Keep Them Safe: Use Our Events Babysitting Checklist to Manage Your Child Care Needs Effectively

If you're offering childcare at your event, you need a comprehensive event babysitting checklist. Check out our ideas to ensure all your bases are covered.

The bigger the turnout, the more successful your event will likely be. Parents frequently opt out of these events because of family obligations. Having to arrange childcare can be a barrier that prevents some people—more often than not women and people of color—from attending work retreats, conferences, and other opportunities outside of regular work hours. Providing quality childcare at your event can make all the difference. This is where a practical babysitting checklist helps to ensure your attendees’ children are kept safe while your event goes off without a hitch!

A comprehensive childcare plan will increase event attendance and improve guests’ participation. But considering the potential liabilities, childcare provisions must be made right—or not at all. You need to plan meticulously, offering suitable, age-related activities along with trained, certified childcare providers. Here, we’ll walk you through the steps to assemble a babysitting checklist for your event planning organizational strategy.

What is an Event Babysitting Checklist?

An event babysitting checklist is a resource that ensures your childcare environment is safe, nurturing, and enriching. It covers all the bases—from emergency contact info to an activity plan. Therefore, the childcare workers are fully prepared to provide quality childcare for the duration of the event. The checklist helps standardize the level of service so everyone, from the childcare providers to the parents to the event organizers, knows exactly what to expect. A clear plan allows attendees to relax and get involved without worrying about their youngsters.

Why You Need an Event Babysitting Checklist

There are variables in every childcare setting—different ages, interests, and behaviors—all creating challenges for childcare workers. But in event planning, there are even more unknowns. The children will be new to the childcare providers, the environment, and each other. An experienced babysitter creates a planning checklist for the children they routinely work with. Detailed planning is even more important for an isolated event to prepare your staff and ease parents’ concerns.

A detailed babysitting checklist helps you prepare for any situation, efficiently follow routines, and create a safe space for your charges, as this will be the go-to resource for the entire event. Knowing what information to include can separate the difference between smooth sailing and chaos.

Let’s look at the checklist priority items.

Contact Information (including emergency contact)

The children’s safety is the primary concern for any childcare provider, which means maintaining excellent communication with their parents. Whether dealing with severe behavioral issues to health concerns, they need to be able to contact the family immediately. When participants sign up for your event’s childcare, be sure to ask for the following information:

• Cell phone number and address of parent/guardian
• Emergency contact number (other family member or trusted friend)
• Contact details for the child’s pediatrician

In addition, be sure to note local emergency numbers for the nearest hospital, police station, fire department, and poison control. This will guarantee no doubt about who to call in an emergency.

Child’s Medical Information

Families should provide you with relevant medical information about their child and a doctor's contact details. This includes possible allergies, medications, or medical conditions. For instance, medicines may be administered during the event, requiring the parent to fill out a medical release form permitting designated staff to dispense medication. Ideally, this responsibility falls to someone with a nursing license.

Measures in Emergency Situations

“By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail” might sound trite—but it’s the mantra for emergency readiness! You need a detailed response plan for even the most unlikely scenarios, from natural disasters to first aid provision.

Your event’s babysitting checklist should incorporate essential health and hygiene standards, covering handwashing, eating, and sleeping, and guides for age-appropriate toys to avoid choking hazards. Staff requires current first aid and pediatric CPR certifications, including clear access to a well-stocked first aid kit. To prepare for larger-scale emergencies, include procedures for fires, tornados/high winds, and lockdowns.

Diet Considerations

Whether you’re supplying food or not, it’s important to be aware of dietary considerations. Even if children come with their own lunches and snacks, you should be prepared for potential cross-contamination or exposure to allergens. Further, ensure any meal you provide complies with dietary restrictions and developmental needs. For example, grapes are a choking hazard for children under five, so you’ll need to cut them in half for younger children.

Activities and Routine

Routines give the childcare providers a sense of direction—and the children a sense of boundaries. Every event babysitting checklist should include a chronological plan for activities. It doesn’t have to be highly detailed; even an outline can provide enough structure to limit surprises. Schedules also ensure that you plan suitable times for eating, napping, and bathroom breaks. Consider including activities like arts and crafts, games, scavenger hunts, and more! Parents will appreciate the level of enrichment their children receive at your event.

Reading and Story Telling

A day or evening of childcare involves a range of energies, from moments of excitement and enthusiasm to activities that calm everyone down. Reading and story time are essential elements in any childcare program. Not only do they give children an opportunity to take a breather after play, but they are also enriching and educational for any age group. Older kids will benefit from access to a cozy reading corner with books, while younger children might prefer story time with adults.

Child’s Special Needs (if any)

In addition to planning activities for the appropriate age range, you might need to adapt your babysitting checklist for children of different abilities. While they might have additional or particular needs, that’s no reason to exclude them from your event’s childcare facilities.

Every child is unique. It takes learning about the child’s specific requirements and ensuring the childcare workers are prepared to support the child. Communicating with their families and hiring trained childcare providers makes it possible to arrange for children with special needs to participate in the same activities as their peers. Check out our in-depth piece to learn about childcare for special needs children.

Ask Questions When Necessary

No checklist can cover everything. That’s where clear communication comes in. Check that childcare providers are confident about engaging with parents and asking them the relevant questions during drop-off. Even if they only ask about the child’s favorite animal or game, it indicates their consideration for each child’s well-being and builds trust. Cover all these bases, and you can be assured that children will receive better care and their parents will enjoy peace of mind when attending your event.

Call Emmy for Effective Event Support

Compiling a childcare and babysitting checklist for your event takes effort. But with all the relevant information in one place, you can rest assured that your event’s childcare plan will proceed smoothly. Need some help putting it into action? Call Emmy can handle all the arrangements for childcare at your event. We only work with the most reputable and experienced childcare professionals. Under the supervision of our experts, parents can relax and enjoy the occasion while their children have a fun and enriching day.