One of the most important tips that you must offer to your babysitter is the way you expect your child to behave and how you would like to have any misbehavior checked. All children tend to misbehave; it is a normal part of growing up, but the decision to punish them should be entirely yours.
Tell your sitter as to how well behaved your child normally is, in case she complains about having a hard time when it comes to dealing with your child’s tantrums. Explain to her the reasons why the child could be misbehaving. You could tell her that your child would only misbehave if:
• Your child needs a nap.
• Your child may be ill.
• Your child may be hungry.
• Your child may be bored or frustrated.
• Your child may be scared of strangers.
• Your child needs attention or a sense of power and control.
You can give a list of methods that you may employ to control your child’s erratic behavior. Given
below are few suggestions that you can offer to your sitter:
• Using encouraging words in place of constant reprimands will definitely allow a child to
realize his or her mistake.
• Being positive and telling your children what they should do rather than what they should not
be doing.
• Setting limits is a good way to tell a child what is expected. Too many rules may result in
your child getting overwhelmed, but a few essential rules may correct erratic behavior.
• Offer your child choices in order to let him feel a sense of power. For instance, your sitter
could ask your child whether he wants to watch cartoons or play patty cake, thus allowing
him the chance to make a choice.
• Your sitter may resort to light humor in order to encourage the child to behave well.
• Change of environment will make the child ‘forget’ the misbehavior. For example, if your
toddler likes to tear newspapers, keep the newspaper out of his or her reach.
• Teach your sitter to give them stern warnings if they refuse to obey. This mostly works and
often the child stops misbehaving instantly.
When you hire a helper to look after your children, it is your responsibility to ensure that your children are well behaved when they stay with the babysitter. Of course, every child has his or her bad days and may misbehave on some occasions, so ask your sitter to be patient and understanding.
You must place enough power in your sitter’s hands so that she can check such errant behavior. Remember, if your child were too pampered, no sitter would be willing to take care of him/her!
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