I am raising my granddaughters 3 and 5 and have been out of the loop for a bit, my youngest child is 19. I called a local church trying to find some nearby babysitters. I talked with a woman who said she knew of two or three kids and would call the parents and give them my number.
I received a call from the mother of a 17 year old boy. She runs a daycare in her home and he has helped her for years. She said the first time her son came, she would come with him. Was that okay? She said she wanted to make sure he knew where everything was etc.
I was caught completely off-guard. I was surprised that the mother of a 17 year old would feel the need to go with them. I don't hire new babysitters without trying them out. Meaning, I would have the person over for about an hour. I'd spend about 15 minutes with them and t he kids, show them where things are and then go out of sight but stay home and within earshot. If that was successful I might try a two hour stint with me still in the house. If that was successful I would probably go out and see if the kids were still responding the same.
I don't have a problem with the mother and her son coming over for that first hour visit. I would not leave my girls with two adults that I don't know. And I just think it's odd that the mother wants to come along and stay.
Am I out of line?
That seems strange to me. I also would not leave my children with people I do not know. And I am fully aware that this is sexist and something that is a personal problem I have but I do not use male babysitters at all.
That's kind of weird that she would want to go with him. I would question her reasoning a little further. Perhaps she knows a lot about child safety as a daycare provider, and she wants to ensure he is told where all of the first aid products can be found. If she doesn't trust him to "know where everything is," however, I would question his ability to monitor your children while you are away.