Babysitter Information Sheet: What to Include (Free Printable Template)

A babysitter information sheet is one page that tells whoever is watching your kids everything they would otherwise have to text you about at 8:40 on a Friday night. Phone numbers, allergies, bedtime, what the dog does when the doorbell rings, where the flashlight lives. Written down once, it works for the teenager down the street, a grandparent, and the sitter you hired off a neighborhood group last week.

This guide covers what to put on the sheet, what to leave off, and a printable template you can copy. Near the end there is a short, honest section on how NestBoard can hold some of the same information, and when plain paper on the fridge is the better answer.

What a good babysitter information sheet includes

The test for every line is simple: would a calm stranger in your kitchen need this in the next three hours? If yes, it goes on the sheet. If it is a nice-to-know, it can wait for the walkthrough.

1. Contacts

• Your names and cell numbers, plus where you will actually be (restaurant name, address, roughly when you will be back).
• A second adult who can be reached if you cannot: a grandparent, a neighbor, a close friend.
• The kids' pediatrician and the nearest urgent care or children's hospital.
• Poison control. In the US the number is 1-800-222-1222, and it is worth writing out in full rather than assuming the sitter will look it up.
• Your home address, written out. A sitter calling 911 from a house they have visited twice may not know the street number off the top of their head.

2. Allergies, medications and health notes

This is the section where being specific matters most.

• Every allergy, and what it looks like when it goes wrong for your child. "Peanut allergy" is useful. "Peanut allergy, hives first, then a swollen lip, EpiPen is in the kitchen drawer left of the stove" is a plan.
• Any medication the sitter needs to give, with the dose, the time, and how it is given. If there is nothing to give, say so, so they do not wonder.
• Medications that are in the house but are not for the kids, and where they are kept.
• Conditions the sitter should know about, such as asthma, and where the inhaler is.
• Your insurance information is not the sitter's job. Keep it with you, and mention where the card is only if an emergency room visit would actually need it.

Stick to facts you already know from your doctor. A babysitter information sheet is not the place to improvise medical guidance. If something is serious, the instruction is the same for everyone: call 911.

3. Routines

Kids behave better when the evening looks the way it normally looks.

• Dinner: what is out, what to heat, how much is reasonable, what they are allowed to drink.
• Bath or no bath, pajamas, teeth, books.
• Bedtime for each child, and what happens if they are not sleepy. Lights, white noise, a door open a crack, a stuffed animal that must travel with them.
• Screens: how long, which shows, which devices are off limits.
• Wake-ups: what to do if a child cries at 10 pm or comes out of the room asking for water.

4. House rules

Say the rules you actually enforce, not the ones you wish you did.

• Where kids are and are not allowed to be (the basement, the backyard after dark).
• Snacks and sweets.
• Who may come to the door. The usual answer is nobody, and the sitter should call you first.
• Whether the sitter's friends can visit. Most families say no.
• Pets: feeding, letting them out, anything they must not be given.
• Photos and social media. If you would rather the sitter not post pictures of your kids, say so kindly and plainly.

5. Emergency and safety info

• Where the first aid kit, fire extinguisher and flashlights are.
• How to get out of the house in a fire, and where everyone meets outside.
• How the alarm system works, if you have one, or a firm "do not set it, just lock the door."
• Where the spare key is, and how the door locks.
• Wi-Fi name and password, so the sitter can call and text without burning their own data.
• The rule that matters most: if something feels wrong, call you. If it is a real emergency, call 911 first and do not wait for permission.

6. House basics

Thermostat, TV and streaming instructions, where the remote is, which bathroom to use, how the back door sticks. It sounds minor until the sitter spends 20 minutes trying to find the volume button.

A printable babysitter information sheet template

Copy this into a document, fill it in, print it, and tape it somewhere obvious. Keep one master copy so you only update it once.

