Having another person watch your child can be a stressful experience. More than one couple with a young child have been stressed to the point of distraction while out for a nice dinner away from their litte one. In addition to worries about accidents, many parents wonder about their babysitter’s behavior. Perhaps you susptect that your babysitter is having friends over while babysitting without your permission. Or, maybe you suspect that she is spending the entire time watching TV, rather than watching your children. Worse of all, maybe you believe that your babysitter may be abusing or neglecting your child. If you suspect that your babysitter is engaging in an inappropriate action, there are some ways that you can monitor what she is doing.

One obvious way to monitor your babysitter is to return to the home unannounced. This can be as simple as planning to leave half an hour before you actually need to leave, and then returning to the home to peek in on what’s going on. Or, you can tell the babysitter that you will arrive home much later than you actually expect to arrive home, hoping to catch her in the act. Obviously, this is not the most effective way to monitor your babysitter. The reason you have hired a babysitter is that you need to be away from home.

Another method for monitoring your babysitter is to is to have a friend or a neighbor pop in while you are away. Give the babysitter a list of “safe” people ahead of time, and then ask a trusted person to stop by to check on your babysitter.

Spy cams or hidden cameras are a tool that many parents use to monitor their homes. These cameras, which can sometimes be no larger than an ink pen, can be used to check on a babysitter. There are various types of these cameras, with a great variety of price ranges. Some of them are digital, some will record only video but not audio, and others act as more full-blown security systems. The downside to these cameras is that you have to have one in every room to be certain you are catching all of the activity. In addition, some states are implementing laws that prohibit video survelance without the notice or consent of the one being taped. To be safe, you might consider notifying your sitter that you have installed the camera or cameras, which may act as a deterrent to inappropriate behavior.

Ultimately, if you do not trust your babysitter but cannot prove any inappropriate behavior, it may be best to find another babysitter.

Posted in Child Care Issues

Related Articles:

• What to Do If You Think Your Babysitter Is Acting Inappropriately
• Should We Set Up a Camera To Watch Our Babysitter?
• How Can We Prepare Our Child to be Left with a Babysitter?
• Is it Legal to Tape/Record our Babysitter?
• Finding Inappropriate Babysitter Behavior on Hidden Camera
• Are Teens Responsible Enough to be Babysitters?
• How Should We Start The Process of Finding a Babysitter?
• Is It OK for a Male to Babysit Our Children?
• Helping a Terrified Child Cope with being Left with a Babysitter
• What Is the Legal Age a Teen can Start Babysitting?