What should a babysitter ask before bedtime?
Ask for the routine in order (bath, pyjamas, teeth, story, light), the bedtime itself, any comfort object, the number of stories, and what to do if the child wakes. Write it down. A consistent routine is one of the strongest predictors of good sleep in young children.
In a study of more than 10,000 families, children with a nightly routine fell asleep faster and woke less (Mindell et al., 2015). For a sitter, that routine is your best tool: it tells the child what happens next, even when the face is new.
What is the best way for a sitter to settle a child?
End with a story. A picture book read aloud is calm, it has a clear ending, and it gives a new sitter and a child something to share. Researchers found illustrated stories read aloud “just right” for young children.
Source: Hutton et al., 2020. Let the child choose the story and turn the pages; you read. The familiar story does the settling.
How can a story help with separation worries?
A story about the exact situation helps. In Love in Two Places, a young raccoon feels uneasy when a new sitter stays during a parent’s evening shift, and learns that love stays in two places at once. For more, see stories about big feelings.
Using Luna on the family’s device
- The child’s profile, favourite stories and sticker board are already there, so the routine is the same as with mum or dad.
- The child taps the story; you read it aloud. At “The End” there’s a sticker, then lights out.
- Nothing to scroll and no ads, so there’s no “just one more video”.
