Do Your Babysitters Clean up and Did You Have to Tell Them To?

I would ask her to pick up the toys and put the dishes in the sink. If you don't want the kids eating in other rooms, spell it out. I would much rather be informed (nicely, but firmly) than lose a gig because I didn't know what I'd done wrong. So tell her. (We don't have much of a problem, but we also mostly use family.)

I've had 3 sitters. 2 were awful. I came home to a bomb. One was great. She went above and beyond and I compensated her accordingly. When I could only get one of the awful ones, I finally told them that I expect the house to be the same way I left it. That helped but I still felt better with the one that took the initiative without being told.

When my daughter was babysitting age, I told her my expectations of her babysitting. I explained that she should always go above and beyond in anything she does especially in her work. She had a lot of repeat baby siting jobs and when she worked at panera her manager praised her for her work ethic.

Be clear when you are ready to leave.
The kitchen and living room are clean. Please do the dishes that you use when you fix the kids dinner. they can go in the dishwasher etc. the kids need to pick up their toys out of the living room before bed. oh and johnny always forgets to hang up his towel after drying his hands. but house work is not really part of the job just picking up after the kids while watching them.

I started babysitting at 11. I always cleaned up the messes I made and made the kids clean up their messes.

It was just common politeness. I'm surprised that this isn't common anymore.

I babysat a TON when I was a teenager. I usually cleaned up, but not always. Most of the time, I had parents tell me that they wanted me to take care of the kids, not the house. So while I would usually get the dishes done (or at least in the sink), food prep put away, etc...I actually got one of my best "reviews" from the parents who came home to find that their 7 year old daughter and I had hung strips of paper painted like cactus from the ceiling and built our own kiva out of couch cushions because she was learning about southwest Native American tribes in school. The parents were thrilled that we had been doing something creative and educational and could have cared less about the mess. Another time we read the whole book of "The Princess Bride" over a few weeks and did activities that matched, like making a fireswamp out of vinegar and baking soda. But I guess I could have planted her in front of the TV and done their laundry instead.
I would let your sitters know your priorities and expectations up front, don't assume anything.
BTW, that girl is a recent graduate from law school- yikes, I'm old!!!

$15/hr is a standard rate for 3 kids and no, I don't expect my babysitters to clean up, be it my teenaged one or my own mother. They usually put dishes dirtied during the evening in the sink or on the counter, but that's because it was either asked of them or that behavior was modeled for them. I'm always pleasantly surprised when they've had the kids pick up the living room before bed, but definitely don't expect that either. The only thing I expect from a babysitter is happy, safe kids who may or may not have had an extra treat or two and got to bed at a not-too-outrageous time.

When I babysat, I always cleaned up whatever the kids and I messed up. So if I cooked, dishes were at least in the sink, if not washed, kitchen was wiped down, leftovers put away, etc. Toys were picked up before the kids went to bed if they were old enough to help. If too young, I picked them up. That is basic common courtesy. If you are consistently coming home to a mess, let her know what you expect. Those basic items are not out of line to be included in her job, especially if the kids are asleep when you are getting home.

what we think is common sense won't even occur to many teenagers. obviously any parent's main objective is to come home to safe, happy kids, but it's certainly not out of line to also kind of expect to have the house NOT trashed.
but if you need to say something, you do.
doesn't have to be a big confrontation. a simple 'no dishes in the living room please, and i'd appreciate it if you would leave any dishes you do use soaking in the sink. i'll take care of them from there when i get home.'
if you have a babysitter who consistently leaves your house bombed, i'd find a new one. but for the most part, a bit of a mess is worth it if you have a sitter the kids love and whom you trust.
khairete
S.

Absolutely I expect them to clean up and I always tell them so.

