Free guides and printables

What to tell whoever is looking after them

Practical checklists for the handover itself — the babysitter you have used for years, the grandparent doing their first overnight, the agency sitter you have never met. Every guide has a printable you can fill in, uses made-up examples, and asks nothing of you.

All guides

• What to write in your babysitter notesThe note you leave on the counter — what to put in it, in the order a sitter reads it.
• An emergency contact card for your childOne card a carer can read in seconds, or hand to someone else — and what not to put on it.
• Allergy and medication information for a carerHow to write down what your doctor told you so a sitter can follow it exactly.
• Leaving your child with a sitter for the first timeWhat to cover before the first time, and what is worth saying out loud at the door.
• Babysitter information sheetEverything a sitter needs in one sheet, with a free printable template.
• Leaving your child with grandparents overnightWhat to say before the first overnight, including what to do at 2am.
• Babysitting siblings with different routinesBriefing a sitter for two or more children whose evenings collide.
• Questions to ask a babysitter before you hire themWhat to ask before you leave your child with someone, and what the answers tell you.
• What to tell a wedding or hotel babysitterThe hardest handover: a sitter you have not met, in a room your child does not know.

These guides help you organise your own instructions; they are not medical or safeguarding advice. In an emergency, ring your local emergency number — 112 or 999 in Ireland, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US.