Hotel Babysitters

[bellomum]

What do we think of this notion of having someone come in, after your baby is asleep, to sit in your hotel room so you and your husband can go to dinner? In my case, for an upcoming trip, baby will be 9 months old.

It's something I think I'll eventually have to get used to. But it's sort of scary to leave my baby with a total stranger. She is a very good sleeper, usually does not wake again once she's asleep. Very recently we've had a few nights where an hour or two after going to sleep she wakes up crying and with a swift cuddle, easily settles and goes back to sleep.

Thoughts?

Personally think hotel babysitters are not a great idea, unless your baby is happy sleeping with lights on and some-one else in the same room. I once booked a hotel which offered a babysitting service, but didn't use it for this reason. I've frequently, when staying in hotels, put kids to bed with baby monitor in room and gone downstairs with the parent unit, plus half hour checks upstairs to room.

Sounds like your baby is a good sleeper :) and you've not got much to worry about.

Many bigger hotals have baby listening. You dial a certain number and leave the phone off the hook you can then use any phone at reception or the bar for example to check if ll is quite.

I was a baby sitter at a Haven siteand although I was qualified there were a lot of sitters who were pretty inexperienced and untrained. We always tried to match up the nursery nurses and lifeguards to the younger kids but couldn't always do this.

Yes, I wish. I have to call but honestly I think baby listening is a UK-ism. I've not heard of it elsewhere. Am I wrong?

Well, I went to sleep last night thinking this was a bad idea and we'll just have to manage with early dinners and hope she's ok. It's just a few nights.

Thanks.

Well, as long as they're police-checked, I think that's a whole lot better than what they did for us at the Posh Family Hotels emporium. There, you just leave the 'phone off the hook, and they listen in every 10 mins. Rubbish! Who would have that put their minds at rest?

I've never been comfortable with the idea of leaving a baby in a hotel room.It's just feels weird,like they're home alone sort of.Completely illogical but that's how I feel.

bellomum, I babysit in hotel rooms often and always have to get the kids off to sleep!

I think with a baby it would be easier to get him/her off to sleep first, then leave a mobile phone no. just in case.

TBH I've got loads of experience and am a nursery nurse, so i'd leave kids with me! Don't know how I'd feel about a youngster turning up to babysit, it seems a bit of a lottery to me.

SSD, do you have a twin in Stockholm????? I wish. Thanks. I will call the hotel and discuss and then decide how to proceed.

Carla, how is baby listening that much different from home? You put your baby to sleep and go downstairs for the evening right? It is I know...but not by much!

maybe you could arrange to meet up with the babysitter beforehand so you're both comfortable with it? I know this might not be practical. Or how about trying gumtree? I think they have sites all over the world, you might be lucky and get someone there. Failing that there is always baby listening, if your baby sleeps well usually you should get a few hours to yourselves for dinner.

Have a nice holiday anyway!

All of the babysitters that worked with me were police checked but that was it, other than the qualified nursery nurses and the lifeguards they didn't even have first aid.

With a young baby that is in a cot and can't climb out if they suddenly awake I would be Ok with leaving them if just going downstairs. We left DS when very young in cot. He woke up and screamed the place down until I got back upstairs but could come to no harm. Different with toddlers who could wake up and be climbing about quite quietly.

I meant to add I think police checks give a false sense of reassurance and shouldn't replace commen sense they might tell you if someone has a conviction, but they won't tell you that the sitter is only 17, never looked after kids before, has the patience af a pitbull with a wasp up its a&#* and would run a mile if a child had an accident or was sick.

just saw this - we bought a bebetel phone which is basically a baby monitor which plugs into the hotel phone and calls you to a number you set it to if there is a noise. You can set the sensitivity to what you require ( how loud a noise and how many noises). It has unlimited range - same as phones - just need to ensure you have reception if using your mobile. When it calls you and you answer, it then acts like a walkie talkie and you can listen to the room and talk to your child. You can buy adaptors for phones in different countries. Worth getting if you plan to stay in hotels fairly often I think. It is your own baby listening service but it checks more often than every ten minutes! I think phillips also make one like this now.

Just noticed this thread, just bear in mind that police checks or crb checks as they are now known are only as good as the day they were done. Someone could be clear when they are checked and then commit a crime just after. Police and courts do not necessarily contact empleyers especially if they are abroad. Also, its often not the people that are convicted that you need to worry about, i would worry more about those who offend against children but who have never been caught. I would never leave my children on a one to one basis with anyone i didnt know and trust.I know that people will prob say that i am being judgemental or making assumptions, but my opnion is that my job is to protect and safeguard my childrens welfare and to make informed decisions about whom they spend time with. I am also a child protection social worker and have a heightened awareness of child abuse/exploitation, and how paedaphiles/perpatrators will find a way into positions of trust with children (prime example is the soham murders).

bellomum, it's different, I think, because it's you listening, not a hotel receptionist. And you're listening the whole time, not just popping up every 10 mins.