please share babysitter rules & stories
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| Tue, 09-13-2005 - 9:47pm |
I am in the process of hiring a new babysitter - I have one that the old one recommended for right now (the former one got a better paying job and I do wish her well...).
Anyway, this new one is a 16 year old and I am not sure if I will keep her. I have to set some ground rules - like the cell phone cannot be ringing constantly in a home office environment.
Right now her personality really annoyes me - like she criticizes my driving and has smart aleck remarks, she twists her hair and is very prissy and is just a brass teenage girl. She doesn't have transportation which presents its own challenges - she gets picked up and dropped off at odd times not necessarily when I need her. Even if she did get a car I could never trust her to drive with ds at her age now. The more I write the more this sounds like it is not a fit for me.
Anyway, I was curious to hear your stories on rules you set and your experiences. I was going to try to lay down the law tomorrow about the things that annoy me and then see what happens.
My sister's nanny has a niece that is looking for a position so I might go with her - she is older and can drive. But no telling if she can speak English.
Sorry for the vent and drama. But with a busy home office I need help!!

I have hardly any experience with hiring babysitters.
Thanks, Jennie.
It is funny how you can almost tell the answer you need when you start to write down everything on this board. Just writing all of that gave me a good start. I was afraid I might be too mean or shell shocked - the old babysitter, while good for a while, was becoming arrogant and undependable towards the end. And I am tired from that.
Never mind the fact that my kitchen is going to be totally torn to smitherenes next Monday. And DS has hours of homework each night. Tonight he forgot one of his textbooks so I had to do a little research on the 5 kingdoms (science classifications) via google - took us almost an hour for that.
I think I need more of a personal assistant that can drive and run errands and help around the house than a young teenager. So I am going to talk to my sister's nanny's niece tomorrow.
I just can't believe how crass a 16 year old can be. I was never like that on the job.
This sort of reminds me of hunting for a boyfriend or a job - you just can't settle and you have to have a good fit.
Five yearsb ago they came in for a job with everything peirced but the eyeball. Glad to see most of that craze has gone away.
Now some that dont go to collage want a job that starts at $20.00 per hour and I am thinking they are nuts.
Yes it is hard to find someone to trust to watch your kids and look like they can have some responseabilty.
I wish you good luck in your search.
Thanks, softballs - I appreciate your comments. It is good to know that it is not just me - it is a generation thing and you experience this too as plant manager.
I was so responsible when I was 16 - I worked very hard in a restaurant and bought my own car, paid the gas and the insurance myself, too. I also managed to save for college. I adored and served all bosses well - always did extra. We did not have cell phones or anything pierced.
I do think the downside to my teenage years is that too much emphasis was placed on working and money and being responsible. I grew up too fast - made work my life - and I think it is more important to make school and family your life. But maturity, manners and responsbility are still important.
Tomorrow I am going to tell her how I feel about her behavior and see what happens. I am not going to allow any sass or cell phone use. And I am going to look for someone better.
I think I have learned through this that you really have to have the right person and set boundaries. The funny thing is that the babysitter is harder to manage than my employees at the moment. What a headache!!
It's tough to find good help. Luckily my parent's are my babysitters, and since they are divorced, it's kinda handy if I have to do something with my mom and my dad can watch him.
I agree that values have changed a lot around work ethics and such, I remember my first job in the gas station and I always made sure I was there early, pitched in that extra bit to help my boss out and didn't call in sick unless I was throwing up. Some of the girls I worked with were always complaining about everything, called in sick a lot, would show up late, get advances on their paycheques cause they ran out, trade off their morning shifts so they could sleep in after going to the bar, etc.
The place I work at now is great, but you still have a lot of people that complain about things, but don't look for work elsewhere- they're just content to complain. But I try to ignore those people and just have fun with the other great employees that are there. I've called in sick once, I hadn't been feeling well for days, but then Nicolas was sick and my mom couldn't work from home that day, so I called in.
But I agree with Softballs, that a lot of people seem to have this entitlement thing that if they WANT $20/hour, they should be able to get paid that even though they haven't finished high school.
Judy, I think you really should listen to your gut on this one. I would talk to her about why you're letting her go, she may do nothing with the information, or she may actually take it to heart.
Alison
Thanks, Alison.
I have been in contact with the girl who is the niece of my sister's nanny. She was thrilled to hear I have an opening and liked the description of the job. She is out of state right now but really wants to move here because her family, and aunt, is here. She would have to give a notice and get out of a lease - but I am pretty sure she can do that with a letter that shows she has a job out of state - will see.
She sounds responsible. SHe drives and has good experience. I have thought of a few more questions to ask tomorrow.
The girl I have now is really not going to work for me. She is a nice person but not nearly enough of what I need. I have to be firm and selfish on this one. Too much is at stake.
I think this girl would be great in a movie theatre where she can socialize with a lot of other teenagers.