Beatrice Brown asked:
The person in charge of your child should welcome his playmates, take him on outings and we hope, and be someone like you – affectionate, easygoing and responsive. A sitter who treats a child’s sobs with silence or who warns of bogeymen or spanking can crate serious fears in a child.
Sometimes a relative will watch your baby, which is cheap but may be fraught with friction. A member of the family often feels a right to interfere with your methods the way no sitter would dare to do.
Because a sitter’s dependability is essential for a working mother we think the person you hire should be paid a little more than the customary salary or should be given a monthly “reliability bonus” for regular attendance, which we found works well. The few extra dollars are worth it.
No matter what sitting arrangements you make when your work, your child will need some special comfort, like one of your perfumed scarves and – for the child who can talk – full, matter-of-fact information: You’re going to work like Daddy, and you’ll be home every night, just like Daddy.
Begin the sitting arrangement at least a week before you begin work, because your child will need you around for at least part of the time the first few days, whether he’ll be at home, at the sitter’s or at the day-care centre. If he’s in unfamiliar surroundings
Bring him home after lunch, since a nap in a strange place can be the last straw for a child. When you do leave him full time, he should know just what he’ll be doing all day at what point you’ll be back, and you should never, or almost never, be late. If the arrangements are good your child can adjust to them.
The person in charge of your child should welcome his playmates, take him on outings and we hope, and be someone like you – affectionate, easygoing and responsive. A sitter who treats a child’s sobs with silence or who warns of bogeymen or spanking can crate serious fears in a child.
Sometimes a relative will watch your baby, which is cheap but may be fraught with friction. A member of the family often feels a right to interfere with your methods the way no sitter would dare to do.
Because a sitter’s dependability is essential for a working mother we think the person you hire should be paid a little more than the customary salary or should be given a monthly “reliability bonus” for regular attendance, which we found works well. The few extra dollars are worth it.
No matter what sitting arrangements you make when your work, your child will need some special comfort, like one of your perfumed scarves and – for the child who can talk – full, matter-of-fact information: You’re going to work like Daddy, and you’ll be home every night, just like Daddy.
Begin the sitting arrangement at least a week before you begin work, because your child will need you around for at least part of the time the first few days, whether he’ll be at home, at the sitter’s or at the day-care centre. If he’s in unfamiliar surroundings
Bring him home after lunch, since a nap in a strange place can be the last straw for a child. When you do leave him full time, he should know just what he’ll be doing all day at what point you’ll be back, and you should never, or almost never, be late. If the arrangements are good your child can adjust to them.
