Writing a Babysitter Reference Letter (Examples & Templates)

A Babysitter Reference Letter is a formal letter that you, as a former employer, usually write to highlight the positive attributes, experience, and skills of a babysitter applying for a new position.

In this reference letter, you should write about the babysitter’s child care skills, strengths, personal attributes, state the duties performed, and elaborate on how successful the babysitter was in accomplishing all these tasks. The document also highlights the nanny’s past experiences, which most employers look for while screening potential employees, and this may go a long way in helping your former sitter secure the job they are looking for.

Since babysitters work for private individuals, it can be very difficult for prospective employers to conduct a traditional employment verification. As such, while writing your babysitter reference letter, you should strive to provide pertinent details that the future employer may need to have an overall assessment of the babysitter’s qualifications, babysitting skills, and relevant experiences.

This article will provide you with a complete guide on writing effective babysitter reference letters, including the essential pre-writing best practices, what to include in the letter, and how to properly format it, as well as the things to avoid while writing the letter.

If you are still struggling to write a babysitter reference letter that could help your nanny find a good babysitter position, or you simply don’t have the time to start writing from scratch, you can consider downloading the following free babysitter reference letter templates to help make your work easier. These templates are fully customizable, are available in various formats, including Word, PDF, and docs formats.

Besides, they have been professionally formatted to incorporate all the essential components of an effective reference letter. All you have to do is simply personalize them to your needs, include a few details relating to your nanny’s skills, qualifications, attributes, and specific anecdotes to demonstrate their employability, then print them for use.

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Writing a reference letter for your former babysitter is essential because it shows gratitude for their work, especially if they were good to you. It also provides potential employers with information about the applicant’s skills and qualifications, helping them make better informed hiring decisions.

However, to provide a strong recommendation letter that lets your former babysitter stand out from among their competition, you should consider the following things beforehand:

Call the babysitter applicant

Providing a recommendation letter for another person is a great responsibility that should be handled carefully. You have to be confident in the applicant’s skills and capabilities as a babysitter, thus before you accept their request, consider calling them first, or schedule an in-person meeting with them to learn more about why they are interested in the position and why they chose you to be their recommender.

During the call or at the meeting, ask the babysitter to provide you with adequate information about themselves, the employer/job position, and who will be responsible for sending or submitting the babysitter reference letter. Besides, ask the applicant to provide you with a copy of their resume, and a list of personal attributes, skills, and accomplishments relevant to the job position to help you write a strong and positive recommendation letter.

Review their job posting

Ask the babysitter applicant to provide you with a copy of the job posting for your review to enable you to personalize the reference letter to a specific recipient. Reviewing the job posting could also help you highlight the required keywords and give you insight into the potential employer’s values and mission to connect your experiences with the applicant to what the employer is looking for in qualified candidates. This can further improve the applicant’s prospects of getting the new babysitting position.

Review their resume

Next, ask for a copy of the applicant’s cover letter or resume to learn more about their experience and qualifications in caring for children’s needs. Reviewing the applicant’s resume enables you to include specific examples relevant to the job in the reference letter. Moreover, it serves as a reference point when including specific information such as dates and certifications.

Create an outline

After obtaining relevant information about the applicant and the required documentation to help you provide accurate and truthful information, consider creating an outline of everything you need to include in the babysitter reference letter. Think of specific examples that best demonstrate the applicant’s capabilities and positive attributes to appeal to the hiring manager and influence their decision to hire the applicant and then enlist them in the outline.

Writing an effective babysitter reference letter is not a daunting task, provided you follow the correct format, including the relevant information, remain concise, include specific examples, and use a positive and professional tone throughout the letter to support the candidate.

The following is a step-by-step guide on how to write a reference letter that establishes the applicant as a qualified, reliable, and dependable childcare worker:

Add the header

The first step to writing an effective babysitter reference letter involves including a well-formatted header. This section contains information on the sender’s name, address, mobile phone number, email address, and current date underneath the sender’s address line. After the date, include the addressee’s name (if known), title, address, and contact information.

