Babysitting Template

I LOVE going on dates with my husband. We don't get to go very often so when we can find a babysitter I am thrilled! Though as exciting as it is to go, it is also stressful for me the day leading up to the date. All day I feel like I have to clean my house real well (vacuum, sweep, mop, make sure all the dishes are done and the sink is cleaned out, the bathroom is bleach clean, etc). Then I have to make sure dinner is done by 5 pm so the kids can eat before the babysitter gets here (if they eat while she's here they won't eat anything cause they'll spend the whole time goofing off to impress her, lol). Then I have to make sure that they are all in their pj's. Then I have to make sure everything is out on the counter for easy access to find, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste (my older kids have fluoride toothpaste, and my younger child has glycerin toothpaste), bottles, formula, special snacks for my youngest who is allergic to milk. On top of all that I have to actually get myself ready so I can look nice for our date. The last thing I want to do is write out instructions for the babysitter. So now I use a babysitting template I made specifically for my family that I save on the computer. Whenever my husband and I go out I just print up a copy and fill it out since my kids bedtime routines can change on Fridays depending on which ones took naps or how hard they played during the day. It makes my life a little less stressful. It has all the information on it that never changes (like my daughters allergies and cell phone numbers) and has spaces to write in information that changes depending on the day, such as bedtimes and snacks for the kids. It takes me 1 minute or less to fill out and when I leave the house I don't have to worry about forgetting to tell the babysitter something because it's all on the paper and we go over it together when she comes. It also allows the babysitter to have a quick reference should they forget something such as, "how much milk does the baby get before bedtime again? how much water to formula? How long to warm it up again?" What a piece of mind and a help this has been. There are several templates you can print up for free online if you google them, but I think some of the information isn't necessary, and some templates are for all day babysitting (I only use babysitters for a few hours in the evenings when my husband and I go on dates so I don't need all day templates), so I prefer to make my own. I want only important information on my sheet so the babysitter knows it is all equally important and she can find the information she needs easily without filtering through a bunch of non-necessary information. You can personalize your template to your family, but here are the headings I have on my template:

Contact information: (our cell phone numbers)
Tonight we will be at: (letting them know where we will be gives them a sense of security too I think)
ALLERGIES: (My daughter has allergies to milk, so babysitters definitely need to know they can't feed her anything she pulls out of the pantry as she frequently does)
Food: (this is where I list what snacks they can have before they brush their teeth. My youngest has a special snack. This is also where I put information about my youngest's bottle. How much formula to water and how and how long to warm it up).
Bedtime: (I just mention a reminder to brush and floss their teeth, and put all their specific bedtimes. My youngest always goes to bed before the older two).
Neighbors close by: (I listed two of my neighbors should they need help quicker than 911 could respond. I gave their addresses and phone numbers, home and cell).
Other information: (anything else they should know. My front door requires a key to get in and out. We always tell babysitter where the key is located should they have to exit the house quickly through the front door. But this is for any other information that won't fit easily under one of the above headings that is important for the babysitter to know).
Then lastly at the bottom, center in bold I put our address. I never thought of this until a few months ago, but if the babysitter ever had to call 911 she would have no clue where to tell them to go because she doesn't know our address. So now they have an address to tell emergency responders should she have to, which I HOPE is NEVER a need for her.

Wah lah! So convenient. I never forget to tell her anything and she has a quick reference for anything she needs to know. I can add or take things away as needed, but it's always saved on my computer and I just print up a copy to fill out each time we go out. It has make my life a lot easier on date days. :)