How to Establish Trust With Parents You Babysit For

By Brittany Loeffler on November 19, 2017

Giving a stranger the responsibility to look after a child is extremely nerve-wracking for parents, which is why it is extremely important to establish trust with the parents when you babysit their kids for them. When first meeting the parents, they may perform an interview before they decide to hire you. It’s essential to make a good first impression and show them that you are someone that they can learn to trust.

Since trust doesn’t happen overnight and takes many times and moments to create, we’ve come up with the best habits that will establish trust with the families over time.

via Pixabay

Shake hands, make eye contact, and smile

Upon the initial meeting with the parents, the first thing you should do is shake their hands. A firm handshake establishes a confident relationship. While shaking their hands, give them a genuine smile and make eye contact. When you make eye contact with people, they tend to trust you more. When you look at the floor or away from the person who is talking to you, they will get the impression that you are hiding something or lying to them.

via Pixabay

Show confidence

Be confident in what you are doing. If you seem nervous or timid, the parents are less likely to trust you with their child. When you show confidence, they will trust that you know how to look after a child and handle unexpected situations well.

Bring references

When you have recommendation letters and references for the parents to look through, it gives you credibility and shows that other people trust you. These can be letters from families you have previously babysat for or personal recommendations from teachers or supervisors if you have never babysat before.

Make sure to bring these the first time you meet with the parents. Think of the first meeting as an interview. You wouldn’t show up for an interview without your references or resume, would you?

Be honest

Always be honest. This is the number one way to earn someone’s trust. If you have never babysat before and they ask about it, tell them the truth. The minute they find out that you lied about something is the minute they lose all trust in you.

via Pixabay

Be sincere

It may be hard not to put on an act if you are having a bad day, but always be sincere in your interactions with the parents. People can tell when someone is “faking nice.” When you act as yourself, you are more comfortable in what you are saying and doing, which makes people around you feel comfortable and will help them establish trust in you.

Give a detailed recap

When the parents come home from a night out, make sure to give them a detailed recap of the night. When they ask how it went, don’t give them one-word answers because they will feel that there is some mystery to the night. Answer honestly if the experience was good or bad, give them a specific time that their child went to bed, and any activities you did together.

via Pixabay

Show attention to the child

While you arrive at the house, their child may be excited to see you and want to play with you and tell you about their day immediately. The parents expect you to listen to their instructions about the night. Show the parents that you are able to multitask listening to their instructions while still being attentive to their child. When they see that you can handle a little chaos and still keep a clear head, they will tend to trust you more.

via Pixabay

Respect their home

During your time with their child, you may pull out board games, do crafts, or make them a snack. Show respect to their home by cleaning up the messes that you may make. This means cleaning and putting away any dishes that you used, wiping the counters, and putting away the games or books you may have taken out.

When you respect the home and leave it as you found it, the parents will see that you are responsible and respect them, helping to establish trust.

Admit your mistakes

It’s one of the hardest things to do but is essential when establishing trust with families. If you make a mistake while babysitting — maybe you put their child to bed an hour later or you weren’t sure how to handle a situation — let them know. When you admit that you made a mistake instead of covering it up, the parents can trust that you will always be honest with them.

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