If the addressee works for a given company, include the name of the company and the addressee’s title if you know it. However, if you are not sure of the person’s correct title in the organization, simply include the company’s name and add a general title like “Hiring Manager.”

Note: Given that you are writing the babysitter reference letter in the body of an email, skip this step and include a clear subject line that immediately communicates the purpose of the letter to the recipient. Besides, add the first and last name of the person you are recommending as part of the subject line of your email.

Begin with a greeting

After providing the header information, including a suitable greeting, preferably personalized to the letter’s receiver using their correct name and title. Including a personalized greeting to the letter’s receiver shows that the babysitter reference letter was written with a specific audience in mind, which helps establish rapport and sets the tone for the rest of the letter. However, if the recipient’s name is unknown, you can use a more-generalized greeting such as “Dear Sir/Madam, Dear hiring manager, To Whom It May Concern, etc.

Briefly introduce yourself

Begin your babysitter reference letter with a brief introductory paragraph explaining who you are and why you are qualified to recommend the applicant. In addition, state your relationship with the person you are recommending, mention how long you have known them, and briefly establish your reason for writing the babysitter reference letter.

Introduce the babysitter

After introducing yourself, provide pertinent information relating to the applicant that the prospective employer may need to know, such as the babysitter’s full name, the role or job title they held with you, dates of employment, the number of children the sitter supervised, and their respective ages.

You should also describe the babysitter’s basic duties and responsibilities while working with you and tell the addressee whether the babysitter lived with you or was a day scholar to give them an idea of whether the nanny will be a good fit for the new position.

Establish the applicant’s credibility

Begin the body of the babysitter reference with a brief first paragraph that provides valuable insights into the applicant’s credibility. Mention their educational background and certifications obtained and discuss your experiences working with them in the same capacity to bring to light their babysitting skills. This could include any relevant training attended, and certificates received such as First Aid Training, Fire Fighting Training, etc.

Focus on their strengths

The next paragraph focuses on the applicant’s strengths, obtained through your personal observations and interactions with them. Think of specific examples from their current or previous positions to reinforce the babysitter reference letter’s assertions about their positive traits.

Additionally, highlight how they measure up against other applicants for this particular position, such as listing any unique skills or qualifications they may have.

Examples of quality skills to list in this section include the

• Easily get along with the entire family
• Time-keeping skills
• Good work ethics
• Positive attitude
• Integrity
• Good decision-making skills, etc.

Include examples or tell a story

Discuss any relevant experiences you have had with the candidate and use specific anecdotes to demonstrate the applicant’s exceptional skills or describe a story that shows the applicant’s ability to interact with children professionally and with expertise. Naturally, the prospective employer will want to know the quality of the babysitter’s work. Consider re-counting what it was like working with the applicant or highlight why you had a great time working with them to convince the prospective employer further to hire them.

For example, explain how you did not have to ask the nanny twice to take on a new task, how you felt secure in entrusting them with your children, how well they interacted and got along with the rest of the family, etc., to provide the employer with more intel into the applicant’s personality.

While writing this section of the babysitter reference letter, it is essential that you focus on examples relevant to the job position or those that align with the services the company provides, its mission, and values.

Highlight their special skills

The fourth body paragraph highlights the applicant’s special skills that make them unique from the rest of the applicant’s pool to influence the hiring manager’s decision to hire them. Examples of special skills to incorporate into this section include

• Multi-tasking skills
• Effective communication
• Professionalism
• Ability to create a healthy learning environment
• Decision-making skills
• Attentiveness to detail
• Ability to create a safe physical environment for children
• Ability to support the social and emotional development of children
• Ability to build and maintain productive relationships with families
• Patience
• Good judgment skills
• Ability to work under minimum supervision
• Positive attitude, etc.

In addition to the typical soft skills, you should consider highlighting any acquired skills that the applicant might have to give them an added advantage over the others. These may include CPR and first aid certification, certified cook, ability to prepare all-natural baby formula, etc. These skills may go a long way in influencing the prospective employer’s decision to hire the applicant over their competitors.

