Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Kristin and Ilyce here . (It’s anonymous!)

Dear Pay Dirt,

My child’s preschool just sent us a “babysitting agreement” that they told us we are required to sign. The agreement outlines the policies for what happens if any of the paid staff at my child’s preschool perform babysitting tasks for us outside of school hours, on the staff member’s own time. The policy includes things that make some sense (for example, absolutely no discussion of administrative issues or decisions at the school, a.k.a, don’t use the staff member to pry for insider info). But then it gets weird.

The agreement also says that if there is an issue with the staff member, the family (that’s me) has to pay a $200 an hour (minimum one hou

See Full Page