babysitter and food question

[disfan07]

Do you offer meals and/or have an open fridge policy for you babysitters?

In the past 9 years, I have sat for 8 different famlies and they have always offered me meals (if I am there during or right around meal times) and they have all had open fridge policies.

I was talking to some of my fridns who also babysit adn we were just talking about work and such and none of them have ever been offered meals (unless they are there all day) or have had open fridge policies where they babysit.

I was just curious if anyone here offers meals or has an open fridge policy for their babysitters or if its an unusual offer.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

Pretty common to have open fridge here. I havent babysat for anyone who didnt tell me to help myself. I dont, but thats just a personal thing. I tend to bring my own snacks and share. Ive even been asked if I wanted to stay when the parents have gotten home, to eat dinner.

 

[NMAmy]

I haven't used a babysitter in years but when I found a good one, I believed in treating them like royalty. I had an open fridge policy and I'd always leave money for the sitter to order pizza for themselves and dd. Babysitters were welcome to help themselves to anything they'd like to eat at my house.

 

[Carys]

I don't have children, but if it helps, when I used accept babysitting jobs, I was neither offered meals nor an open fridge, including jobs where I was required to prepare meals.

I still occasionally babysit, but not for money, just to help out friends, so it's not really the same (and I still eat before doing so - habit?).

 

[clori]

I always had open fridge policy though usually I had a drink at most. When I was in college I babysat for one famiy on occasion. The father worked for some vending machine company that was very active at food fair type places. I know he always had tons of snack food at his house which came from various vendors.

I was always told to help myself. They also always had a huge bag of snack foods for me to bring back to my dorm to share with all my friends. In addition they encouraged me to bring laundry to their house so I could do it for free. I was also free to eat any real food I wanted to and depending on what they had often insisted that I bring a bit back to share with my friends. I really think they felt we were all starving college students who needed non cafeteria food to survive. I graduated in 1992 so way before my cell phone/unlimited long distance days. They also used to tell me to make sure I called my parents so I wouldn't have to pay for the phone bill.

 

[Angelhalo]

Most anywhere I babysat when growing up always told me to help myself to anything I wanted.

 

[Pixiedust34]

Our kids are old enough that we don't use a sitter anymore, but when we had a sitter we always told the sitter to help herself to food/snacks.

If we were gone at dinner time, we'd order a pizza for the sitter and kids to share and would have paper plates and cups out so she wouldn't have to worry about putting dishes in the dishwasher. We tried to make mealtime easy for sitters.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I haven't used a babysitter in years but when I found a good one, I believed in treating them like royalty. I had an open fridge policy and I'd always leave money for the sitter to order pizza for themselves and dd.

Our kids are old enough that we don't use a sitter anymore, but when we had a sitter we always told the sitter to help herself to food/snacks.

If we were gone at dinner time, we'd order a pizza for the sitter and kids to share and would have paper plates and cups out so she wouldn't have to worry about putting dishes in the dishwasher.

I agree with both of these.

It's been years since we had a sitter but if the kids needed to eat, I figured the sitter did too. We usually left money for a pizza to be delivered or had snacks in the house.

 

[MIGrandma]

When I was a teen I did some babysitting and the families always told me to make myself at home, and help myself to any food I wanted that was in the house.

We always told babysitters the same thing when they came to our house to watch our two children.

 

[happygirl]

When I was babysitting the family always said make myself at home.

If I have a babysitter for my kids I try to have a pizza or something like that for them to snack on

 

[pilotwife_02]

When I was younger and babysat I was always told to make myself at home and have whatever I wanted. There were even times that the families ordered pizza for me!

Whenever we have a babysitter here we have an open fridge policy here as well and I make sure I let the babysitter know she is welcome to anything we have in the house/cabinets (I'll even point out some things like ice cream of cake and tell them to please feel free to have is since sometimes I think they might feel funny having something that might look "special").

 

[shortbun]

When we needed a sitter, I'd always open the fridge and cupboards or tell them where everything was-especially the chips, cookies, soda and instruct them quickly on the microwave so they knew everything was ok.

This would make a good poll question.

 

[vettechick99]

I can't imagine that anywhere in the south you wouldn't have an open-fridge policy!

 

[golfgal]

Not only did we have an open fridge policy, I would go shopping so I made sure we had good snacks on hand for the babysitter. We generally ordered a pizza for everyone to eat too.

 

[mom2grace]

We usually have pizza,

and I say "You are welcome to eat anything you can find!" (No, I don't hide food, and they know where the pantry is!)

 

[marcyinPA]

We haven't needed a babysitter in a while...my oldest is almost 15 so the duty is now his

But when I did use my friends' kids to babysit, they were told to help themselves. If it was close to a meal time, I prepared a meal for my kids and the sitter and they all ate.

Most of the time, though, my mom babysat for us, so of course, she helped herself and cooked and cleaned up!

 

[clh2]

If I had a sitter...I had food available. If I knew they liked something special...I had that too. If I knew the sitter was coming directly from something (i.e. specifically cheerleading practice...) I had dinner available regardless of whether or not my DD had eaten lunch or dinner.

And...because for my DD it was a special treat...if I ordered a sub for my DD, I picked up a veggie sub for the sitter.

 

[autumnpalm]

I babysit frequently for a family in my neighbourhood (I am a university student) and they have an open fridge policy. Often they will leave things out on the counter like cookies and chips and let me know what kind of pop is in the basement, etc. I rarely end up eating any of it but it does make me feel welcome in their house!

 

[disneyfan97]

We typically use a babysitter to go out to dinner...that being said I always cook or provide dinner for both my DS and our babysitter. I let them know ahead of time that I'll have dinner ready for them, so they know that they don't have to eat before hand. I also let them know they can help themselves to anything in the fridge or pantry, but rarely do they do it.

I completely agree with a PP who said if you find a good babysitter, treat them like royalty - or in our case, like a member of the family - so they will want to babysit for us for a long time.

 

[MickeyShow]

We have an open fridge/pantry policy and I always point out if we have extra treats like cookies or cake. My sitters are all college students and rarely take more than a glass of water or if my son is having pb&j sandwiches they'll just make themselves one too rather than fixing something else. If its dinnertime I always leave pizza money for the sitter and my son and make it clear that they can order anything else they would like too but they never do. When DS was a baby I used to keep my freezer stocked with pizzas and things like that since he wasn't eating. One time I used two high school students who were sisters and I asked their mother ahead of time what they would want to eat. I try to spoil my good sitters as much as possible!