Safety tips before and at the first meeting

Take your time. A good sitter and a good family both understand why you want to be careful. These steps work for both sides.

1. Get to know each other in the chat

• Keep chatting in Carbetic until you have met. If something goes wrong, we can only help with what happened in the app. Phone numbers, email addresses and messenger links can't be sent in the chat. Swap numbers in person when you meet.
• Keep your address to yourself for now. Profiles show only an approximate area, never an address. Share yours once you have decided to meet.
• Protect your children's details. Do not share children's names, schools or daily routines with someone you have not met.
• Never send ID documents or certificates in the chat. Look at them together in person instead.

2. Take your time in the chat

Get to know each other in the chat before you meet. A few messages tell you a lot, and it is easier to say no before you meet if it does not feel right.

3. Ask questions

Questions families can ask

• How do you know type 1 diabetes, and since when?
• Which devices have you used yourself or with a child? Who taught you?
• Have you looked after a child with T1D before? Can I speak to that family?
• Have you done a first-aid course for children?
• How would you contact us if something is unclear?

Questions sitters can ask

• What exactly do you expect me to do, and what not?
• Who will explain your child's diabetes to me?
• Who do I call first if I am unsure, and who if you cannot be reached?
• What are the house rules, bedtimes, meals and plans for the day?
• How and when will I be paid?

Ask for references and call them yourself.

4. At the first meeting

1. Meet in a public place first, or at the family's home with a parent there the whole time.
2. Check the ID in person. The first name and photo should match the profile. “ID verified” tells you that the identity was checked, and nothing more.
3. Talk about the diabetes care. Go through the care sheet the family prepared with its diabetes team: what the sitter may do, and when to call whom. See Medical tasks and the family's diabetes team.
4. Ask about a criminal-record certificate if you would like to see one. Carbetic does not check criminal records. Here is how to get one.

5. After the first meeting

• Do a trial session with a parent at home before the sitter is alone with the child for the first time.
• Write down what you agreed: times, pay, cancellations and what happens if someone is ill. Carbetic is not part of your agreement.
• Reviews. Once you have both written at least one message, you can each write a review. Reviews are from people who messaged each other on Carbetic. We don't check whether they met. If something serious happened, report it instead of writing about it in a review.

6. Sitters aged 16 and 17

• Tell a parent or guardian before your first meeting with a family, or bring them along.
• Families and young sitters follow the laws that protect young people where they live, for example on working hours and rest at night.

7. Trust your instinct

If something feels wrong, stop. You do not need a reason. You can block anyone at once and report anything that worries you. Asked for money before you have met? Read Scams and money red flags.

If a child or anyone else is in danger, call your local emergency number.