5 Babysitter Criteria You Should Not Miss

As a parent or caregiver choosing and hiring a babysitter, here are 5 babysitter criteria you may overlook easily:

• 1. Personal Grooming of the Babysitter
• 2. Smoking Or Other Vices
• 3. Physical Health
• 4. Possible Criminal Records or Civil Suit Proceedings
• 5. Vaccination Statuses

A Disclaimer About These Babysitter Criteria

Before we begin, we want to declare that we will remain impartial towards any persons, including babysitters of course. Therefore, whether a babysitter fits or does not fit any of these babysitter criteria, he or she should not be judged or frowned upon. Indeed, these background facts about your babysitter are usually not pivotal in determining if they are a good or bad babysitter! Nonetheless, with some of these issues being possibly touchy, we encourage all clients and caregivers to approach each criteria with maturity and sensitivity always.

---

Now, let’s go into why, when and how exactly you should check for these babysitter criteria:

1. Personal Grooming of the Babysitter

First, personal grooming can be a sensitive topic to discuss as a criteria. For instance, who is to say that long hair or short hair is better? Or, is the babysitter allowed to wear make-up or lipstick allowed during babysitting? Additionally, can parents allow their babysitter to have fanciful nails?

Again, there are no strict rights or wrongs. Based on our experience, these are not the main determining factors for a parent to select a babysitter. However, as professional courtesy, babysitters should take the initiative to do the following:

• Keep fresh and hygienic always – taking a shower before work helps
• Tie up any long hair – possibly into a bun
• Trim long nails
• Avoid most make-up due to its chemical and non-baby-friendly nature

On top of being presentable, fitting such criteria will promote better hygiene for the baby. In fact, it will also reduce chances of injuries – such as accidentally scratching the baby with long nails!

2. Smoking Or Other Vices

Secondly, this criteria is pretty straightforward – remind babysitters to avoid smoking and other vices altogether. By “vices”, we mean any possibly sinful or unhealthy habits – such as consuming addictive substances, or getting involved with gambling or pornography, or the like. In the event that your babysitter is a smoker, or has other vices, it must be put upfront that such vices cannot be executed during any point of babysitting. In fact, even parents themselves should be self-aware and ensure they do not commit such vices near their kids.

For example, should the parent or babysitter wish to smoke, they should do so as far away as possible to protect their baby’s health. All related paraphernalia should be kept away from sight too. Remember, babies are like learning sponges and they pick up what you are doing more rapidly than you can imagine!

In the adult world, smoking and such vices can be quite commonplace. However, in the realm of babysitting, these are definitely a no-no. Hence, it is vital for parents to check upon these criteria and take necessary precautions when hiring a babysitter!

3. Physical Health

Next, parents and caregivers may want to remember to check if their babysitter is physically fit. For instance, they can check whether the babysitter has any health considerations that may impair their working ability. Again, this criteria is a touchy subject. However, there are plausible real-world issues to consider.

For example, by right, pregnancy should not be a factor in determining any babysitting candidate’s ability. However, there have been real-life situations that got us thinking. Imagine, if a mummy requires the babysitter to carry her 5 or 6-year-old hyperactive kid around frequently, or from school to home over a long distance. Here, a well-built and physically strong babysitter is understandably preferred, and a heavily pregnant babysitter would more possibly face difficulties.

Thus, do not use any criteria to discriminate or judge a babysitter unfairly, but tally your expectations and job requirements with the babysitter’s profile (including physical health). That way, you can ensure a better match!

4. Possible Criminal Records or Civil Suit Proceedings

Fourthly, remember to check (politely and sensitively) with your babysitter about possible criminal records or or on-going civil suits. Note that you may need the babysitter’s biodata such as identity card details to do so. At this point it is also wise to double check or verify your babysitter’s profile against his or her legal identity.

However, remember that a person (or babysitter) cannot be judged before any official or legal conviction has been passed. Even ex-convicts should always be given second chances! (Check out the Yellow Ribbon Project here)

As a parent, we are role models for our children. Hence, despite evaluating this criteria, be sure not to discriminate or insinuate against anybody who may unfortunately fit this criteria. Instead, stay morally sound, and pragmatic. For one, it is human to err, and remember that everybody is fighting a battle in their own right. This way, you will start your child with the right foot in life.

5. Vaccination Statuses

Lastly, with COVID-19 still lurking around, it would be prudent to check your babysitter’s vaccination status as part of the babysitter criteria. Even as Singapore’s population is more than 80%+ fully vaccinated, there could still be chances of your babysitter slipping through this gap. Furthermore, the definition of “fully vaccinated” can change with new developments over time.

Furthermore, remember that COVID-19 is not the only disease threatening our baby and family’s well-being! There are numerous other “overshadowed” contagious diseases such as influenza, H1N1, pneumococcal disease, chicken pox, rubella, mumps, the “whooping cough” (Pertussis) virus, and so on. Thankfully, many of these illnesses are kept at bay with our National Vaccination Programmes. Just remember to keep a check on whether your babysitter (and baby when of age) are indeed already vaccinated appropriately!

Is Your Babysitter Criteria Ready?

In summary, choosing a babysitter can involve numerous considerations, such that certain criteria tend to be overlooked. Thus, we hope these 5 babysitter criteria listed here will serve as a useful reminder. These are the handful of criteria crucial to be checked, despite them being possibly minute details and hence often forgotten.

All said though, be sure also to focus on your main checklist and criteria for choosing your babysitter. Mainstream factors such as the babysitter’s qualifications, experience, price ranges, communication ability, moral character, demographic profile, and availability of schedule are still really important. At MEIDE Babysitting, you can be sure that we try our best not to miss any of these babysitter criteria out!