What are the dos and don’ts of babysitting? (For the parents!)

[Confused19831983]

My little boy is two and is due to be looked after by a babysitter for the first time.
They work at the nursery he goes to and he knows and likes them.
It will be for several hours during the day on a weekend when both me and his dad are working.
His dad will be WFH, I will be working out of the house.
Interested to know the following:
How much do you pay your babysitter? (they’ve quoted me a low amount, would like to pay more - we are in north of England)
Do you provide lunch / tea for your babysitter or give money for a takeaway / sandwich etc? (def want to give something, just not sure what best way of going about it is)
Do you suggest they go out and do an activity if it’s in the day? We are rarely home with our little boy - always taking him to the park, swimming, soft play etc. (obviously I would pay for this)
If you are a babysitter, what would you say are the do’s and don’ts?
Tyia : )

I used to be a Saturday sitter (many years ago!) My thoughts, combined with now also being a parent -

1. minimum wage
2. Make sure there’s a few options for lunch. When they’re making your little one lunch they can then make something for themselves. That’s what I used to do.
3. I was able to choose what we did each Saturday really. Sometimes it was a little trip on the train to the next town, sometimes mum might have bought tickets for a little theatre show for toddlers she’d seen, sometimes we just went to the park, played at home. It really depended what was on, the weather etc. there was a little pot of cash I could use and if I’d turned up on a Saturday and had something in mind to go out for, I used that for bus or train fares, entrance, or ice creams etc. I’d make a little picnic for me and the toddler if we were going to be out for a chunk of of time.

Thank you @JustMyViewOnThisthat’s helpful! I will suggest some activities and give her some cash I think. I might make him a packed lunch and give her some money to get herself a sandwich while she’s out and about 👍👍