I don't have sitters much but yes, I expect them to clean up the dinner dishes and put away any toys played with. And they do. You say your kids are asleep most of the time so they have plenty of opportunity. I know I cleaned up when I babysat. I wouldn't expect washing a lot of pots or pans but I doubt you do either. If it was a daytime sitter and I walked in in the middle of messy game, then either I'd pay them to clean up or I'd whisk them out to get them off the clock and then I'd have to clean. But my choice. And I think $15 per hour outside a major city seems like very good pay. I'd be matter of fact and say this for dinner, kids to bed at x time and then when they're in bed pls clean up the dishes and any toys you guys took out.

When I was babysitting as a teen (in the 70's) you didn't eat unless you were invited to - parents would say 'help yourself to the snacks' and there was 1 cupboard where the snacks were.
Kids (and me) were not allowed to eat anywhere but the kitchen and you used paper plates and threw them away when you were finished and you left your glass in the sink.
It wasn't up to me to clean up any dishes the family left around before they headed out for the evening but I NEVER made a mess for anyone else to clean up.
Anything the kids got out were put away again (by the kids) before bedtime - I'd have to remind them about that.

When you come home go around and pick up and HAVE THE BABY SITTER HELP YOU before she can leave or before you take her home and just say nicely that next time you expect she'll know how to pick up before you get home.

I also rarely got a babysitter, so I used to just let it slide. If my kids were safe and taken care of and liked the sitter, that was more important than if my house was clean when I got home. It DID annoy me, however, to come home to sleeping kids, sitter watching TV on the couch and plates of half eaten pizza with smears of pizza sauce on the counters or puddles of juice drying to a sticky mess on the floor, or goldfish crackers all over the place. Kids are sleeping - take a minute to tidy up a bit.

When I babysat as a teen, I always left the house like I found it, without ever having to be asked to do so. If I used a plate, I cleaned a plate. If the toys had been put away and the kids played with them, we made sure to put them away again. It seemed like common courtesy to me, even as a somewhat spoiled teenager.

Kids today are different, I guess.

I would tell her that the KIDS should take their dirty dishes to the sink when they are done. And that the KIDS should pick up their toys when they are done. But no, I wouldn't ask her to load the dishwasher or anything like that.

I did have 1 sitter who would clean up after the kids went to bed. I appreciated it greatly and tipped her extra. But I didn't expect all sitters to do that.

Once the kids are in bed there is no reason why they can't clean up the dishes. Toys should be picked up, dishwasher loaded, stove, table top and countertops wipped.
When I babysit my grandchildren I always straighten up, load the dishwasher, fold laundry if needed. I know I'm grandma but if I can do it a teen should be able to handle it.

Just tell them to straighten up and load the dishwasher. If you have pets they are responsible to make sure the pet goes out to potty and has food or water if needed.

I would just ask, but don't say "clean up" cause that seems like more than basic stuff. Just ask her to put the dirty dishes in the sink or dishwasher.

I paid my sitters to watch my kids, not clean. I think that is why they called them babysitters and not nanny/maid.

Some did, yay! but if they didn't and the kids were alive and happy, so what? Besides 15 for three kids is average not top dollar.

If she doesn't have the common sense/respect to figure out she needs to not leave the house trashed, I'd find another sitter. Especially if your kids are asleep part of the time. $15 is amazing pay, in my opinion. I live in Phoenix, have a bachelors degree and work in mental health and make $15/hr!!

The only sitters I used were from a Nanny service and that has been many years. With the exception of one, they always cleaned after themselves.

If you don't want to be so blunt about it, you can let her know where things are and where they belong. So when you show her around the house and show her where the snacks and utensils are, show her the empty dishwasher. Let her know that with this dishwasher you have to scrape the scraps in the disposal and rinse before placing them in there. Close with, no worries, I will start the dishwasher when I get home.

Is it her mess? She's eating food and leaving the plates everywhere? Or your kids are doing it and you feel she should clean up after them?

My older daughter babysat for years. She always told the parents: "I clean up the messes that I make." This meant if she spilled powdered formula or baby food fixing a meal for the littlest ones, she cleaned it up. If she fed preschoolers or led the older kids in an art project, she helped them to tidy up afterwards. She did not play maid for grade school aged kids whose parents haven't trained them to wipe up their crumbs, put their plates in the sink, or stow their toys.

