Babysitter chores?

[ringstrue]

Have you ever had a babysitter do any housework after the kids fell asleep? If so, what sorts of things did you have them do?

[persa]

I had one sitter who does and my night nanny does but otherwise just Baby and kids stuff

[anna7602]

Our nanny will do stuff like fold laundry and sweep the floors during DS's nap, but that's because she has specifically asked me for tasks. She claims she doesn't like to just sit around while DS sleeps.

Regular, evening sitters (not nanny) just clean up the kids' dinner dishes/bottles and put toys away.

[badtzmaru22]

We don't expect our college age date night sitter to do anything, but she does tidy up a little, which is nice.

[ECB]

No, I don't A nanny is one thing, but a sitter? I don't know - I feel I'm paying them to be there to make sure my kid is safe. not to do housework.

BUT I do expect them to straighten up any toys that were brought out while we were gone and for them to at least put any dishes (DSs or their own ) in the sink. I've had sitters who let DSs food plate sit on the table RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM all night. That annoys me. Take 10 seconds to walk it to the kitchen.

Which has taught me that I do need to make these expectations clear.

[speckledfrog]

No. She's a sitter, not a nanny. Aside from picking up what they played with or ate off of, I don't expect anything else.

[fortmyersbride]

Our nanny, yes. Other sitters I just expect to tidy up (or have the kids tidy up) any messes made while I was gone.

[Deleted]

It depends. I have one sitter who is great and the kids love her but she's a bit younger so it takes all she has to keep them safe/alive/entertained. She picks up the basics but leaves a lot of dishes etc. I don't care. She's not the maid and I'd rather she worry about my kids.

I have another sitter who is 16 and has 5 siblings. She can handle pretty much anything and gets a lot done even when the kids are awake. I rarely ask her to do anything extra but she finds stuff to do on her own which is awesome. She'll dust. She'll vacuum. She'll straighten up the kids' rooms. She'll fold laundry if she sees it. She's also into outside so she'll shovel off the sidewalk with the kids, water my flowers etc. She's my favorite...haha. Once in awhile if I've been busy/we're having people over I'll ask her to like Clorox wipe off the counter or something easy like that.

[momof2boys]

I don't ask my babysitters to do anything except keep my kids alive and safe. I used to babysit a lot and I would always clean up the messes I made with the child, pick up toys, do our dishes etc. I would have side eyed them if they asked me to fold their laundry, vacuum, or clean a bathroom though!