Babysitter Instructions Template

What this template is for

Babysitter instructions are the difference between a sitter who guesses and a sitter who follows your routine without a dozen phone calls. A clear set of babysitter instructions turns "he eats around noon, I think" into times, amounts, and phone numbers written down so anyone can step in. The trick is structure: write the schedule, the feeding plan, the safety rules, the emergency contacts, and the house rules in the same order every time. This template gives you three scenes to adapt — infant, toddler, and school-age — so the instructions match the age you are actually leaving behind. The infant scene covers bottle amounts, nap times, and back-to-sleep safety; the toddler scene adds meals, snacks, and eyes-on supervision; the school-age scene shifts to the after-school pick-up plan, homework, and screen rules. Every scene is built on the same five sections — schedule, feeding, safety, emergency contacts, and house rules — color-coded so a sitter can scan them in seconds. Every time and amount is a replaceable card, and the phone numbers are placeholders waiting for your details. This template structures the handoff; it does not give medical or pediatric advice. Build it around your real routine: the child's age, the feeding and sleep schedule, who to call, and the rules that matter in your home.

When to use this template

• Leave clear babysitter instructions for an infant — bottle amounts, naps, and back-to-sleep safety.
• Cover a toddler — meals, snacks, childproofing, and constant supervision.
• Set up a school-age child — after-school pick-up, homework, and screen rules.
• Fill in emergency contacts — parents, a backup adult, and local emergency numbers.
• Write the house rules a sitter should follow — handwashing, visitors, and screen time.
• Reuse the same five sections each time you book a sitter, updating times and amounts.

How to use it

1. 1Start with the child's age — it decides which of the three scenes you edit.
2. 2Write the schedule first: wake, naps, meals, and bedtime with real times.
3. 3Add the feeding plan with amounts — bottles, snacks, or dinner portions.
4. 4List the safety rules and where the sitter must stay watchful.
5. 5Fill in emergency contacts and the order to call them in.
6. 6Finish with house rules, then review the page with the sitter before you leave.

Quick example

Related resources

How it compares to similar tools

Common mistakes to avoid

• Times without amounts

  "Feed around noon" leaves the sitter guessing. Write the ml, the portion, or the snack size next to every time so there is nothing to estimate.

• No backup contact

  Parents can be unreachable for an hour. Add a backup adult and the local emergency number, and note the order to call them in.

• Skipping safety specifics

  "Be careful" is not an instruction. Write concrete rules — back to sleep, gates on the stairs, no small objects within reach — so safety does not depend on the sitter's judgment.

• Forgetting the house rules

  Screen time, visitors, and handwashing are the parts a sitter will otherwise improvise. Put them in writing so there is nothing to argue about later.

• Not updating for age

  Infant instructions do not fit a school-age child. Match the scene to the child's age — bottle amounts for a baby, homework and screen rules for an older kid.

Frequently asked questions