HOW OFTEN DO YOU CHECK IN?

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Permalink Reply by MamaBates on March 19, 2009 at 1:47pm

As the parent of two teens (13 and 15)--I really only check in on them if:
1) they are on a sleepover (we ask that they call us to say goodnight)
2) if they are home sick
3) if we are away and they are staying with friends or family (we'll check in twice a day if that's the case)

And that's it! I think if we had reason not to trust them, then we'd check in on playdates, outtings, after school activities, etc.

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Permalink Reply by RP Mom on March 19, 2009 at 2:13pm

My kiddos are two and four. They usually stay with family or the one amazing babysitter we have. I honestly usually do not check in. They all have our cell phone numbers in case they need to reach me or my husband. I also do not check in with them when they are at school. Honestly, I very much trust the people I leave them with and I dont leave them that often. Their one babysitter is like family. I know if there was a problem or a reason to call they would!

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Permalink Reply by Sittercity on March 19, 2009 at 3:33pm

There is definitely nothing wrong with calling to check in while your kids are with a babysitter. Here are a few tips on checking in with the sitter.
1) Give the sitter a heads up that you might be calling.
2) Let your sitter know which phone you'll be calling so she knows to keep her cell phone or the house phone with her.
3) Try to remember not to call during bedtime, dinner, bath time etc.
4) Ask the sitter if she comfortable with texting instead of phone calls. Text messages are quick, easy ways for both sides to communicate.

-Sittercity.com

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Permalink Reply by Dana Neal on March 19, 2009 at 4:09pm

I agree, but I find they check in to see if I AM OKAY! LOL
MamaBates said:

As the parent of two teens (13 and 15)--I really only check in on them if:
1) they are on a sleepover (we ask that they call us to say goodnight)
2) if they are home sick
3) if we are away and they are staying with friends or family (we'll check in twice a day if that's the case)

And that's it! I think if we had reason not to trust them, then we'd check in on playdates, outtings, after school activities, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on March 19, 2009 at 5:46pm

I've never had a regular babysitter. Ever. My kids are 5 and 7. I've always asked family or close friends to watch my children. And, with them, I feel that I can put my mind at ease and just enjoy myself while we're out. Most of the time my children are with my parents (who will drive down for the weekend if we need them) or with my husband's mother (if we go somewhere during the week) so I don't feel the need to check in. However, when they were infants, I did call every now and again just because.

I don't ever call the daycare to check on my children.

When they get older, I hope my children will call ME to check in. It was something my parents expected my sister and I to do and, even to this day, I still call and check in with my parents if I've either been on the road or travelling out of the country or something. It's just nice to get a call that says, "Hey, I'm here...I'm OK." My parents even do this with me when they head home...it's nice to know they've made the 2.5 hour trip OK. :-)

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Permalink Reply by RP Mom on March 19, 2009 at 9:18pm

Michelle -- I too still check with my parents and they live THOUSANDS of miles away. When my sister and I were older (high school) we were expected to check in with our parents, especially if our plans change from what we had told them. In the same respect, my parents checked in with us when they want out -- if they were running later to be home than they originally said or changed plan they always called home and left us a message (even if we were out). This was the day before cell phones LOL! When my kids get older, I will do the same as my parents did and expect the same respect back from my kids.

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on March 20, 2009 at 11:59am

Thanks for these great tips!

Sittercity said:

There is definitely nothing wrong with calling to check in while your kids are with a babysitter. Here are a few tips on checking in with the sitter.
1) Give the sitter a heads up that you might be calling.
2) Let your sitter know which phone you'll be calling so she knows to keep her cell phone or the house phone with her.
3) Try to remember not to call during bedtime, dinner, bath time etc.
4) Ask the sitter if she comfortable with texting instead of phone calls. Text messages are quick, easy ways for both sides to communicate.

-Sittercity.com

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Permalink Reply by Rayna on March 20, 2009 at 5:05pm

depends.....

Usually once every two to three hours. But, my kids are still young.

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Permalink Reply by Its me..Marie on March 20, 2009 at 9:17pm

Ok, I'm super protective of my kids; 17 & 6. My mom watched my youngest from 2 yrs to 5 yrs except when she went on vacation. During that time, he would go to daycare and I would call 2x/day, I could tell they weren't too excited over my 'check-ins' but that didn't bother me. Now, he will be going back to daycare in the mornings (he's in pm Kinder) and I plan on calling once during that time to check in on him.

With my oldest, when he goes out, I call him every 2 hours to make sure he's alive (lol) and not in trouble. If he doesn't pick up, he doesn't get to go out for 2 weeks. He just got his license yesterday and our rule is that he has to call when he gets to his destination and once he leaves so we know he got there ok and we know when he's on his way back how long it'll take him to get back.

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Permalink Reply by BuSy...MaMMa on March 21, 2009 at 9:42pm

when family or friends babysit I always check in at least hourly, I cant check in at school, but at home I always do!!

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Permalink Reply by Lucinda on April 28, 2009 at 1:27pm

Ok a while back I was baby sitting a 17month old, and 3month old, ok the mom and the dad will leave the house to go to work, an hour after they leave the house the mother is already calling, ok that is fine, but she will call every hr. on the hr. to talk to her daughter, ok I was fine with it for the most start of it, but this was happening all the time, and it started to get a little bit on my nerves, because it started to make me feel like she was not trusting me with her kids, and I was getting really tired of it, but I didn't say nothing to them about it, but make sure you try not to call the baby sitter all the time, becasue that makes the babysitter feel very uncomfortable in your house. It might even make the babysitter stop working for you, becasue you are doing that. If something to ever happened to the kids I will call them, but I felt that I did not have the right to call her, she will always call me, so to the ending of this story I stopped working for them, I did love the kids.

please think about it.

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