What Questions to Ask Babysitter
For the case where the sitter is a teenager from down the road, or someone you like who has never been left alone with children before. References and years of experience do not exist yet, so these questions ask about what does exist: who backs them up, how they get home, what they would do when they are unsure, and whether they would tell you if something went wrong. It is a gentler conversation than a full hiring interview, and it should end with a trial evening rather than a booking.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What have you done with children before, even if nobody paid you for it?
Why ask it
Younger siblings, cousins, a holiday club, a swimming class: unpaid experience counts and teenagers often do not think to mention it. What you are building is a picture of how many hours they have actually spent with small children.
Have you ever been alone in a house with children, and for how long?
Why ask it
Being helpful while a parent is in the next room is a completely different job from being the only adult. Ask for the specific longest stretch rather than general experience, because the honest answer is often shorter than it first sounded.
Is there an adult I could call who would come if something happened?
Why ask it
For a young sitter this is the most useful question in the list. A parent two streets away, or an older sibling at home, turns a nervous first job into a manageable one. Get that person's number as well as the sitter's.
Does someone at home know you are doing this, and are they happy with the hours?
Why ask it
Worth asking plainly. It avoids the situation where a fifteen-year-old has agreed to a ten o'clock finish that their own family has not agreed to, and it gives you an adult to confirm arrangements with.
What time do you need to be home, and who is collecting you?
Why ask it
Set the end of the evening before you set the start. If you are driving them, that decides when you leave the restaurant, and if someone is collecting, they need to know the time as much as the sitter does.
Have you done a babysitting or first aid course, and would you be up for doing one?
Why ask it
Many areas run short courses for teenagers, and offering to pay for one is a reasonable way to invest in a sitter you like. A yes to the second half tells you how seriously they are taking this.
What do you think would be the hardest part of an evening here?
Why ask it
A young sitter who can name something, the baby waking, the dog, the older one arguing, has actually pictured it. An answer that nothing would be hard usually means they have not, and it is a kind way to walk them through it.
What would you do if you were not sure what I would want?
Why ask it
The answer you want is that they would ask, and the answer you need to give is that asking is always fine. Most first-time sitters guess because they do not want to seem incapable, so say plainly that you would rather be messaged.
How would you feel about texting me two or three times in an evening?
Why ask it
Young sitters often worry about interrupting. Setting the expectation that a couple of messages is normal, and agreeing what warrants a phone call instead, removes the main reason first evenings go quiet when they should not.
What would you do if one of them would not stop crying?
Why ask it
You are not expecting technique. You want to hear that they would stay with the child, try the ordinary things, and contact you rather than shut the door. Say out loud that ringing you is the right move, not a failure.
Would you be comfortable telling me if you got something wrong?
Why ask it
Embarrassment, not dishonesty, is why a spilled drink or a bumped head goes unmentioned. Say clearly that you would rather hear it, and notice whether they look relieved when you do.
What would you do if a friend asked to come round while you were here?
Why ask it
Common with teenage sitters and easier to settle before it happens. State your rule directly rather than assuming it is obvious, and let them practise saying no by telling them they can blame you.
How much schoolwork have you got on at the moment?
Why ask it
Exams and coursework are the reason young sitters disappear for six weeks at a time. Ask what the term looks like so you know when they will genuinely be free, and whether they expect to do homework once the children are asleep.
Would you rather start with an hour while I am still in the house?
Why ask it
A paid trial with you upstairs costs very little and settles almost everything: whether the children take to them, whether they play or wait to be told, whether they ask questions. Offer it rather than making them request it.
What would you charge, and how did you work that out?
Why ask it
First-time sitters often have no idea and undercharge, which quietly turns into resentment. Tell them the local rate if they do not know it, agree how you round the hours, and pay in a way that suits their age.
How would you get home, and would that change if we were late?
Why ask it
Walking home at nine is different from walking home at half past eleven. Agree now that you drive them after a certain hour, and that a late finish is your problem to solve rather than theirs.
What would you do if one of them asked to do something I had not mentioned?
Why ask it
Older children test a young sitter on exactly this, whether that is a later bedtime, a snack, or a screen. The rule to agree is that anything not on your list waits for a message, and that the sitter can say you already said no.
Is there anything here that would worry you: the dog, the stairs, being on your own after dark?
Why ask it
Naming it gives them a way to raise something they would otherwise sit with. A sitter who says the dog makes them nervous is being useful, and it is a five-minute fix rather than a reason to look elsewhere.
Who else has trusted you with something: a younger sibling, a pet, a job at the weekend?
Why ask it
With no babysitting references, this is the closest substitute. A Saturday job, a paper round, or being the one who walks a younger brother home all say something checkable about reliability.
Would you be up for a trial evening, and how would you like me to tell you how it went?
Why ask it
Agreeing feedback in advance makes it possible to give any. Ask whether they would rather hear it in person or by message, and give them something specific afterwards, because a young sitter who gets told what went well tends to come back.
Hiring and briefing a sitter
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the first solo evening
Do a paid trial while you are home
An hour or two with you in the house, working in another room, shows you how the sitter plays and how your children respond. It is the most informative part of the whole process and costs the price of one short booking.
Watch the children rather than the sitter
How quickly your child warms up, and whether they seek the sitter out or retreat to you, tells you more than any answer in the interview.
Start with a short first booking
Two hours in the early evening, before bedtime, is a better first job than a wedding that ends at midnight. It gives everyone a way out if the fit is wrong.
What to leave in writing
- Your phone numbers, plus a second local adult who can be there in ten minutes.
- Your home address written out. Under stress people forget it, and emergency dispatchers ask first.
- Allergies, medications, doses, and where they are kept, along with the doctor's number.
- The bedtime routine in order, including any comfort object and what to do if a child wakes.
- House rules that matter to you: screen time, food, going outside, answering the door, whether to say anyone is home alone.
- Where to find the first aid kit, the fuse box, the water shut-off, and a spare key.
- What you consider an emergency worth calling you about and what can wait until you are home.
Checks worth doing
- Call at least one reference and ask a specific question rather than a general one. Whether they still use this sitter is the most revealing thing you can ask.
- Verify a first aid certificate by looking at the card or the certificate rather than taking it on trust.
- For an adult sitter working regularly, a background check is straightforward to arrange and normal to ask for. Explain why, and pay for it yourself.
- If the sitter came from an agency or an app, read the reviews from families with children the age of yours rather than the overall rating.
- Ask a neighbor or a parent at school whether they know the person. Local reputation is usually the most reliable source there is.
Reasons to keep looking
- An emergency answer that starts and ends with calling you.
- Reluctance to provide any reference, or references that are only relatives.
- Dismissing your house rules as unnecessary, or laughing off an allergy.
- Wanting to bring a friend or a partner along on a first booking.
- Reluctance to be paid in a traceable way, or repeatedly changing the rate.
- A child who was previously happy and then becomes reluctant to be left with this person. Take it seriously and ask, without pressing for a reason.