Team Info Repository

1. Safety

YOUR SAFETY AS WELL AS THAT OF CHILDREN UNDER YOUR CARE – IS OUR PRIORITY! 

Handling emergencies

• Serious emergencies – CALL 911 FIRST
• PROVIDE CPR  
• WHEN SAFE AT THE HOSPITAL – CALL PARENTS AND THEN DANA

– CPR – you MUST have current CPR training and certification;

– CRIB SAFETY – You must know and understand the crib safety guidelines. Please keep the crib safe while children are in your care, and let parents know about any safety risks you observe. THIS RULE ENSURES BOTH THE CHILDREN’S AND YOUR SAFETY.

– STROLLER SAFETY – You must know and understand the stroller safety guidelines. DO NOT COVER STROLLERS IN THE SUMMER WITH MUSLIN CLOTH OR ANY BLANKETS.

Babies are not cookies – do not bake them in the stroller! Covering the stroller creates an oven effect.

– HELMET – always require helmets if taking kids on scooters or bikes;

– WEATHER-APPROPRIATE CLOTHING – require appropriate weather clothing for kids.. Please refrain from going outside if you don’t have suitable clothing. There is no bad weather – only bad clothing.

– FOOD SAFETY – never share food with kids you don’t know!! Never allow kids in your care to share food with kids they don’t know. Always ask the parent or guardian if you or the child in your care is allowed to share food. FOOD ALLERGIES ARE OFTEN DEADLY! DO NOT buy food for kids – especially sweets – without running that by parents first. 

I enjoy ice cream, chocolate, or a donut occasionally, and I like sharing it with kids, but only if the parents are okay with that and the kids already have a good and nourishing meal.

– CHILDPROOFING – tell parents if you see that their place needs childproofing – safety latches,

gates, electric outlet covers, shelf mounting, etc;

Make sure kids DO NOT have access to medications, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent etc;

– ILLNESS  – I DO NOT WANT ANYONE TO WORK WHILE SICK! 

Your health is IMPORTANT! Please do not take shifts if you are significantly under the weather and may be spreading an illness. Families requesting sitters HAVE to let us know if anyone

in the household is sick. We do not accept requests for items that are highly contagious. We will always run it by you, whether you’re okay with covering when kids have runny noses or slight fevers.

– UBER – Always ask for a car home starting around 9 pm for your safety. Asking earlier, from 8pm, especially if it’s dark outside or the weather is awful, or when the subway is not working, is also okay!

• PLEASE DO NOT GIVE ANYONE YOUR ACTUAL ADDRESS – USE AN ADDRESS ON THE SAME STREET BUT A FEW DOORS DOWN. 
• Parents should cover your car ride home for up to $50.
• Very LM requests, holidays, and NYE are exceptions for obvious reasons.
• You can ask parents if they prefer to order the car or if you should do it, and then add the amount to the Venmo request.
• If parents order, they choose which service they want to use, and a shared ride is also ok. For safety reasons, ask them to share the ride information with you via the app they are using or to send you a screenshot of the ordered car’s license plate. Always check the plate before getting in the car. If the car is VERY EXPENSIVE, ask the parents to wait 10- 15 minutes.
• If you are ordering for yourself, getting an Uber that costs more than $50 without running it by parents first is not okay! GIVE IT 10- 15 MIN AND TRY AGAIN. If you do not want to wait, you must cover the difference yourself. Please use your common sense here. Parents want you to get home safe, but NO ONE wants to pay more than $50 for Uber or Lyft; Always check the cost of the car to your place – if it looks like it’s more than $40, run it by the family. We try to match families and sitters location-wise, and always let parents know if you live further away.

1. Time with kids and in family homes.

– Stay active and find fun things to do (Google is your friend here!) Kids need fresh air. There is no such thing as bad weather –   just bad clothing. Try at least to go for a walk – if not possible, find an activity to do at home;

– NO SCREENS – We have a no-screen policy, so avoid screen time as much as possible. Reserve screen time for when distraction is needed, like sick days and bad weather days.

– KEEP IT CLEAN – Leave the place better than you found it! Small things like loading the dishwasher, sweeping the floor, or folding the kids’ laundry goes a long way!

– KEEP THE OFFICE UPDATED! –  Let us know ASAP of any safety issues/health hazard issues/home being super dirty.

1. Communication 

1) FAMILIES  

– YOU MUST EMAIL AND TEXT THE ASSIGNED FAMILY RIGHT AFTER WE CONNECT YOU VIA EMAIL, AND AGAIN EMAIL AND TEXT THEM AT LEAST A DAY BEFORE YOUR SHIFT. 

Using “REPLY ALL”, respond to emails right away to say hi and to ask about the kids’ routine, and if there are any allergies, etc.

The note should sound something like this:

“Hi, Jane Doe here; I’ll be babysitting for you on (specific day goes here). Can you tell me a little about your kiddo’s routine? Are there any allergies or dietary restrictions I should know about? I’m looking forward to meeting you on (specific day)! Enjoy your (time of day)!”

