What to fill in before the sitter arrives
Fill in the parts that do not change: your address, the emergency contact, the doctor, each child's bedtime and the house rules. Print a few copies and keep them in a kitchen drawer. On the evening itself, write where you are, your phone numbers and when you will be back by hand in the two lines at the top. That way the sheet is ready in a minute, even when the sitter arrives while you are still looking for your keys.
Be specific in the routine fields. "Bedtime 8:00 pm" is less useful than "bath at 7:15, two books, lights out at 8:00, door open a crack". A sitter who knows the routine has a calmer evening, and so do the children.
Going through the sheet together
Hand the sheet over and walk through it in five minutes rather than leaving it on the counter. Say the local emergency number out loud and ask the sitter to write it at the top; the sheet does not print one because the number depends on where you live. Show where the first-aid kit, the flashlight and the spare key are, and how the door locks from inside. Point out the Wi-Fi name and give the password in person. Then introduce the children's quirks that are hard to write down: who needs the hall light on, who will try to negotiate a later bedtime.
Food, allergies and things to avoid
Write what the children may eat and where it is: "pasta in the blue container, warm it for a minute", "fruit from the bowl, one cookie after dinner". The allergies field is a blank line for what you already know the sitter must not serve, nothing more; what the sitter should do about it is a conversation to have in person. "Things to avoid" also covers the non-medical: no soda after six, no snacks in the bedroom, the dog does not get table scraps, the youngest does not drink from the glass cups.
House rules that work
Keep the rules short and concrete, one per line. "Screen time ends at 7" works; "not too much TV" does not. Include the rules the children will test ("bedtime is bedtime, even on a Saturday") and the ones about the house ("the back door sticks, push it hard", "the cat stays inside"). Say what the sitter may do too: help themselves to the snacks in the bowl, use the TV once the children are asleep. Rules that are also written down save the sitter from being the bad guy, because the sitter can point at the sheet.
After the evening
Ask the sitter how it went and look at the notes on the second page: when the children fell asleep, what they ate, whether anything needs a follow-up. Keep the sheet with your sitter's number for next time, and update the typed version when a bedtime shifts or the doctor changes. A sheet that is clearly kept up to date tells a sitter that you take the evening seriously, which is the best start to a good working relationship.
Tools and printables for the evening
The online timer runs on the kitchen tablet for screen-time limits and the countdown to bedtime, so the sitter is not the one who says when the show is over. The countdown timer counts down to your return, which helps a nervous child. The hourly rate calculator works out what the evening costs from the sitter's rate and the hours, including a half hour of overtime when the movie runs long.
Related printables: the emergency contact list puts your neighbors, doctors and utilities on one page for the fridge, and the kids' daily routine shows the sitter the normal day in pictures and times.
Frequently asked questions
Is the babysitter information sheet free?
Yes. Print it for every evening out, for a new sitter or for the grandparents, as often as you like. There is no signup and no watermark; one small line at the bottom of each page names our website.
Do I have to fill in the fields?
No. Every field is optional. Leave them empty and the sheet prints as a form with lines to write on by hand, which is handy to keep a few copies in a kitchen drawer. Fill in the parts that stay the same, such as the address, the doctor and the children's routines, and write the evening's details by hand each time.
Why is there no emergency number on the sheet?
Emergency numbers differ from country to country and sometimes by region, so the sheet does not print one. Tell the sitter the local emergency number in person when you go through the sheet, and write it at the top if you like. The first line under the title reminds the sitter to call that number first and you second.
Is what I type sent anywhere?
No. The sheet is made in your browser and nothing you type leaves your device. There is no account and no upload; the PDF only exists where you save or print it. Keep the printed copies with care, since they hold your address and phone numbers.
What is the second page for?
With Two pages, the house rules get half a page of ruled lines on the second sheet, and the rest of that page is for the sitter's own notes: when the children went to sleep, what they ate and anything you should know. The single-page version keeps everything on one sheet, with the rules in the lines that are left under the children.
Why are some characters missing from my text?
The PDF uses a standard font that covers English and most Western European letters, but no emoji and no other scripts such as Greek, Cyrillic or Chinese. Those characters are left out, a few rare accented letters lose the accent, and a note under the fields tells you when that happens. The preview shows the text exactly as it will print.