How do you write instructions for siblings with different routines?

Write each child's routine separately and by name, then plan the overlap: say which child goes first, what the other does meanwhile, and what happens if one wakes the other.

What goes wrong with two children and one sitter?

The overlap, almost always. Two routines that each work alone collide at bedtime, so the useful instruction is the order and what to do when it slips, not the two routines side by side.

Should allergies be written per child?

Yes, against each child by name even when it feels repetitive. A sitter feeding two children needs to know which restriction belongs to which child without inferring it.

Free guide and printable

Babysitting siblings with different routines

Briefing a sitter for one child is a list. Briefing them for two or three is a sequence — because the difficulty is not either routine, it is the twenty minutes where both need something at once. Here is how to write that down, and a printable with a column per child.

Six things worth getting right

Never merge the safety detailsOne child's allergy is not the family's allergy. Write allergies, medication and anything that must never happen against a name, every time, even when it feels repetitive. A sitter under pressure reads names, not paragraphs.
Say what happens at the same timeThe hard part of two children is rarely either child. It is 6:45pm when one needs settling and the other needs supervising. Say which child takes priority in those overlaps, and what the other one does meanwhile.
Give the evening an order, not a set of factsYoungest down first, then the older one's quiet time? Or both up until the same point? A sitter can follow a sequence. They cannot assemble one from two separate routines while both children are awake.
Name what the older one is allowed to doScreens, snacks, going upstairs alone, answering the door, being left in a room while the baby is settled. Older siblings will negotiate confidently. Write the answer so the sitter is not talked into anything.
Be explicit about what the older child may not do for the youngerCarrying, feeding, lifting out of a cot, supervising in the bath. Well-meaning help is the most common way a calm evening goes wrong.
One collection rule per childWho may collect each child, by name. They are not always the same people, and this is the detail most worth being unambiguous about.

Printable sibling sheet

Shared — the whole family

Care window: date, start and endParent name and numberBackup name, relationship and numberHouse basics — doors, gates, alarm, anything off limits

Child one

Name and ageAllergies — what to avoid and what to do on contact (write “none” if none)Medicine — what, when, whereFood — what and whenSleep — time, and what settles themWho may collect them, by name

Child two

The evening, in order

What happens first, and to whomWhat the other child does meanwhileWhat happens nextWho takes priority if both need something

Between them

What the older may not do for the youngerWhat to do if one wakes the other

In an emergency

Ring the parent first; in an emergency ring your local emergency number

This is a blank template: once you fill it in, keeping it accurate is on you, and a printed sheet is believed long after it stops being true. Care Handover generates the same thing from a plan you have approved, so it cannot silently go out of date — and your carer sees what is happening now rather than what was true when you printed it.

Planning the overlap

Write the trickiest twenty minutes of the evening as its own line, in order.
Say where the younger child is safe to be while the older one is being dealt with, and the reverse.
Leave anything shared — snacks, chargers, remote — where both can be reached without leaving a room.
If bedtimes are close together, say whether it is fine for them to drift by ten or fifteen minutes.
Say which child, if either, wakes the other, and what to do if that happens.

Two routines, one evening, one link

A printed sheet makes the sitter hold two timelines in their head at once. Care Handover keeps one plan per child and shows the sitter a single running order — what is happening now for each child, what comes next across the family, and whose detail it belongs to. Up to four brothers and sisters, one price, one private link you approve before anyone sees it.

See a live example Create your handover

Common questions

How do you write instructions for siblings with different routines?: Write each child's routine separately and by name, then plan the overlap: say which child goes first, what the other does meanwhile, and what happens if one wakes the other.
What goes wrong with two children and one sitter?: The overlap, almost always. Two routines that each work alone collide at bedtime, so the useful instruction is the order and what to do when it slips, not the two routines side by side.
Should allergies be written per child?: Yes, against each child by name even when it feels repetitive. A sitter feeding two children needs to know which restriction belongs to which child without inferring it.

What to write in your babysitter notesThe note you leave on the counter — what to put in it, in the order a sitter reads it.
An emergency contact card for your childOne card a carer can read in seconds, or hand to someone else — and what not to put on it.
Allergy and medication information for a carerHow to write down what your doctor told you so a sitter can follow it exactly.
Leaving your child with a sitter for the first timeWhat to cover before the first time, and what is worth saying out loud at the door.
Babysitter information sheetEverything a sitter needs in one sheet, with a free printable template.
Leaving your child with grandparents overnightWhat to say before the first overnight, including what to do at 2am.
Questions to ask a babysitter before you hire themWhat to ask before you leave your child with someone, and what the answers tell you.
What to tell a wedding or hotel babysitterThe hardest handover: a sitter you have not met, in a room your child does not know.

This guide helps you organise your own instructions; it is not medical or safeguarding advice. In an emergency, ring your local emergency number — 112 or 999 in Ireland, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US.