Helping the Babysitter Remember to Give Medication
If your child requires medication, whether for a temporary illness or lifelong condition, leaving him or her with a babysitter might be the most nerve-wracking thing you'll do all week.
Obviously you would never hire a sitter that you didn't trust but it's hard enough to remember every dose - and probably much harder for an occasional babysitter to remember.
You can make the babysitter's job much easier (while easing your own anxiety) with these three simple tips: 1.
Go beyond the List Everybody starts with a list of medications and times - and that's definitely a smart start.
You can go beyond the list, though, by getting a little more interactive.
You can set reminders on your computer that will play a sound indicator over the speakers when it's time for medication.
Or you can work to time the medication to coincide with another major daily event, like sending the kids off to school in the morning or right before your child's favorite must-see cartoon.
2.
Get the Children Involved By offering an after-medicine reward, you can get your child to remember his or her medication even if the babysitter forgets.
Consider this your second line of defense.
Leave a special snack or a fun movie and inform both the babysitter and your child that the reward is for after medication ONLY.
If dosage time rolls by and your child misses her favorite movie, she'll be sure to say something to the babysitter.
3.
Allow Yourself One Call It's your job to worry.
Allow yourself a call to the babysitter.
If your child takes medicine more than once a day, make sure to call sometime after the first or second dose to ease your worries.
These calls will become unnecessary once you get to know your babysitter better - if you can't trust the sitter to administer medication after a few weeks of practice, then you should probably look for a new babysitter you can trust.
If you feel the need to call, just call.
You deserve the peace of mind.
Send text messages if it makes you feel less intrusive.
You should be able to feel comfortable leaving the children with a sitter.
If you can't trust a babysitter, you'll find yourself with less and less freedom to leave the house.
So, get creative.
Take any precautions you can.
Your child's health is important, and hopefully any babysitter you hire will understand that cautious moms and dads are only trying to do what's right.
Obviously you would never hire a sitter that you didn't trust but it's hard enough to remember every dose - and probably much harder for an occasional babysitter to remember.
You can make the babysitter's job much easier (while easing your own anxiety) with these three simple tips: 1.
Go beyond the List Everybody starts with a list of medications and times - and that's definitely a smart start.
You can go beyond the list, though, by getting a little more interactive.
You can set reminders on your computer that will play a sound indicator over the speakers when it's time for medication.
Or you can work to time the medication to coincide with another major daily event, like sending the kids off to school in the morning or right before your child's favorite must-see cartoon.
2.
Get the Children Involved By offering an after-medicine reward, you can get your child to remember his or her medication even if the babysitter forgets.
Consider this your second line of defense.
Leave a special snack or a fun movie and inform both the babysitter and your child that the reward is for after medication ONLY.
If dosage time rolls by and your child misses her favorite movie, she'll be sure to say something to the babysitter.
3.
Allow Yourself One Call It's your job to worry.
Allow yourself a call to the babysitter.
If your child takes medicine more than once a day, make sure to call sometime after the first or second dose to ease your worries.
These calls will become unnecessary once you get to know your babysitter better - if you can't trust the sitter to administer medication after a few weeks of practice, then you should probably look for a new babysitter you can trust.
If you feel the need to call, just call.
You deserve the peace of mind.
Send text messages if it makes you feel less intrusive.
You should be able to feel comfortable leaving the children with a sitter.
If you can't trust a babysitter, you'll find yourself with less and less freedom to leave the house.
So, get creative.
Take any precautions you can.
Your child's health is important, and hopefully any babysitter you hire will understand that cautious moms and dads are only trying to do what's right.
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