As we get transferred all over Canada, my number one priority has been keeping our babysitter happy!
For several of my parenting years, I felt like my continual mantra was “Why Can’t I Find a Babysitter in Canada?”
My husband and our three children were transported to Vancouver, then Edmonton, and now Toronto. In the process, we experienced a drought of solid child care options.
However, now that we have found and employed our very own part-time Mary Poppins, our life is full of sunshine, rainbows, and lollipops.
Here are my favorite tips for maintaining our babysitting zen:
- I let my kids LOVE the babysitter. I do not worry that their adoration of her will supplant me as Mother of the Year. Let them share their sticky kisses with her. I am not in competition with someone who is getting paid to do what I do for free.
- Similarly, I speak positively about my babysitter in front of my children. For the sake of argument, let’s say that a certain clever six-year old declares, “{Mary Poppins} never yells like you do, Mommy!” Despite the numerous witty comebacks that I might have to such an observation, I refrain from a retort that would demean our babysitter.
- I am personal but professional. My children’s babysitter is not my therapist, nor am I her therapist. We are friendly, but we are not best friend-sy.
- I respect her time. If we agree that her work day will end at 6 PM, then I will plan on being home at 5:50. I do not take advantage of my babysitter’s kindness to run another quick errand or to linger for an extra few minutes over a latte with a friend.
- Finally, we remember our babysitter’s birthday. Each of my kids make her a card, and if it is not a day that she is working for us, I take a picture of my little cherubs with their homemade cards of stick figures and lopsided hearts, and I send the picture to her via e-mail. This year – her second year with us – we got her a small gift. It was not an exorbitant amount of money, but it also was not a re-gift. We know that our babysitter loves to bake, so we bought her some fancy decorating sugars at a small boutique in downtown Toronto. She loved them, and we were the lucky recipients of some of her delicious creations!
