would u leave two 3 yr olds with sitter if you were over an hour away?

groovygrl

We got tickets to a football game this fall for my alma mater at a school that is about 1 1/2 hrs away...I was really excited about it, I thought MH was excited about it and I bought the tix & booked a sitter (who is a woman in her mid-late 20s that we like a lot).  Then MH suddenly says he is uncomfortable being that far away all day (basically it would be like from 10-4/5, give or take a little).  They are 3, they are not some major safety risk, I am feeling like he is being a little extreme...he is already like well let's see how we feel closer to the date & maybe you can find a friend to go with you if I am uncomfortable. ???? He is the one who actually was really excited when I proposed the idea of getting tickets for this game... I don't get it & feel like they're old enough that this should not be such a big deal. She can play w/ them at our house or at the park that is like 4 houses down in the morning (as long as it isn't freezing or something), she can feed them lunch, try to get them to nap or even just watch a movie around nap time, and then we'd be home not that long after that...

Just curious about others. 

BananaPancake

At 3 I'd probably leave my kids with a grizzly bear if it meant a night out!

But seriously, give her the number of a couple of friends close by and go enjoy yourself! 3 year olds are easy they'll have a blast. I think they need a break from us too, every now and again. Enjoy your game!

rinascita

I was a 'nanny' or I guess a frequent-glorified-babysitter (~25 - 30 hrs/wk) in college to 3 yr old twin girls and their 1 yr old little brother... 

When I first started, I was with them at least 4 - 8 hours at a time but the mom left me a print out with anything and everything I would ever even think about needing.  She also prepped all their food the way they (or maybe she ) liked it for snacks and lunch.  Once I had been watching them for about 2 weeks, she stopped. 

I even watched the kids over New Years when they drove 4 hours away to go to a large hotel party out of the state with friends, she gave me her keys to her Sequoia and I took them to IHOP the next morning (the twins were 4 yrs old then).   

Based on my experience even though my twins aren't here yet, I would go without a worry.  If your husband still has some hesitation, maybe let him 'prep' for the sitter so he feels like she can give her full attention to the children without worrying about food, or anything else he is worried that might distract or overwhelm her.

nghithy

I don't see why not.  I leave my baby with a sitter over 40 hours a week for work.  I don't think it matters as long as you know and trust your sitter.  

macchiatto

If it's a sitter I trust, I'm totally fine with it. We've left the boys with friends for trips up to Charlotte to see my MS specialist, and a few weeks ago we left them with a sitter while we had a 2-night anniversary getaway 2.5 hrs away.

trish3905

If you trust your sitter, definitely go.  It's in the middle of the day, which is the easiest time for my kids to be watched by other people.  You'll be home before dinner and bedtime (I think can be the toughest time slot for a sitter).  

Sounds like it would be a fun day for everyone! 

LadyNikon

I have gone to Ohio and left my daughter with the sitter.  It depends on how comfy you feel with the sitter.  She has 4 children of her own and they had all their limbs in tact

groovygrl

Thanks all. We do trust her & our kids also go to DC full time so it isn't that we're not used to leaving them w/ other ppl- I think his hesitation is that if something were to happen, we're 1 1/2 hr drive away rather than just 20 min out at date night or whatever...but as i said to him, there are ppl who commute an hour to work each way every day and also they are old enough that other than getting hurt accidentally, I just don't know what his big worry is. He tends to be a little more high strung about this stuff than I am. I told him to maybe ask around to people he knows w/ kids a similar age to see if they'd go, maybe it would make him feel better if others said they'd definitely go.

macchiatto

It probably wouldn't hurt to fill out one of those forms giving the sitter consent to seek medical treatment if necessary, so if she has to call 911 that could be taken care of rather than having to wait till you guys could drive back.