysitters in one place on your phone, you have to try and remember which one is which! Before I commit to hiring a sitter, I always ask for the National ID card to make sure there are no major red flags. I save her (I’ve not hired a male sitter before) ID picture to her contact info in my phone so that I can put a face with a name.

4. All about your home: It can seem cheeky (and mostly frustrating) to think that it’s obvious to others what living  standards you have and the way or habits you prefer to live with. So, while managing your home should be just like running a small business there can be times when we find that the nature of us as humans is learning to mind our own business and not keep up with the Jones‘ or Dlamini’s. That’s why its important to develop the art communicating  clearly place things around your premises like clear labels/ signs for where things are, should be, and how things should be used i.e your landline phone should be used for emergency or job-related calls only, please switch off the cooker and lights after use, Lock door when finished. ect. We have also created a booklet of rules and regulations we have in our home which includes the children’s daily/weekly routine, house code of conduct and even instruction manuals of how to use electric appliances throughout our home relevant to the kids, such as the microwave, washing machine, vacuum, TV and music player. I created this free printable “Babysitter Handbook” so that you can use them around your home You can get the free printable babysitter assessment sheet here.

5. Paying a babysitter: Once you find a few (or 5) good babysitters, paying them has never been easier. I use either Mobile Money or a card-less service such as Standard Bank Instant Money or FNB eWallet to pay any hired help such as cleaners and sitters. This not only is a convenient method that you can do anywhere you are, but also gives proof that you did actually pay them (the stories I could tell about salary honesty). Just simply sign up at your local store or bank to your debit card. There is usually a small fee (please check with provider). Although some cardless service providers have apps for smart phones which are free to use.