I’m with Cbad on this one. I did a LOT of babysitting as a teenager – both highschool and college. I was solidly booked and the #1 choice by several families – so I must have been trusted. And I did some minor snooping.
Hey – you get bored.
I consider the “permission” to use the tv kind of telling. TV should be assumed to be available to the sitter after the kids go to bed. Seriously – you won’t get many sitters to come back a second time if you don’t let them watch tv in that time between the kids sleep and you come home.
I’ve also learned (based on my experience as a former babysitter, and a parent that hires babysitters) – have decent food for the sitter. They’re going to raid the fridge – make sure there’s something tasty for them and point it out to them.
Our laptop is password protected, and we have a guest account. I wouldn’t have any problem with a babysitter using it to check facebook or their email, or surf the web.
