My son HATES the babysitter-WWYD

[JDT]

My kids had a babysitter that they loved a few years back. After I started working from home I cut her hours and she ended up finding another perm full-time job.

After that she would work for us here and there. Over the past 3 years we've used this same girl as well as her sisters, her mother, and her brother to watch the kids.

When I returned to work a few months back the main girl was not available so we hired one of her sisters. She's good with the little kids but my 10 year old HATES her. EVERYTHING with the 2 of them is a power struggle. I have tried to support her and manage him. Some of the trouble is that my son feels like if he makes her go away I will go back to working from home. That's really not an option at this point.

J and this girl never had a prblem getting along when she would sit for them here and there. In fact he used to be very excited when she would come over. Now everyday there is an issue.

On top of that, this girl is not very organized and is not the best housekeeper. In a perfect world i'd get her sister and that would be that. But I can't exactly fire her and ask her sister to take the job.

I feel stuck. SHould I continue to try and work with her (AND my son) or should I start over again. Other ideas are welcomed!

WWYD

[escapethevillage]

Can he go to Boys and girl's club, day camp or somewhere where he is out of the house with is friends instead? Summer can get boring these days. It's not like the 70s where kids left after breakfast and showed up at dinner time.

Maybe he's just insanely bored.

[Ali]

Hmmm that is a tough one. First off I would ask myself if I really liked the sitter. If you truely think she is doing a good job and the issues are primarily due to personality conflicts then I think you should continue to work through it. A great life learning experience is learning how to work with people you don't necessarly get along with.

Also, your son is 10 years old so hopefully adult enough to understand adult rationalization. Perhaps try to take him out on his own and explain your issues, i.e. the reasons you have to work and why it is necessary to have a sitter and then turn the tables and ask him what he would do if he were in your situation. Really listening to his issues and explaining yours will at a minimum open up communication and you may be able to come up with a good compromise.

[JDT]

THanks for the suggestions ladies. I have a lot to think about.

I like this lady. THe little kids LOVE her and it takes them a long tim to get used to new people. I'm not really sure if my older boy is just being spoiled or if there really is something there.