Show your sitter some love, appropriate love of course. Daddy Clay and Daddy Brad discuss some of dos and don'ts from our panel of experienced sitters. Learn to avoid sitter pet peeves. Remember, sitter retention is key to a happy marriage. Prepare your kid for the babysitter, negotiate the price, leave a list of phone numbers and have a great night out! This episode brought to you by Sittercity.com. DadLabs Ep. 257 The Lab.

DADDY BRAD: Welcome back to the lab. I’m Daddy Brad.

DADDY CLAY: And I’m Daddy Clay and this week thanks to our sponsor SitterCity.com we’re bringing you a whole week of shows dedicated to the noble babysitter.

DADDY BRAD: These days with widely dispersed and active families, good babysitters are integral to a functional family.

DADDY CLAY: Another thing you’ve got to keep in mind is that you’ve got to do that marriage maintenance. Whether it’s once a week or once a month, dating night, you’ve got to do it. You got to have a sitter.

DADDY BRAD: But it’s the presitter preparations that are essential for a successful night out and also good sitter retention.

DADDY CLAY: So we’ve got some tips. First negotiate the price clearly ahead of time. And take the money you think the sitter is going to cost and put it in an envelope and hide it in the house somewhere because I take this money with me on the date night and somehow I always come home and I’m 10 or 15 bucks short.

DADDY BRAD: Second thing, make up an emergency list. Make up the order as well. Give this list to the sitter every time they come over regardless of how many times they come over to your house.

DADDY CLAY: You also want to prep the kids for the sitter by saying something like, “Miss Julie is coming over to play.”

DADDY BRAD: You can easy the transition also by having a little treasure trove of things like cool videos, snacks or toys and you bring these out only when the baby sitter is coming.

DADDY CLAY: Now to hear it straight from the sitters themselves. SitterCity.com has a panel of experienced and expert babysitters so we can get the do’s and don’t’s of babysitting.

SITTERS TIPS: Prepare your child all day that a babysitter is coming. If you have to leave at 7 tell your sitter to be there at six thirty and pay her for the extra half hour. Give both cell phone numbers. Tell where you are going and what time you’ll be back. Maybe give a third number of a neighbor and an emergency vet number if you have pets. Explain bedtime rituals. Explain how to work the TV. Be dressed when you answer the door. Feed your babysitter and explain what and when to feed the kids. Warn about allergies.

DADDY CLAY: One subject we didn’t bring up with babysitters while they were here was the idea of the nanny cam. Would you ever use a nanny cam?

DADDY BRAD: I think if you choose to use one you must tell the babysitter because if you don’t that’s creepy.

DADDY CLAY: But you lose the element of surprise.

DADDY BRAD: But you’re supposed to protect your children.

DADDY CLAY: That’s all for us here at the lab.