– DO NOT RESPOND TO FAMILIES AFTER 9PM OR LATER, WHETHER VIA TEXT OR EMAIL; 

– DO NOT RESPOND ON SATURDAY AFTER 2PM, OR ON SUNDAYS unless necessary or it’s an emergency;

– Text the family that you sent them a Venmo request. We Venmo families the same day for daytime requests and the next morning for evening bookings.

– Text the family that you sent a cancellation request.

ALL CANCELLATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED DURING OUR OFFICE HOURS. Cancelations are charged for 4 hours with the initially set rate; Our cancelation policy is a minimum of 48h notice according to office hours. CANCELATIONS OF THE SAME DAY OR NEXT DAY SHIFTS FALL UNDER OUR CANCELLATION POLICY. Send parents a request as soon as they notify you that they have canceled.

– Parents can contact you directly with childcare inquiries, 

However, to confirm, they must contact the office. 

To confirm the booking, THEY MUST SUBMIT the request via our online form. If you can cover, TELL PARENTS TO SUBMIT THE REQUEST ASAP FOR YOU SPECIFICALLY.  

If you cannot cover, please ask parents to submit a request to us as soon as possible. We will take care of it.

Please DO NOT text parents back OUTSIDE OUR OFFICE HOURS, ESPECIALLY ON WEEKENDS. Unless they need THAT SAME DAY –  tell them to send us a request ASAP!! THIS FALLS UNDER OUR LM POLICY!

– Always check with families when they are coming back. Do not assume! IF YOU HAVE TO LEAVE AT A SPECIFIC TIME – MAKE SURE YOU COMMUNICATE THAT TO THE PARENTS.

ESPECIALLY WHEN WORKING LATE AT NIGHT. Parents are notoriously late getting home when it comes to evening bookings.

2) OFFICE 

Please refrain from calling, texting, or emailing us after 9pm or on weekends unless it’s an urgent matter that cannot wait until the next day.

If you have an emergency, you can call DANA any time, day or night. 

1. PDN rules as a company
2. a) financial side of things 

Rules for charging families: 

– we have a 4-hour minimum requirement 

– we charge for the time booked – unless scheduled coverage hours are updated with at least 48-hour notice; even if parents arrive early, you charge them for the entire time booked;

– We charge families every half hour, so 15 min late would be charged for an additional 1/2h.

– Changes to the start time of your shifts on the day off: 

* early start – additional time is charged w the LM rate if coverage starts at least 1/2h earlier than scheduled initially;

* late start – parents are charged from the initially scheduled time if the coverage starts at least 1/2h later than initially scheduled;

– Do not wait to get paid; ALWAYS request the payment! 

– Follow up the request with a text to parents. 

When to send a request: 

– daytime shifts – send the request and text right after you are finished;

– nighttime shifts – send the request and text the next morning;

– consecutive days – send the request and text after the last day;

You can request $ from Families via:

– Venmo

– Zelle

– Paypal

– Cash

– CashApp

– Revolute

10% of transfers to Project Date Night must be made via Zelle.

* ZELLE TRANSFERS

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALWAYS UP TO DATE WITH 10% TRANSFERS to PDN.

Once a week, you must send a ZELLE transfer to PDN ( You can find the Zelle account by my number: 347 587 9755)  and an email report

to our designated email address: pdn.weeklyreport@gmail.com  

The Venmo Transfers and weekly email reports must be sent by Sunday at the latest. THE WEEK IS FROM MONDAY TO SUNDAY.

They must include the information below.

Example of Weekly Email Report:
EMAIL TITLE:

“WEEKLY REPORT- “YOUR NAME, Week of dd/mm/yy to dd/mm/yy”

THE BODY OF THE EMAIL MESSAGE (include only days you worked and cancellations):

Week of dd/mm/yy to dd/mm/yy:

– Mon:  5,5h x $xx, M.Baker, booking ended 1/2h later; + 5h x $xx – M.Smith ;
– Tue:  4h x $xx B. Brown, started 1/2h earlier;
– Fri:  paid cancellation 4x$xx B. Cooper
Total for the week: $xx,

10% for PDN= $xx

Total hours for the week: xx

Zelle Transfer note:

Week of dd/mm/yy to dd/mm/yy, total hours = xx

1. b) ADDITIONAL RULES 

* REASONS FOR GETTING FIRED: 

– putting kids IN YOUR CARE or yourself in danger,

– not showing up for a shift without explanation or notice,

– sharing private contact information with families,

– poaching families and working with them outside of our network

– missing transfers to PDN;

– using our accounts for private use;

– missing MANDATORY TEAM AND CPR TRAINING

– missing all TEAM MEETUPS – we are a community above all.

If you’re not interested in active participation, you shouldn’t be part of our network. Over the years, people have been fired for various reasons, ranging from being unreliable to putting children in danger.

Not adhering to PDN rules is a very quick way to be let go.

Everyone will be offered a second chance, but we will not ask for a third time. If that’s the case, we will part ways.