Add personal details

Include any personal details you feel would give the potential employer a sense of who the applicant is as an individual and why they should consider them for the position. Consider including details such as the nanny’s positive impact on your life, what you learned from them, etc., on the babysitter reference letter.

Give reasons why you ended the applicant’s employment

If the candidate was your babysitter but eventually had to end their employment due to specific reasons, state why and focus only on the positive aspects to show their next employer that their employment ended on a good note or naturally. Where applicable, you can also add any additional information that supports your assessment of their capabilities as a babysitter or caregiver.

For example, tell the addressee that the babysitter had to leave due to extenuating personal circumstances, but you would definitely rehire them because your family misses her so much. You can also state that your nanny had to leave because your children are now old enough to fend for themselves.

Conclude the letter strongly

Conclude your babysitter reference letter by restating your purpose for writing the letter and include a statement that shows your support for their candidacy. Next, end with a call to action reaffirming your intent to vouch for the applicant’s candidacy. Finally, include your contact information for the addressee to contact you if they need further clarification. Besides, be sure to thank the addressee for their time and consideration of the applicant as a suitable person for the job.

Sign the letter

Finally, include an appropriate closing such as sincerely, regards, yours truly, etc. Sign the babysitter reference letter with your full name and date it for easier referencing and to prove when you wrote it.

While writing your babysitting reference letter, there are certain things that you should pay attention to in order to ensure that the letter is effective in achieving its intended purpose.

Below are the things to avoid while writing the letter:

Incorrect formatting

Suppose you want to make a good impression on the potential employer; avoid making any mistakes in your babysitter reference letter. Avoid incorrectly formatting your letter because it is a formal business letter that should follow a generally accepted format.

The correct way to format any formal letter includes setting margins that are no longer than 1 inch, using left-alignment for your text, using an acceptable and readable font such as the Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri body and font size of between 10-12 points. In addition, the line spacing for the text should be single-spaced to ensure the reference letter is only a single page long.

Spelling and grammar mistakes

It is essential to ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors throughout your babysitter reference letter. The best way to avoid these mistakes is to proofread the letter once you are done writing it to identify and correct any mistakes you made. Besides, you could also give it to a friend or another person to review the letter and identify any mistakes that you could have made.

Lengthy reference letter

An effective babysitter reference letter should only be a single page long, and it should not exceed the required word count of about 500-600 words. Thus, try to stick with a few significant points that will paint a clear picture of the applicant’s skills and capabilities for whoever reads it. Avoid including too many irrelevant details in your babysitter reference letter, which could discourage the reader from reading through it.

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A babysitter reference letter is a document that can be very helpful in getting your recommended babysitter hired for the position they are seeking. Before you begin writing the letter, call the applicant or arrange a meeting, ask for a copy of the job posting, review their resume, inquire about their notable accomplishments and skills they would like you to highlight in the reference letter, then create an outline to ensure you include all the important information.

Keep in mind that the letter has to be written in a professional tone and should include your opinion of the candidate’s skills and capabilities and information regarding your experience with them. Finally, make sure that the letter is correctly formatted and free of any spelling or grammatical mistakes before sending it off and stick to the required maximum length.

About This Article

Authored by:

Zhaniece Hill

Human Resources Specialist | Masters of Business, MBA, BAS Operations Management and Supervision

Zhaniece Hill, an accomplished author, and writer, possesses an extensive 9-year journey as a seasoned Human Resources professional. With a Master's degree in Business Administration, Hill's profound insights into human capital management have been shaped by a diverse background spanning public and private sectors. Expertise in talent acquisition, onboarding, employee engagement, and benefits define Hill's remarkable HR acumen. With an unyielding focus on results, Hill's legacy is characterized by innovative HR solutions that elevate employee satisfaction, retention, and overall business performance. Continuously seeking fresh challenges, Zhaniece Hill utilizes her expertise to create a lasting impact in the realm of HR.