We are having a babysitter (non-family member) watch our daughter tonight for the first time. Previously the only ones who have watched our daughter while we were away were grandmas or aunts. This might seem like a silly question, but is it appropriate to ask the babysitter to bathe my daughter before she goes to sleep? She was her teacher in the younger room at daycare so she's changed her diaper plenty of times. I definitely trust the girl and am totally comfortable leaving my daughter with her. However, is this too intimate of a task? I just don't know what to do with a new babysitter. Thanks!
Thanks all! We didn't end up having her bathe her as my husband was uncomfortable with it. However, if we use her more in the future we might work up to that!
I wouldn't ask. I always got my kids ready for bed before I went out and i have only had family members babysit. Too many accidents can happen in the bath tub.
I've babysat/nannied quite a few children and have bathed most of them. It is completely appropriate especially if the child is a messy eater or if it's part of their bedtime routine, etc.
Just bathe her yourself before you go out.
Bathing times do not have to be at the same darn time every night.
Or she does not have to take a bath.
1 missed night, is not a big deal.
And make sure you have your daughter's meal/dinner already prepped/made/decided.
If I were a sitter, I would be very uncomfortable bathing the child. Especially, since this person is new...I would not ask...if it were me. I would just let you r daughter go to bed without.
I wouldn't ask on the first sitting.
I have been a babysitter for years and have bathed pretty much all the children I have watched. It isn't inappropriate to ask a babysitter to do that. However, if you are worried about accidents, etc, you could skip the bath.
My 18 yr old has babysat for a long time and is a sought after sitter in the neighborhood.
She's never been asked to bathe a child. She's done plenty if diapers, etc and would bathe if asked.
Most if the time, unless its a day sitting job, the children are bathed if needed before the parents go out.
She cleans up messy faces, etc which is to be expected . I don't see bathing a child as intimate.
Why can't you have you child ready for bed when the sitter gets there?
Wow!!! It amazes me that so many moms say no!! I have babysat for many families and bathing the child(ren) was always just part of the job!! I know that accidents can happen, but you are trusting this person while you are gone. Why not a bath?
Too late now but I wanted to say that it would be OK for the sitter to bathe her. After all the sitter is a teacher and your daughter knows her. You've trusted the sitter with your daughter during the day, why wouldn't you at night.
I, too, do not consider bathing a small child as too intimate.
New babysitter?
Bathe your daughter in advance.
Problem solved.
I did daycare. I have a daughter and a son. I bathed many children in my life. I washed their hair, arms/armpits, legs, feet, faces, and let them wash their nether regions, depending on the age. I had babies who couldn't do anything for themselves and needed to be cleaned after a poopy diaper. I had kids who could be put in the tub and I just needed to make sure they were rinsed off really well.
I wouldn't assume that a babysitter will necessarily do anything wrong.
What if your little one poops all over herself? Would you want the babysitter to clean her up or just leave her until you get home?
Just asking......
Bathe your baby before you go. Eliminate that worry. If the babysitter needs to clean her up in your absense, be glad she'd be willing. I know too many people who will NOT deal with diapers at all.
Just my opinion.
Definitely too late, but just wanted to give my two cents. As a daycare teacher who has also babysat, I can tell you that for me, it would not be a problem to bathe a child while I babysat. I have even had to give "baths" at daycare, in the sink after explosive diapers, for both several infants and believe it or not, a two year old (that was a mess!). I've been asked to help a two year old take a bath while babysitting add well. No big deal. If it's a daycare worker who will be watching your kid, I'm sure she's been there, done that ;)
I would never ask someone who's watching my child for an evening to bathe her. I wouldn't be comfortable with that. It's only 1 night.
With my kids I usually have them skip a bath for that night, just so they get more play time in with the fun sitter. When I babysat as a teen, I used to bathe the kids almost every time. It was not a problem at all and I have memories of drying the kids' hair, getting them all snuggly and then putting them all clean in their beds. It was just part of the job and it always went just fine. Being a babysitter is such an honor, now that I think back. It's like the perfect relationship with little ones when you are a teenager. Playing hide and seek for hours with these amazing little people, running around the backyard, fun pizza dinners, reading stories together. I was lucky to be included in their lives.
oh heck yeah. after all, if a baby has a messy diaper, it might make sense for her sitter to bathe her, right? so why not her regular bath?
khairete
S.
I used to bathe kids all the time as a nanny/babysitter. 1 year and up now that I think about it, no one ever asked me to bathe an infant.
If you feel weird about it, just skip it. Won't hurt. But if you are cool with it go ahead. As a parent now, I wouldn't be weirded out by the intimacy of it... I'd be more afraid the babysitter would turn her back for 5 seconds and my kid would slip and split her lip or something. I'm weird like that when I have a babysitter, I fear freak accidents.
If you feel comfortable with it then I would ask her how she feels about it.. If she is not comfortable with it then just give her an early bath..
