Sitter took a shower and color treated her hair while she was supposed to watch DD in our house - Page 2

[jenP]

I was ROTFL when I read the title, because I have on occasion hired a sitter specifically so that I can have the free time to dye my hair (and shower after)!! To imagine the paid sitter ignoring the kid and dyeing her own hair is just so awful it's almost funny!

I tell babysitters that I expect them to be engaged with my children while they are on duty. No texting, phone calls, reading, surfing the internet, etc. (Of course, once the children are in bed they can do those things if they want.) (Of course, I often do all those things when I'm home with my kids. But I'm with them pretty much 24/7; I can surf while they watch a tv show. If I'm paying someone money to be with my kids for a few hours, I expect them to really be "on" the whole time.)

Some people take "babysitting" to mean no more than "being an adult present in the household in case there is an emergency." Carefully interview prospective new sitters and make sure your expectations are very clear and that they understand and are fine with it. It wouldn't hurt to write them down, too. In addition to the sources PP's listed, another good place to find a sitter is one of the several online services that link caregivers and clients. You do have to pay a fee to access contact information, but you get so many leads for people you could interview, I find it is worth it.

[AllisonR]

Fire her. Now. Not for what she specifically did, but because of her grotesque lack of common sense. I'd be more worried that her cluelessness will one day accidentally affect your DD in some horrible way. 

[Lucy Alden]

Originally Posted by jenP 

Carefully interview prospective new sitters and make sure your expectations are very clear and that they understand and are fine with it. It wouldn't hurt to write them down, too.

I agree, but your shouldn't have to explicitly state "sitter to not dye hair while watching child."  It's like those warnings on hair dryers telling you not to use while in the bathtub.  Well yeah, no duh!
 

Edited by Lucy Alden - 4/7/11 at 2:22pm

[jenP]

Originally Posted by Lucy Alden 

I agree, but your shouldn't have to explicitly state "sitter to not dye hair while watching child."  It's like those warnings one hair dryers telling you not to use while in the bathtub.  Well yeah, no duh!
 

LOL, I didn't mean to specifically state "no hair dyeing" :lol:

I just spell out that "sitter is to be present with children and engaged with children." Like I said, some sitters really believe that all they need to do is be in the house in case of emergency and that it is okay to do their own thing and let the child do their own thing. (usually I find this with sitters whose only experience is taking care of younger siblings.)
 

[Lucy Alden]

Originally Posted by jenP 

LOL, I didn't mean to specifically state "no hair dyeing" :lol:

Oh, I know .  Although, it could be argued that the type of person that would even consider dyeing their hair would probably need it explicitly stated.

[jenP]

Originally Posted by Lucy Alden 

Oh, I know .  Although, it could be argued that the type of person that would even consider dyeing their hair would probably need it explicitly stated.

True, true!! :lol

[MissMaegie'sMama]

Originally Posted by AllisonR 

Fire her. Now. Not for what she specifically did, but because of her grotesque lack of common sense. I'd be more worried that her cluelessness will one day accidentally affect your DD in some horrible way. 

Yep, this.

OP, what did you decide to do about the sitter?

[isabella.4567]

Ít is always nice to get your valued opinions, ladies. Thanks for the comments, tips -and the funny recent posts!

Yes, we fired her a few days after the incident. I agree that she obviously lacks boundaries and that she showed really poor judgement which could potentially harm DD in some other situation in the future.

That sitter was just overall not the sharpest tool in the shed and DH even went so far as to say he thinks she is a little nutso. So if that´s even a question - no we don´t want her to watch our child.

It was  a mistake to hire her in the first place. My instincts told me "no" when I first talked to her because I just did not click with her at all, but DD immediately took to her so much that I changed my mind.

Fortunately, we were able to find a replacement quickly and did not even have to bring a new person into DD´s life! Through a friend I know this nice mother of two who provides childcare in her home and DD has already been going there occasionally. This lady is able to pick DD up from preschool and watches her in her house until I pick her up in the evening. Although it is a little less convenient, it has been great so far and I know DD is in good hands.

[Viola]

I'm glad you got a new sitter who is working better for you.  My kids leave messes for me to clean up, and getting on them and making them pick up after themselves is like a never ending chore--I would never want to add to that.