| Sorry I can't answer from a personal standpoint here. From experience
as far as your concern with "permission to treat" should a medical
emergency occur. Leave a note, say under a magnet on the fridge,
saying I,(yourname) give (sitter's name) authority to act in my behalf
in the case of a medical emergency. I further give emergency personnel
permission to treat my child(ren), (the children's names and ages
should be listed), until I can be contacted.
You should also put on this card the name of another responsible
adult relative in the area, say a grandparent, aunt etc. with their
phone number, in case you can't be reached immediately. Also include
any known medication allergies, medical conditions (asthma, ear tubes
etc.) and the name and policy number for your health insurance. You
ought to include your pediatrician's name and phone number, and the
name of the hospital he/she prefers their patients be admitted to.
This format was given me by my son's godmother, when I watched her
girls a couple summers ago. She is a nurse and said that from her
experience this is what the hospitals like to see come in with the
kids.
Oh yes, borrowing from her experience. She had a problem with wet
bathing suits on her brand new couch, the girls and the sitter didn't
think the wetness would penetrate through the towels. She finally had
to forbid wet suits in the livingroom. Although she did rave about
this teen, including "nature walks" and bike riding for the three of
them. When I watched her girls we used to go to a local beach that had
swings, slides and such, and occationally we'd bring the "whatwith" to
do a barbq for lunch. (Hot dogs and such on a "disposable" grill),
maybe not such a good idea for a teenager though with the grill,
perhaps you could just pack a picnic in the morning for lunch at a
park.
Lyn
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| Hi, I agree with reply 1. That a permission slip for emergency use should
available. I myself have a sitter come to my home 3 1/2 day a week- I work
Part-time. I find it to be very convienent, as well comfortable for my child.
I have gone through the daycare route previous to this and speaking from
my own experience this works out best for my child as well for me. Another
thing you may want to consider is a note with all important information,
contacts, and Dr.ph#. I have a 3yr old son and there arn't many young
kids around in my area so I opted for hiring another *MOM* who has a child
of her own close in age- so that my son has a playmate. I have to say this
works out very well and her little boy and my son play very well together and
look forward to seeing each other. She arranges a lot of activities for them
They go to Swimming lessons on Monday-and Story Hour at the library on Tuesdays,
They also go to the play ground and nature walks. She alway's let's me know
if she's planning on taking them somewhere during the day with the exception of the
planned swimming day and library day's. She makes them Breakfast and Lunch
and picks up after them. I find that I like to come home to home that was as
clean as I left it - Toys are picked up at the end of the day.:) even though
they don't stay that way for long. I guess to it really depends on who's
watching your child.....I myself trust my sitter to call me when she has any
question regarding my son and that gives me good peace of mind.
Good Luck,
Dianne
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| I have a 20 year old (who is taking some time off from college) sitting
my girls, ages 1 (Laura) and almost 4 (Elizabeth).
I have a variety of "house rules":
o In terms of tidiness, return the place to Ground Zero. I don't
expect her to clean our family mess, but any mess generated
by daytime activities she and Elizabeth should address. This
seems to work well - Elizabeth learns that cleaning up is a
necessary part of an activity and I don't find the house in
shambles.
o Short car trips are OK; highway trips I'd like to know about
before time. The sitter drives Elizabeth to pre-school two
days a week. If it's a nice day they might go to lunch afterward
or bring a picnic lunch to a local park. These car trips are
fine. If she'd like to take the girls into Boston or to the
Acton Children's Museum (a serious field trip), I'd like to
know up front. This has also worked well.
o I have the local paper available for the sitter. It has a
section on children's events. Sometimes I suggest something
particularly noteworthy, but it's really up to the sitter to make
the decision.
Before I hired Annie, I stressed the importance of providing some
"activities" for Elizabeth. I leave the choice up to her and so far
this has worked reasonably well. (And I got a lovely "book" for
Mothers' Day that the two of them worked on while Laura was napping.)
I also keep a pretty well stocked backyard. We have the usual sandbox,
baby pool, baby swing, lawn sprinkler, etc. They all make use of the
stuff back there.
I think it will be easier for your sitter with your 3 and 5 year old
girls. Kathleen and Sally should be able to do more things together.
Good luck,
Lois
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