Your Babysitter and Your Baby's Health

Many people ask surprisingly few questions when appointing a babysitter. The person is basically accepted at face value, usually due to time constraints. While it is understandable that she may arrive only minutes before you have to leave, the value of your child's life is not any less just because you are in a hurry.

As a mother, you have done everything possible for your child. You have set a certain standard in the way many things are done, including hygiene, food, and special care. While you may not expect a babysitter to be able to deliver up to the same standards, your baby does. Your child has come to expect a certain standard of care, regardless of who has to deliver it.

Take a hypothetical situation if you will. You employ a babysitter, who comes from a home you do not know. While she may appear neat at first glance, you have had no opportunity to scrutinize the way she does things. You do not know if she cleans every surface the way you would, or whether she will be as clinically clean (as you prefer) when she prepares food or formula. In fact, if you just met her, you do net even know if she washes her hands before touching food.

While this is not likely, and not common, it can happen. The worst of it is, you do not know. If your child is still too young to understand how things should be done, you may never know what goes on "behind closed doors".

The fact of the matter is, if you don't get to know the person beforehand, you may not know anything until it is too late. The result may be an upset stomach, or a severe burn, or it could be worse. But it will be too late.