Managing a Good Relationship with Your Babysitter as a Work-from-Home Parent

Working from home presents many challenges, including navigating a good relationship with your babysitter or nanny. While you might initially think you do not need one since you work from home, you are still working a full-time job! Finding the balance to exist in the same space as your babysitter may be difficult to adjust to at first, but if you follow these guidelines, you will have not just a good relationship, but a great relationship in no time.

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Set Boundaries

Before you and your babysitter start either your professional relationship or start this new chapter in your lives, you need to set boundaries. These can be boundaries for your home, your children, and even yourself! After all, you will both be in your house for a large chunk of time, even if not together.  What are some babysitting duties they must do and what are absolute no-nos when it comes to your children? Do you expect them to leave your home a mess, do you refuse certain snacks at certain times, or are there places in your home they cannot wander into? This is a good time to get it all out on the table. You can discuss your parenting style as well as things you refuse to do as a parent or to your child. It is important that your babysitter respects your boundaries!

You may also want to inquire about any specific boundaries they do not want to cross. Boundaries go both ways, after all! This good relationship will only work if you are both open and honest about your boundaries and expectations. Plus, if this is a new hire, it will help you find the right fit for your new full-time babysitter.

Establish Routines

You and your babysitter should establish a routine and schedule. This will help your babysitter manage their expectations for the job and the day while also knowing what exactly you want them to do while they work. After all, a babysitter’s job can vary widely depending on their employers! Will you work until lunch, take lunch with your child, and then continue while your babysitter also takes a lunch break? Are there important schedules they should follow such as nap times, walks outside, or something similar? By establishing a routine, you both roughly know what the other is doing at any given time and do not need to worry about running into each other and distracting each other from your jobs. This will help things run smoothly and give your babysitter a stable work environment, therefore strengthening your relationship.

Have Separate Spaces

While you are focused on staying free from distractions, you need a separate space. Usually, this is a home office for you to work in while working from home. You can close the door and go about your work while keeping the distractions to a minimum. This also helps your babysitter so they know where you are if they need you and that they should stay away from the door so as not to cause any loud noises to snap you out of your focus.

Establishing this separate space also gives your babysitter a space of their own. They can do their job without accidentally interrupting you which will help the relationship stay on good terms.

Do Not Helicopter Them

This leads to the next important guideline that helps your relationship stay in good standing: Do not helicopter your babysitter and interrupt them from doing their job. Yes, you are the parent of your children, but you also hired the babysitter for a reason. If you stand over them and continuously critique them or prevent them from working, it can cause the relationship between you two to deteriorate as they feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, and unnecessary. This is the last thing you want to do if you want to keep your babysitter around! Instead, trust that they know what they are doing, just as you do at your job! No one likes to be strictly monitored.

Respect 

Lastly, you must respect your babysitter. Do not look down on them or discredit them in any way. After all, you are hiring them for their expertise, skills, and service because you cannot work without one. It is important to remember that respect goes both ways. For your relationship to be a positive one, you must start by showing them respect and they will follow.

By following these guidelines, it can make your transition to working from home much more smoothly, since you will not have to worry about a strained relationship. You can very easily manage this good relationship with your babysitter as you work from home! Make expectations clear, let each other work, and respect each other.