Some families paid her extra to do this or to run the dishwasher, etc. But that was on top of what she already earned for baby sitting.

Well, I would have had an issue with there being dishes in the living room, because that means that they were eating there. And that has always been a no-no in our home. The kids eat meals at the table. Period.

As for "cleaning"... well, no not really. The dishes from dinner scraped and stacked neatly on the kitchen counter or in the sink, yes. The left over food (if any) wrapped and put in the refrigerator, yes. The trash (wrapping from food containers or take out boxes, etc) in the trash, yes.
But washing the actual dishes so that they are ready to use again? no.
Picking up clutter or messes? Only if it is something egregious or something that will spoil if left out (like playdoh gets hard).

my nanny leaves the house cleaner than when I left my college girls that I hire for an evening out. do not clean up anything..

If the sitter is young do not expect much.

if she keeps the kids safe and feeds them and gets them to bed at a reasonable hour.. and you get to go out and have a good time.. consider it a bonus...

most teens and 20s don't have to do much around their own house.. so they are not used to doing chores.

Nope I never asked my sitters to clean up. If they did that was great. If they didn't then I'd pick up when I got home. I was more concerned with them watching my children than cleaning my house.

We always had good experiences and our house was cleaned up and never trashed when we returned home. I had 1 family of girls I used from early on with babysitting. As one would graduate and head off to college, the next in line stepped up and took over.

On the flip side, our daughter (19) babysits and she does not leave a house messed up either.

Our sitters were paid top dollar and our daughter is paid top dollar so it is just common courtesy to clean up before parents get home.

Were I in that situation, I would explain the next time: please be sure that the food stays in the kitchen and the kids get their dishes to the sink. Don't say "that last time was a mess"... just go forward proactively. She needs to be taught.

I have noticed that our adult sitters generally do tidy up because they are used to looking after themselves. Kids, not so much. I tend to let things slide if I know that my son was having a great time and they were playing.

So, for next time, I'd leave a note:
Please make sure that the kids keep the food and dishes in the kitchen. They are used to bringing their plates to the sink, so they should be cooperating with you on that.

Please make sure that the kids clean up the activities they finish before moving to something new. This is a usual house rule around here, but they sometimes forget because they are excited to see you...

Etc etc. And I never expect sitters to do dishes. I did, when I was a sitter/nanny, but I don't assume that I'll be coming home to a clean kitchen. And I'd rather they be playing with Kiddo.

I do draw the line at sitters who use the iPhone as a way to keep my son busy. We have rules about media and I think that if the sitters don't know how to play with a kid, they probably are in the wrong job, y'know?

My babysitters are my mother and MIL, and they always clean up but that's just in their nature. When I was a nanny in college I always cleaned up what the kids and I got out. So toys, dishes, arts and crafts, etc were picked up by the kids and me, while things that were out when I got there were left alone. I'd expect the same behavior if I hired a sitter as well. Maybe you can passively give her the hint by telling her that the kids know they are supposed to clean up after themselves before bed, then she knows what you are expecting.

It's been years since I needed to use babysitters so I'm having trouble remembering, but I would expect that they'd at least put the dishes in the sink or dishwasher and clean up their garbage. I wouldn't expect them to actually wash the dishes. But if you haven't actually said, "Can you please leave any dishes that you or the kids use in the sink?" then I'm not sure that you can fault them. If you ask and they don't do it, then you might want to use someone else.

I don't expect them to clean up, but my sitters only make 5-7 and hour.

Oddly enough, it's the younger teenagers (12-14 years old) that I use that do clean up. They've even "kicked me" out of the house while I was trying to clean up the dinner table before leaving and told me they would take care of it ;-) When I use older sitters, I wouldn't say there are messes everywhere, but there are definitely dishes in the sink, toys out, and possibly some dishes still on the table.

Um, if THEY are making the messes then THEY clean up after themselves, period. I would think that's common sense. Maybe it's just kids these days. You may have to fill them in because it sounds like the entitled children of today are on the loose in your house, lol.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets