To ask if you'd mind babysitter having a beer?

[swanmills]

No kids myself but I went out with a friend last night. She has one 3 year old. I went to pick her up and waited in the house as she was finishing getting ready. When leaving she told the babysitter she was welcome to any food in the house and that there were beers in the fridge if she wanted one.

The babysitter (who was a 26 year old experienced nanny) was really shocked and asked jokingly if it was a "trick". She said she'd never been offered alcohol ever before when Babysitting and my friend said one or two beers was hardly an issue since a lot of parents would drink that or more of an evening and she was very relaxed about it. Especially since the babysitter had been recommend by a couple of friends so she knew she was responsible and wouldn't drink her house dry !

Anyway it got me thinking- as a non Mum I'm not sure how I'd be. If she bought alcohol herself I'd be a bit but I'm sure I'd be fine with a babysitter having a can of beer or glass of wine if I offered.

Thoughts ?

Nope, it's unnecessary.

I think this is one of those situations where it's offered as a courtesy and it's generally polite to decline.

I've been offered wine and have offered it to friends, but never accepted when babysitting and neither have our babysitters AFAIK. I'm nearly always driving home anyway so it's a moot point.

Once when I was a teenager I babysat a baby with my friend and the mum left us half a bottle of wine to share! (It was New Year's Eve)

A beer or glass of wine or 2 I wouldn’t have an issue with tbh, I mean me and dh have a glass of wine or 2 sometimes while we’ve got our dc so I don’t see the difference really.

There's no way I'd allow this to happen. I don't drink at all since I had children and I certainly wouldn't want anyone in charge of my children to have had a drink.

Wouldn't have a problem with it.

When I babysit for friends (no DC of my own) they usually leave a bottle of wine..I'll have a glass or 2 but would never drink enough to not be able to deal with the kids.

Not massively keen on the idea of a professional babysitter drinking whilst working for me but I guess it’s not the end of the world if i had got to know them and I knew that they were sensible and it would only be one drink. A family member or friend would be different as I would know their tolerance etc and trust them not to get wasted.

The driving argument wouldn’t put me off.. in the event of a medical emergency I would always tell them to call an ambulance rather than attempt to drive my children to a hospital.

No you shouldn't drink at work.

It depends on the babysitter. If it’s a friend doing you a favour, no problem if it’s just one or two small drinks. A professional babysitter who you are paying to do a job, absolutely not. Very unprofessional, you wouldn’t expect to be able to have a drink in any other job, so why would you think it’s ok as a babysitter. I’m not surprised the babysitter was surprised and thought you were trying to test her, she sounds professional and wouldn’t want her reputation ruining if word got out she enjoyed a couple of drinks while working.

If I knew them personally as a friend or they were a family member then no I wouldnt mind at all.
If I had hired them I might find that a bit odd but if it were the evening and the child id wanted looking after was just going to be in bed so I just needed them there just in case, then I guess I wouldnt really mind them having a beer no. I would think it strange however as technically they are being paid to do a job and so personally I would never drink if I were being paid for my time.

Depends. Not if they were 'hired' professionally as it were. But even if it was a friend, I'd hope they'd be reasonable about drinking on the job.

A friend offered to babysit for us and when we came back at 12ish - the eldest was still up and running riot and she was kinda trashed. That was fun...

Professionally paid childcarer/baby sitter shouldn't be drinking alcohol. I don't see it as being any different to working in a nursery. You wouldn't leave them there if the carers had a glass of wine or bottle of beer during their shift.

I was often handed a glass of wine as I walked through the door by a family I used to babysit for! They usually had a couple of glasses before they went out and would often have friends over so always included me.

Most people I have babysat for have said to have a beer or glass of wine if I fancy one but i’m not really a drinker so never really took advantage of this.

I’m a nanny and don’t drink even at lunchtime if I know I’m babysitting that night but the amount of parents who leave me a glass of wine or a beer or something stronger (I mentioned once that I like a g&t and one family got in a bottle of gin and some tonics just for when I babysat) is crazy!

I’m a nanny who has been offered alcohol while babysitting before. I always turn it down. I’m doing my job and I’m a professional. It may be just sitting in front of the TV but it may not be either if there’s a problem. You can bet that if something bad happened the finger would straight away be pointed if you’d touched alcohol, regardless of if it hadn’t been offered by the parents or not.

I would be fine if they had a couple of drinks. If there was a genuine emergency they could call an ambulance.

We don't have a car so the whole over the limit thing wouldn't bother me. However I would expect them. It to be out of control shit faced drunk.

I think it depends on the babysitter. As some have pointed out above, a professional nanny shouldn't be drinking on the job. Me as an Aunty babysitting for my sisters, yeah I'll have 1 or 2 and I usually get 'paid' in a meal. I'm still well I charge of all of my functions but I'm not a professional doing a job, I'm a family member doing a favour which I think is the crucial difference.

As a friend I used to babysit a friends kids, they would pay me in wine!

I was still more sober than them when they returned home to take over care of their kids.

Me and DH dont drink and we have never hired a proffesional babysitter but DSD or her boyfriend and our NDN's have looked after the DC and have had a glass of wine etc so I wouldnt have a problem if it was a proffesional babysitter.

I'd be perfectly happy with a friend or family member having a drink as I already trust them. If I was paying someone as a professional (and I am paid to babysit others) I really wouldn't do it or expect it to be done

Oh and as pp says above sometimes I get paid in wine but I take it home, wouldn't drink it there even though I'm drinking now in charge of my own children!

When I babysat many moons ago I never drank, and I wouldn't have thought it appropriate to do so.

It seems very unprofessional to drink while working, and I would apply that to any job. Unless you are a professional wine taster or similar!!

If it is family babysitting then completely different, a drink is fine, but getting sloshed isn't