VENT: no house phone for babysitter

amother

Bisque

Thu, Jun 21 2018, 12:28 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

We have a land line, but fewer people do these days. And a lot of people don't want to spend a significant amount of money just so their babysitter can have a phone. They view it as part of the sitter's personal equipment, so to speak.

Its fine to disagree, to say that your kid can't have a phone, and to forbid her from accepting those jobs. But that just means that she doesn't get those jobs. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I guess I see it important to have a house phone for my kids - at what age do most kids start having phones?

For example - the other day I was stuck in traffic and my 3rd and 1st grader arrived home from school before me. They were able to call me and I told them I would be home in 5 minutes. Maybe some kids just wouldn't enter the home if their parents weren't home - at that age I doubt most kids are taking phones to school and I wouldn't want them home for even 1 minute without access to a phone for emergencies.

animeme

Thu, Jun 21 2018, 1:35 pm

When you don't have a house phone (landline or cell), what happens when your dc's friend wants to call them? They call your cell, but sometimes you're not home and the kids are. Recently, Dd wanted to call a friend, but didn't know how, because the parents were away and the grandparents were watching her.

And I also would not let dd babysit without a phone in the house.

dancingqueen

Thu, Jun 21 2018, 1:39 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

Our google land line is free. It’s been very useful to have even though we use our cells most of the time.

amother

Gold

Thu, Jun 21 2018, 2:21 pm

My teenage dd's do not have cell phones and if they know that the person they are bbsitting by does not have a landline then I give them my cell phone. Yes, it is inconvenient for me, but I consider it a price that I pay for them not having cell phones, which is something I value. Most (all) teenage dd's would prefer to have a phone for several reasons and I would not want to limit them even more by making it impossible to take bbsitting jobs.
I personally feel that it is OK if parents decide not to get landlines (even though I think it is safer to have a landline in addition to a cell). I know this was a vent by OP but I think this is just a part of the world of cell phones that we are living in now, you either hop on board and get your teens cells or they take yours or they don't bbsit. The first time we ran into this issue, my dd went somewhere to bbsit and afterwards told me that they didn't have a landline and the Mom left her cell, I was shocked! Now, I am used to it already and I just give my cell when she goes to those houses. I think it is good not to be tied to your cell anyway 24/7 and if someone needs to reach me they can call MY landline Smile

heidi

Thu, Jun 21 2018, 2:52 pm

amother wrote:

I would not trust parents that Don't have a landline or cellphone for the babysitter.

Years ago my daughter babysat as a favor for her friend who had accepted the job but couldn't do it at the last minute. We live in a small community and I usually have an idea who people are but I didn't know this young couple. My daughter left her phone at home. A 2 hour job turned into 5 hours. The parents left her without a phone. And with no contact number.
After frantically trying to figure out how to reach her, my daughter's friend called me saying that my daughter had contacted her on
Facebook telling her to contact me to let me know she had no way of contacting me or the parents who were now THREE HOURS LATE!!! I finally got the mother's number and called her. Really gave her a piece of my mind.
After that my daughter only babysat for people I knew were responsible parents.
What kind of people leave their children and don't worry about being able to check in with the babysitter. Let alone if G-d forbid there's an emergency.

amother

Seashell

Fri, Jun 22 2018, 12:18 am

heidi wrote:

Why didn't she knock on a neighbor's door and ask to use the phone?

Chayalle

Fri, Jun 22 2018, 9:41 am

amother wrote:

I agree that I would prefer DD use my phone to using another person's cellphone, which might not be of my Hashkafic preference. However, I don't feel the need to give my phone up for the evening (even though I don't use it much, and am not tied to it 24/7) so that DD can babysit.

I guess the difference here is - it's not like DD's wanting babysitting jobs. It's more like the people want babysitters, and I consider it their responsibility to leave the babysitter with a way to contact them, and they should check up too....

So I'm staying with my landline policy.

And Heidi raised an excellent point - imagine the sitter forgets to bring her cellphone (I'm forever leaving the house and forgetting that my cellphone is on the kitchen counter, and not in my bag). Whose responsibility is it that there be a phone in the house - the parents, or the sitter?