Yes, this is a requirement for our babysitters. When I was a sitter during college, I always tidied up.

No big deal- rinse plates and cups and stick them in the dishwasher, and then wipe down the dinner table. Tidy up toys into bins. This is not difficult.

Anonymous wrote:Clean up messes made when they're there - yes. Like putting away toys, putting dishes in the sink, throwing away paper plates, etc.

Anything beyond that, no. If there were toys on the floor when they got there I don't expect it to be spic and span when I get home.

I have had the same issues as OP.

I don't expect them to clean the house, but I do think they should do basic cleaning up for things that involve the kids. At a bare minimum put the dirty dishes in the sink versus leaving them on the table and wrap up/put leftover food in the fridge versus leaving it on the counter for hours. I really don't think that is asking too much or anything beyond the scope of babysitting.

As for cleaning up toys- we've always made our kids clean up their toys so I expect the sitter to make them do that before bed.

We had a sitter who would do things liked to bake brownies with the kids and would leave a huge mess for us to clean up. She was the worst.

^^ I expect

Anonymous wrote:Not part of their job. If you want them to, pay extra for that.

Me left my sitters to clean up any mess made while there.

Anonymous wrote:I have teen sitters for my one kid during the summer. They generally put snack or dinner dishes in the sink and its usually the same level of tidy it was when they arrived. Sometimes though, they are doing something with DD that stays out, like a marble run, or lego, or a craft project. Im ok with this being left out. I am happy they are playing with DD until I walk in the door.

I have had babysitters and also playdate parents move to clean this kind of thing up before they go and I always tell them not to, if it's the middle of the day. It's just futile, my kids would just take it right back out. We just do a clean up at the end of the day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I appreciate the ones who try to tidy up -- like putting dishes in the sink, tidying up toys when they're done -- but it's not a dealbreaker. If she's otherwise reliable, good with my kids and responsible, I'll rehire her. It's hard enough finding good reliable babysitters.

+1

I've come to learn that with teenagers, you have to make your expectations clear and explicit. Often they are willing - just clueless.

Absolutely they should clean up kid messes. They don't need to scrub pots and pans, but dishes go in the dishwasher and toys picked up. My kids go to bed at 8 and we don't come home until 11 or 12 so there's plenty of time. I wouldn't invite a babysitter back that didn't.

I find that only one of our babysitters cleans up, and her rates are higher. I also tip her more.

When my kids are old enough to babysit, I will emphasize the importance of cleaning up — they will be in higher demand.

I always thank them profusely for cleaning up and then I tip them.

When I was a babysitter, I always unloaded the dishwasher after kids went to bed, wiped down the kitchen, cleaned a bit.