Babysitter Ettiquette

if its a babysitter and not like daycare we don't pay at all. she has canceled on us sometime and she didn't give us free services LOL!

If it is a sitter that you want to keep around consider the following:

Whatever you decide to do for whatever situation, type it up on a piece of paper and give it to her so she knows what to expect for cancelations. That in itself is being very respectful of her and any other future babysitters you employ on a regular basis. You could also list basic house rules and your children's schecules on it with your important numbers.

Say, cancelations that are 48 or more in advance no payment.
Cancelations that are within 12-24 hours half payment of X hours.
Cancelations that are less than 12 hours full payment of X hours.

You decide if you want to keep the X hours as the scheduled time or an average time of say 4 hours.

Everyone appreciates what is expected of them in advance so they can make a fair decision. Hope this helps!

Whenever someone canceled on me I never was paid since my services were not used, weather and sickness happen no way to control it. Depending on the age of the babysitter he/she would be going 'yes I have the night free now' and make the most of it. If this is a professional babysitter or nanny that is counting on this for a living (and there is a contract) then you could be bond to pay or at least at a discounted rate if not canceled in a certain amount of time.

It is preferable if the babysitting services are canceled 24 hrs in advance because then maybe they can babysit else where then... but I only babysat for one family and they usually canceled 8 hrs before I was due to arrive which was fine with me because then I went out with friends/boyfriend. I did not count on the money, the money was only a bonus when I babysat. I did notice if they canceled the next time I babysat they always threw in a few extra dollars as a "we love you and thank you for putting up with all the times we cancel/change plans."

If you cancel when the babysitter arrives to babysit then pay for an hour of services since he/she came to show respect for their time in just coming even thought you ended up canceling.

We were facing the same thing last night when some social plans fell through for this evening.

Having done a lot of babysitting when I was in high school, I honestly didn't mind when someone had to cancel. But, as a parent and using a babysitter in high demand, I'd respond as follows:

Scenario 1: I'd call as soon as possible and cancel. With 24 hours notice (or at least the day/evening before), I would not feel obligated to pay anything, and it should give them enough time to make other plans.

Scenario 2: if it's the day of, I'd pay them for the general amount of time they were going to be there (probably minimum of 3-4 hours) as they're likely not to be able to make other plans at the last minute and may have turned down other babysitting opportunities.

Hope your husband gets home safely.

Since the babysitter is probably not counting on the money for an income, like a daycare provider would, we didn't pay. If we had to cancel for any reason, it's just that - cancelled. Our babysitters(sisters) have always been the same girls, for nearly 8 years! So, we might end up giving her/them a little extra the next time or something like that, but usually it wasn't a big deal for them if we had to cancel.

If your babysitter is not a high school student and just using the money for a little extra spending allowance ....maybe a college student trying to pay for rent, school, gas, etc. then maybe I'd offer half of the amount you'd usually pay.

I would just call her and tell her. Is she a regular is this a regular gig. she does it every week? if so you might want to still pay her but if its nt a regular thing and your giving her 24 hours notice then no pay. if a child is sick absolutely cancel. and then just ask her what is the norm. We never paid a sitter unless they had the kids with the exception of one who we had every week. and she counted on it and planned it into her weekly schedule. so we knew we could count on her. but it is worth cultivating a good sitter so keep that in mind also lol.

When we had sitters YES we guaranteed a minimum of $40.

If we were out less than 2 hours she got about $50 total. Most date nights we had, which was weekly, we averaged $70-$80 for our total sitting fee in CASH.

I had high school girls and the way I look at it is this....they saved that night for YOU and did not accept another sitting job or date. I feel it is only right to pay a minimum for that night.

I didn't go through a sitting service but I would think they have a guarantee as well.

We have had to cancel before and I just took the CASH to the girl. Most of the time, the girls or the parents said "Oh no, you don't have to do that" and No, I didn't HAVE to do that but it was the right thing to do.

I never had to look for a sitter either because they knew they would be treated right at my house. I had potential sitters calling me.

I was never paid unless I babysat when I was a teenager, which we can only assume it's a teenager because you didn't say. If it is due to sickness or extenuating circumstances like your husband not making it back in town due to weather, just tell the truth and apologize profusely. As for how to cancel for tomorrow, call immediately, tell her why you are canceling, apologize, and set up a rescheduled date if possible so she knows it's nothing personal, that you still adore her but you have to postpone.