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Babysitter's Handbook

I used to babysit - a lot. And I remember showing up, following the parents around listening to a mouthful of instructions, rules, and suggestions of what I needed to do that night. Then they would leave and I would forget half of it. It would have been so helpful to have a little handbook to refer to if I wasn't sure I remembered what they told me. So I decided when I was a parent, I'd make one for my babysitters.


Justin and I left Harvey with my mom for 4 days while we went to Bear Lake with his family. I printed up my handbook just in time for our trip. I have a tendency is to kind of overdo things. But I figure for something like this, I'd rather have too much info than not enough, you know??

Here are the things I included:

Emergency Info:
- our cell numbers & work numbers
- our home address with directions from the nearest intersection
- info about Harvey: age, height, weight, SSN, allergies, birth date
- Emergency Contacts
- poison control phone number
- doctor and dentist names, numbers and addresses
- where to find the first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, and a flashlight
- a copy of our insurance card (front and back)

Schedule:
- just a sample of how our day usually runs

Resources:
- a phonetic guide to words Harvey says. For example: "dee-uh wah" = drink of water. I can understand him, but it would be super frustrating for a babysitter and for Harvey if he couldn't communicate with him/her!
- Potty Time: where everything is located, as well as extra diapers/wipes, and where to put the dirty diapers
- Food/Eating: how to open/close the highchair, where to find foods, ideas for different meals, and where to find plates, cups and silverware.
- Nap Routine
- Bedtime Routine
- Discipline: how we do time outs, and other examples of how we do things

Let's Play!:
- a list and explanation of things to do outside
- where to find other things to do inside
- how to turn on recorded shows on our DVR

Rules:
- things that are off limits to Harvey
- tips on getting him to follow the rules

And finally, a Babysitter's Emergency Contact Form.
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Comments

  1. JamieAugust 26, 2010 at 9:16 AM

    What an awesome idea! I may just need to copy it :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. WendyAugust 26, 2010 at 11:24 AM

    What a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  3. RachAugust 31, 2010 at 2:00 PM

    I really need to do this. I can't count how many times I've had a babysitter over, and I'm giving her instructions, and she has this completely blank look on her face . . .

    ReplyDelete

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