Do you provide dinner for a hired babysitter?

[Anonymous]

FTM here-

we are hiring a babysitter for the first time next week (we have always had family watch our son in the past)

Do we provide dinner for the babysitter? Or just tell her to help herself to any snacks/water etc?

Our son is 12 months old and will pretty much be asleep the entire time she is there.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

What time is she getting there?

[Anonymous]

I ask mine if there's anything in particular she wants if she's going to be there during dinnertime. After 7 or so, just having snacks is fine.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I do.

[Anonymous]

I tell her to help herself from whatever is in the fridge.

And I never expected dinner when I babysat.

[Anonymous]

OP here. She will arrive at 6:30, we will put the baby down at 7 and then leave. She will probably stay until about 9:30/10

[Anonymous]

I give her access to my seamless account and let her order whatever she wants - then it just charges me.

[Anonymous]

I leave 20 bucks on the table and various menus from take out places in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Usually just pizza but I tell them that they are welcome to anything in the fridge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. She will arrive at 6:30, we will put the baby down at 7 and then leave. She will probably stay until about 9:30/10

Yes, then I would provide dinner for her -- in whatever fashion you choose: leave $$ for pizza, have a pizza already there, make sure there are sandwich vixin's in the fridge, whatever.

[Anonymous]

We do. We have a 10 month old and have only used a hired babysitter twice (usually grandparents, SIL, or BIL want to asked first). First time she got there around 6, we left at 6:30, and baby went down between 7 and 7:30. Second time she came at 6:30. We stocked up on some chips/snacks and some diet pepsi (friend had used her before and knew what she liked) and left money for dinner with some delivery menus. First time she didn't use it, second time she did.

[Anonymous]

Yes and I make sure to have some soda, sparkling drinks (like IZZE), juice, etc in the fridge. I usually ask what they like to drink while setting up the sitting date/time/etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I leave 20 bucks on the table and various menus from take out places in the neighborhood.

This is what we do, too. They usually don't take us up on it, and just have whatever the kids (ages 3 and under) are having, if anything.

[Anonymous]

Wow. I never got dinner and it never occured to me to provide dinner. We pay $20 an hour and tell whichever of our sitters is there to help themselves to whatever is in the fridge.

[Anonymous]

Tell her to help herself. We always have lots of options.