The first-sit checklist: everything to leave your sitter

The difference between a chaotic first sit and a smooth one is usually a single sheet of paper on the kitchen counter. Here is everything worth writing down for a new sitter — copy it, fill it in once, and reuse it forever.

The non-negotiables

• Your numbers. Both parents’ cells, plus where you will actually be.
• A backup adult. A neighbor or grandparent who can be there in five minutes if you are forty away.
• Your address, written out. In an emergency call, a rattled sitter should read it, not remember it.
• Allergies and medications. What, how much, when — and where the EpiPen lives, if there is one.
• Poison control: 1-800-222-1222. Decades of parents have been glad it was on the sheet.

The routine

• Meals and snacks: what is offered, what is off-limits, and the one food that always works.
• Screen rules: how much, which shows, and the magic words that end negotiations.
• Bedtime, exactly: the time, the order (bath, books, lights), and the comfort object that must be located before it is missed.
• The quirks: the nightlight that must stay on, the door that must stay cracked, the song that works. This is the insider knowledge that makes kids feel safe with someone new.

The house

• Wi-Fi password, thermostat basics, and which doors should stay locked.
• Where the first-aid kit and flashlight live.
• Pet instructions — including the honest version of how the dog feels about visitors.

The handoff

Budget ten unhurried minutes at the start of the first sit: introduce the kids, walk the house, point at the sheet. Then leave confidently — long goodbyes make small children (and some parents) wobbly. A quick “all good?” text an hour in is completely fair game; hourly check-ins tell your sitter you do not trust her with the job you hired her to do.

On Village Sitters you can put the essentials — kids’ ages, notes, bedtime — right on the sit when you post it, so your sitter walks in already briefed. The counter sheet handles the rest.