Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The difference is she is getting paid. I would never sleep on my job.
OP, if its one time thing she had a long day etc I would let it go. Or maybe you can give her kid related things to do to keep her awake!

Kids related things until midnight? That would probably the last time I babysat for you.

I never sleep when I babysit unless I know the family very well and know they're ok with it. I always bring things to keep me occupied so I don't fall sleep. But after a long day at work, I will not be doing kids related work for hours on a babysitting job.

Good thing I would never hire you either. You shouldn't be taking up late night jobs if you can't even stay awake!

I'd pay to watch you tell a decent sitter that you want her folding clothes and disinfecting toys after you kid goes down for the night.
No joke...I would pay to watch her reaction. You think that the loss of your crappy babysitting gigs would phase someone?
You overestimate your importance.

Where did you get the idea they are folding clothes? The babysitters I hire are responsible adults and don't fall asleep on the job. They are not dcum variety dear.

Anonymous wrote:I'm really shocked by how many people think it's okay to sleep while YOU ARE WORKING. I started babysitting at 12 and babysat all through middle and high school, and if I got tired enough that I worried I would fall asleep on the couch, I remember walking in circles around the den or doing dances from my various dance classes throughout the years. Anything to stay awake. Because I was being paid, and I was working.

I hire people now to babysit who have the same work ethic.

Apparently you never babysat for a weekend? How in the world would you expect your babysitter to stay awake of 48 + straight hours?

To answer your question, OP, I have no problem if the sitter falls asleep after the kids are asleep and it is late or overnight. Last night, DH and I got home at 1AM and the sitter was awake and reading - I was surprised. She'd worked a full day with another family, then came over here and made dinner, did baths and reading, and put our kids to bed.

Anonymous wrote:I'm really shocked by how many people think it's okay to sleep while YOU ARE WORKING. I started babysitting at 12 and babysat all through middle and high school, and if I got tired enough that I worried I would fall asleep on the couch, I remember walking in circles around the den or doing dances from my various dance classes throughout the years. Anything to stay awake. Because I was being paid, and I was working.

I hire people now to babysit who have the same work ethic.

We have paid someone for three straight days, while we were out of town. Would you have stayed awake that entire time, too?

I would expect her to be dozing, and always tell our sitter to feel free so she knows. We have monitors, the children are already safe and asleep...if I were paying her for an overnight I wouldn't expect her to stay up all night, right?

I'm really shocked by how many people think it's okay to sleep while YOU ARE WORKING. I started babysitting at 12 and babysat all through middle and high school, and if I got tired enough that I worried I would fall asleep on the couch, I remember walking in circles around the den or doing dances from my various dance classes throughout the years. Anything to stay awake. Because I was being paid, and I was working.

I hire people now to babysit who have the same work ethic.

Anonymous wrote:And the toddler is asleep? We generally get home around midnight and our sitter is always asleep.

Here's the thing: it doesn't matter what randos on the internet think. It matters how YOU feel about it. It sounds like it bothers you. If it does, I think it is fair to say something to your sitter about it. Maybe something like "I understand if previous families you've worked with were okay with you sleeping at night on the job, but we would really prefer if you stayed awake." (It might help if you had a specific reason, like "in case we need to reach you" or "to make sure the elderly dog gets let outside if she needs to pee" or "because DC is prone to waking at night" or whatever.) Be prepared for her to balk and possibly never sit for you again. But, you can always find a new sitter, and when you do, you can make it clear that you need her to stay awake. It's not an unreasonable request.

FYI, I'm a longtime nanny and babysitter, and I agree with 21:16 (I rarely sleep on the job, and only do it with families I know well who've said they're okay with it, and of course, only after the kids are asleep). Having said that, pretty much every single one of my babysitting clients has told me they are okay with me sleeping after their kid goes to sleep; I've never had a client tell me they are not okay with it. Personally, I don't think it would be a deal breaker for me, but if you came home any later than midnight I would find it frustrating (unless you have a good reason I need to stay awake; if you were home at that time, wouldn't you be sleeping?).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The difference is she is getting paid. I would never sleep on my job.
OP, if its one time thing she had a long day etc I would let it go. Or maybe you can give her kid related things to do to keep her awake!

Kids related things until midnight? That would probably the last time I babysat for you.

I never sleep when I babysit unless I know the family very well and know they're ok with it. I always bring things to keep me occupied so I don't fall sleep. But after a long day at work, I will not be doing kids related work for hours on a babysitting job.

Good thing I would never hire you either. You shouldn't be taking up late night jobs if you can't even stay awake!

I'd pay to watch you tell a decent sitter that you want her folding clothes and disinfecting toys after you kid goes down for the night.
No joke...I would pay to watch her reaction. You think that the loss of your crappy babysitting gigs would phase someone?
You overestimate your importance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The difference is she is getting paid. I would never sleep on my job.
OP, if its one time thing she had a long day etc I would let it go. Or maybe you can give her kid related things to do to keep her awake!

Kids related things until midnight? That would probably the last time I babysat for you.

I never sleep when I babysit unless I know the family very well and know they're ok with it. I always bring things to keep me occupied so I don't fall sleep. But after a long day at work, I will not be doing kids related work for hours on a babysitting job.

Good thing I would never hire you either. You shouldn't be taking up late night jobs if you can't even stay awake!

As long as my child was already asleep + secured in her crib, I wouldn't have an issue due to the late hour.

In fact, I would expect it.

As long as you had a baby monitor near by for her to use it should be just fine.

If she were sleeping while the child was awake....Now that would be a completely different story.

As long as she had the monitor with her, I would not be at all upset.

Anonymous wrote:The difference is she is getting paid. I would never sleep on my job.
OP, if its one time thing she had a long day etc I would let it go. Or maybe you can give her kid related things to do to keep her awake!

Kids related things until midnight? That would probably the last time I babysat for you.

I never sleep when I babysit unless I know the family very well and know they're ok with it. I always bring things to keep me occupied so I don't fall sleep. But after a long day at work, I will not be doing kids related work for hours on a babysitting job.

I would feel better if she WAS asleep so long as the monitor was on and right next to her. It is what I would be doing if I was home and mid night is very late.

The difference is she is getting paid. I would never sleep on my job.
OP, if its one time thing she had a long day etc I would let it go. Or maybe you can give her kid related things to do to keep her awake!

most normal people are sleeping by midnight more often than not. Why would your sitter be any different, especially if she was up early that day? If you weren't going out, wouldn't you be asleep by midnight? What's the difference?

And the toddler is asleep? We generally get home around midnight and our sitter is always asleep.