When you invite someone into your home to take care of your most valuable assets - your children - the goal is to be as comfortable and confident with them as possible. When you hire a babysitter through CareFinder we do everything we can to ensure you're able to find a sitter you can trust. We encourage all of our families to hold in-person interviews and trial sittings whenever possible so that you're completely at ease with your choice before officially handing over your kids.

 

That being said, there can be some awkward or uncomfortable situations that arise even when you've found the best babysitter on planet Earth. While we believe the diversity of the CareFinder community is our best feature, the difference in perspectives and cultures can also lead to some misunderstandings and miscommunications (which we've talked about before!).

 

Luckily, many of the most common uncomfortable conversations can be dealt with in advance.

 

 

You may be surprised at how often the issue of privacy - your family's and the sitter's - will come up. From policies around nudity (yes, this is something you should have!) to privacy around toilet use to photos of your children, you should have a conversation about your expectations ahead of time.

 

All sitters on CareFinder platform have your child's safety as the first priority, period. But we defer to parents to set the level of privacy that this entails:

 

Will the children be expected to follow the sitter into the bathroom? Is changing bathing suits ahead of pool time a group activity? Can sitters share cute photos of your children?

 

Our sitters are prepared to have these conversations, so we encourage you to include these topics in your interview, ahead of the first sitting job.

 

 

When it comes to paying your sitter, our new online payment system helps to make the process seamless and straightforward. If you pay online, you have no reason to worry about an end-of-job back-and-forth over cash payments.

 

However, there are times when a sitter may be expected to watch children for long periods which could entail paying for food, entertainment or otherwise. Maybe you use one CareFinder sitter regularly and give them a bank card to make these kind of purchases. Whatever the case may be, you should be clear on amounts you'll reimburse and if there are times when you'd prefer to preapprove a purchase. Having conversations about finances is always difficult - even with our own family members - but it's far easier to lay out guidelines ahead of time than after the fact!

 

 

Not actual hiccups, of course! But there will be times, no matter how explicit you've been with your expectations, that a "hiccup" happens. A hiccup is not a massive mistake or accident; it's a babysitter misstep that should be addressed so it doesn't happen again (for instance, homework isn't done because the sitter took your kid to the neighborhood park instead).

 

No one likes to be a scold and it can sometimes be easier to let something small slide, especially if the sitter is amazing in all other ways, rather than to have an uncomfortable chat. But if issues are not dealt with as soon as possible, the chance that they reoccur or that resentment builds, increases.

 

At CareFinder, our goal is for our sitters and families to develop meaningful relationships... but the sitter is still your employee! As such, they expect you to let them know if they've goofed up. It's important that you uphold your end of the bargain and speak to them about small problems before they become larger ones.

 

No matter what the difficult conversation may be, you should also know that you're not alone in having it. The CareFinder team is always here to help your family work through any issues that may arise within our community. Feel free to reach out anytime you need a little extra assistance!