To still have the a babysitter come round if the kids are ill?

[Fufumcgoo]

DH has been ill, I am currently ill, kids likely to be ill by the weekend. Cold/flu type virus.

I have booked a babysitter for myself and DH to get some much needed time to ourselves on Saturday night.

AIBU to still go ahead even if the kids are poorly?

Very unreasonable - babysitters aren't nannies, they might not know how to manage child illness or what to do if things took a turn for the worse.
I only leave my DC with family when they're ill

They don't actually get poorly.

So are you saying that even though you and your DH were ill, if anyone catches it from the children , they won't become ill. 😮

Wouldn't the children be in bed anyway?

I book the babysitter for 8pm, kids in bed by 6.30 for one and 7.30 for the other. Babysitter comes in, sits around watching Netflix getting paid £15 an hour. Job done.

It depends on a couple of things, @Fufumcgoo - whether your babysitter is happy to look after the children if they are ill, and how ill your children are (if they do catch it).

I once babysat for someone whose child had chicken pox - I didn’t know about it until I arrived, and didn’t feel I could say no - and I didn’t know how infectious CP is, so honestly wasn’t too worried. I ended up catching it - and it’s no fun as an adult - and missed work and my friend’s wedding as a result.

But if you ask you put sitter in advance, and they are OK with it, and your kids aren’t really ill (or too upset because they’re ill) then go ahead.

So do it the weekend after.

Postpone by a week. You'd be furious if the children she babysat on Friday had a bug she then passed on to your children.

I would contact the babysitter now and tell them the situation. You may find your kids are very ill or not ill at all. But cancelling at the last minute without warning is unfair on the sitter, and they may well not want to work for you again.

It's a 50yo childcare professional booked through sitters.com. Not a teen, who leaves their kids with a teenager? I wouldn't expect a teenager to be able to deal with ill kids.

To answer those asking, I have been going to work as has DH and the kids would manage school. It's not that bad
They always get sent in unless it's a sick bug or (rarely) if they are very unwell.

As for 'why wouldn't you want to be with you kids when they're unwell' 🍪

Very selfish

No, read it again love.

I'm very chilled about this sort of thing (even have a teen babysitter shock horror) but no way would I leave my sick kids with a babysitter of any age other then my own mother.

I even cancelled a night out last weekend because the children's school was riddled with d&v, mine hadn't caught it but I knew they could be brewing it. Last thing I wanted was a phonecall on my night out, asking me to come back!

We can't postpone by a week, it's either this weekend or February now. I won't be elaborating as to why. Before anyone asks.

You’ve overplayed your goady hand there

What on earth are you on about?

YABU putting your enjoyment first. Your children need you when unwell. Babysitter does not need to become unwell.

It doesn't matter how old the person you want to babysit is, you're asking for them to watch over sick children, and the sitter will likely end up getting sick as a result.

Then they will have a loss of earnings because they won't be able to work whilst sick.

Completely unfair to them, and children want their parents when they're poorly, not a babysitter they've never met.

Maybe the same sort of person who leaves their poorly kids with a stranger. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It’s a shame you can’t do it any other time before Feb, but I guess that’s just life. Rebook for February!

Just pre warn the sitter. My regular girl is great! Warned her DS had chicken pox - did she she want to babysit? Absolutely fine. She's not bothered by sickness, but best check. Also, depends what you mean by 'sick'? Most of the time when mine are ill, they sleep a lot and are quiet!

I would postpone. My kids want their mom when they're ill, wouldn't be fair to them or the babysitter.

No it isn't fair on the sitter or the kids.

Fair enough. Have you got some annual leave or time in lieu left you could book and have a daytime date when the kids are in school one of the days?

It depends how ill, a bit of a sniffle, not a problem. A ranging temperature and being sick then no

If someone called me and said their children had colds but were not poorly I would still babysit. They haven't caught it and you don't know if they will or not, you are just surmising. I'd even look after poorly children if it were simply one of the million things children get everyday.

I'd wait till Thursday evening or Friday morning and see if they actually catch something, if they don't then enjoy your night out, if they do call the sitter and see how she feels about it.

Surely it depends. There's a difference between a cold and norovirus. The important thing is that you let the babysitter know in advance exactly what the illness is, how long they have had it (as in if they're coughing a bit t the end of a could they're hardly likely to be infectious, but just come out in impetigo or covid is another matter) and let the babysitter make a free choice.
Maybe you pay £20 an hour and your kids are just a bit snotty and will sit happily in front of the tv so they'll be happy to take the risk and come, or maybe you're paying £25 for the whole night and you've got sicky toddlers, but probably its something in between so your babysitter should have the information to make their own mind up.