The Satisfied Sitter

How to Keep Your Childcare Provider Happy

By Lisa Marie Metzler

After combing the classifieds, checking references and conducting countless interviews, you've finally found a jewel of a sitter. Your children adore her, and you feel secure leaving them in her quality care. The question now becomes, how do you keep your sitter happy?

"Turnover is extremely high in the childcare profession, both because of poor compensation and because childcare providers don't feel that their work is sufficiently valued," says Ann Douglas, mother and author of The Mother of All Baby Books (John Wiley & Sons, 2002). "We all like to feel valued and appreciated, and childcare providers are no exception."

Indeed, the person you have chosen to care for your child holds a very important position. Childcare providers not only watch your children but also nurture them. They can provide a loving and stable environment when you can't be at home. With a job this important, it is essential that you maintain a good working and personal relationship.

How can you show your childcare worker how important she is to you? "In one word: respect!" says Erica McCarty, a Houston, Texas, mom who employs a childcare provider.

Unfortunately, childcare providers are often not given the credibility they deserve and are taken for granted. "It all boils down to [the fact] that they made it worth my time financially and they treated me with respect and trusted me with their most precious things: their children," says Marilyn Jacobs, a former nanny from Denton, Texas.

McCarty suggests that you view it from the childcare provider's perspective. Would you be content working for an employer who constantly was late paying your salary or didn't arrive for work on time? "You have to think that you are an employer," McCarty says.

Treat them like any other professional relationship you would have. "Plain old-fashioned courtesy and consideration go a long way when it comes to keeping a good childcare provider," Douglas says.

Want to see more?

• Selecting Quality Childcare
• Nanny Search 101: Finding the Right Fit for Your Family
• On Par With Au Pairs
• Talk about it!