Declarative Language: Talk Less, Connect More With Your Child
4 min read
Visual Routines
Building a Babysitter Routine so you can actually leave the house.
You have not been out in months, partly because briefing a babysitter takes longer than the evening is worth and you spend it answering texts anyway.
Free 7-day trial · No email or credit card to start · Built by an autism dad and a licensed SLP
Why it works here
Why a visual routine helps with building a babysitter routine
A routine is a written version of everything in your head, which is exactly what a babysitter needs. Building a simplified version specifically for them turns an unrepeatable briefing into something they can follow, and it keeps your child on the routine that works.
You will recognize this if
- You brief every sitter at length and still get texts.
- Evenings with a sitter go noticeably worse.
- You have stopped going out because of the setup cost.
The setup
How to set it up for building a babysitter routine
Takes about five minutes. Use it as written, or keep only the steps your family needs. A short setup that gets used beats a complete one that gets abandoned in week two.
- 1 Build a shorter version with the non-negotiable steps only
- 2 Use photos of your home so the sitter recognizes places too
- 3 Write the one thing that usually goes wrong and exactly what to do
- 4 Mark which steps are essential and which can be skipped
- 5 Send it in advance rather than handing it over at the door
- 6 Ask afterward what was unclear and fix only that
The mistake most families make
Handing over your full routine usually overwhelms a sitter and gets abandoned within the hour. A shorter version they follow beats a complete one they ignore.
In the app
Built into the routine, not bolted onto it.
The Visual Routines lives inside the same routine your child already follows, so building a babysitter routine is a step with a visible length rather than a separate tool somebody has to remember to open.
- Attach it to any step in any routine
- Works for pre-readers, gestalt language processors, and AAC users
- Same setup at home, at school, and in therapy
Set this up for your child.
Five minutes to build, and your child sees it every time building a babysitter routine comes around.
$6.99/month after the free trial · Cancel anytime · Also at app.vizyplan.com
Common questions
About building a babysitter routine
How much should a sitter know?
Less than you think about the steps and more than you think about the failure points. What to do when it goes wrong is the genuinely hard part to guess.
What if the sitter does it differently?
Minor differences are survivable. What matters is the order and the non-negotiables, so name those explicitly and let the rest go.
Should my child meet the sitter first?
Where possible, in a short low-stakes visit while you are there. A known face is worth considerably more than a good briefing.
VizyPlan supports routines and communication at home and school. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose or treat any condition. Talk to your child's care team about clinical questions.