Family and contacts

• Parent 1 name and cell:
• Parent 2 name and cell:
• Where we will be (name, address, time home):
• Backup adult (name, relationship, number):
• Pediatrician and number:
• Nearest urgent care or hospital:
• Poison control: 1-800-222-1222 (US)
• Our home address:

Kids

• Child 1: name, age, bedtime:
• Child 2: name, age, bedtime:
• Allergies and what to do:
• Medications to give (dose, time, how):
• Other health notes (asthma, glasses, anything the sitter should watch for):

Tonight's routine

• Dinner:
• Snacks allowed:
• Screen time:
• Bath and pajamas:
• Bedtime steps:
• If a child wakes up:

House rules

• Off limits:
• Visitors: none unless we say so
• Pets:
• Photos and posting:

Safety and house info

• First aid kit:
• Fire extinguisher:
• Flashlights:
• Where to meet outside in a fire:
• Alarm and locks:
• Spare key:
• Wi-Fi name and password:
• TV and streaming notes:

Pay and plans

• Rate and how we will pay:
• What time we expect to be back, and who to call if that changes:

A few small habits make the sheet work. Hand it over in person and walk through it for five minutes before you leave. Put the allergies and the emergency numbers at the very top, so they are the first thing seen. Reprint when anything changes: a new medication, a new bedtime, a new dog. And keep it to one page. A sitter will read one page.

Where a paper sheet falls short

Paper is great for a one-off sitter. It gets harder when the information changes every month, when two parents are both editing it, or when a grandparent covers every Wednesday and needs the current version, not the one from March.

The usual failure is not that the sheet is bad. It is that it is out of date. The soccer practice moved, the allergy list grew, and the page on the fridge still shows last season.

How NestBoard can help

NestBoard is a shared family calendar and household organizer, and it has a role built for exactly this person. When you invite someone by email you can pick Adult, Child or Caregiver, and the Caregiver role is meant for a grown-up who is not a parent, like a sitter or a grandparent. They get their own login, so you are not handing out yours.

Here is what is true today, and what is not.

• They see the family's plans. A caregiver can see the family calendar, including events you have marked adults-only. If there is something you do not want a caregiver to see, keep it off the shared calendar.
• They can read the health cards. If an adult has filled in a person's Health Profile (allergies, conditions, blood type), a caregiver can read it, so a sitter can check an allergy in a hurry. A caregiver cannot edit it, and it only helps if you have filled it in. Child and guest accounts do not see Health Profiles at all.
• Emergency contacts live in the same place. The Medical page holds names and phone numbers for your pediatrician, a grandparent or whoever you would call first, and tapping a number dials it.
• They can sign off finished chores. A caregiver counts as a grown-up when it comes to approving jobs kids say they finished.
• They cannot change settings, billing or money. That stays with the adults.

What NestBoard does not do is replace the walkthrough. It does not write your house rules for you, and a sitter needs their own login and the app or the website to see any of it. For a sitter you use twice a year, a printed page is still the simplest thing. For the people who show up every week, a grandparent, a regular after-school sitter, a nanny, a shared board that you update once saves you the reprinting.

If that sounds useful, you can try NestBoard at mynestboard.com. If paper is working for you, keep the template above and skip the app. The sheet is the useful part.

Frequently asked questions

What should be on a babysitter information sheet? Emergency and family contacts, your home address, allergies and medications, bedtime and meal routines, house rules, where the safety gear is, and the Wi-Fi password. If a calm stranger in your kitchen would need it in the next three hours, it belongs on the page.

How long should a babysitter information sheet be? One page, front only if you can manage it. Put allergies and emergency numbers at the top. A longer document tends to go unread, and the important lines get buried.

Should I give a babysitter my child's medical information? Give them what they need to keep your child safe tonight: allergies, any medication to be given with dose and time, and conditions such as asthma, along with where the inhaler or EpiPen is. Insurance details and anything else the sitter does not need can stay with you. For anything beyond common-sense instructions, follow your child's doctor.

Can a babysitter see my family calendar in NestBoard? Yes. If you invite them as a Caregiver they get their own login and can see the family calendar, including events marked adults-only. They cannot change settings, billing or money.

Does a NestBoard caregiver see my child's allergies? A caregiver can read Health Profile cards that an adult has filled in, which include allergies and conditions. They cannot edit them. If you have not filled one in, there is nothing to read, so write allergies on your paper sheet too.

Do I need a printed copy if I use an app? For a new or occasional sitter, yes, it is the simplest thing. Phones die and not everyone wants to install an app to watch your kids for one evening. A printed page by the door is a good backup.

How often should I update the sheet? Whenever something changes, and at least at the start of each school year. A new medication, a changed bedtime or a new pet means a reprint.