To sit or not to sit...brother with a new-ish baby-UPDATE

Oh hell no. I'd tell them to find someone else

I’d just have a heart to heart with my brother. If they are still do I flexible, then I wouldn’t be available to sit.

I watch my niece and nephew. But, my SIL trusts me..I’ve raised two great kids. She’s knows they are safe and puts no restrictions. The kids come here because it’s something different and they love it.

Hell no.

You work full time and have 2 kids - that means your weekends are already busy without having to spend a day at someone else's house looking after their child under their ridiculous rules. Do they not think you would like to "go out, go shopping and have lunch or dinner" yourself?

what are they doing for 6-7 hours on the weekend??? I have family members who have asked if we could watch the kids while they go grocery shopping, and 5 hours later they return. I’m always like what the hell? 5 hours? My neighbor did this to me once. I’ve never understood. We wouldn’t do that to someone (and especially no excessive rules).

I would maybe do it once in awhile when it was convenient to me. They sound like they are obsessive and only want things their way with no bending to think about how their rules effect others.

If someone wanted me to babysit fairly regularly, I would have my own rules. I would definitely want it at my house so I could still live my life some and wasn't locked down with a young child.

Your brother needs to unclench but chances are that a lot of this is coming from his wife.

You said you keep getting asked for reasons why you're saying no... Well, tell them the reason. "I'm sorry but no I cannot babysit on that day because I have to go pick up so-and-so and you won't let me drive the baby." Or "no I'm sorry I cannot babysit on that day because I have a lot of things to get done here at home and you won't allow the baby to come here." Put it back on them since it's their odd rules that have made this problem. 

Wow! I'd tell them you'd love to babysit, but have some things to do at home during her naptime so feel free to drop her by. No reason you have to bend over backwards to accommodate their crazy!

I haven’t read all of the replies.

Sorry, I know you want to be helpful but it sounds like they’re asking you to give up a lot of your time. The poor 1 year old who has to sit in the house with you when the day could be so much more fun driving on your errands.

Perhaps think of saying NO for the sake of the child. It’s almost like you’re enabling the parents by agreeing to these conditions when no one else would accommodate them so easily. I consider guilting you in sitting thrbsame as bullying you. They’re doing this on purpose. I would also think that these conditions are coming from the new wife, not your brother.

My girls are 10 and 13. There is no way I’d agree to babysit so often for someone and give up so much of my time, especially at someone else’s house. That would cut into my family time as I wouldn’t be able to do my errands, cook, clean, etc in my own time. The hand washing is dumb but I would just consider that being neurotic. The house, driving issue, and time commitment related to the sitteusg be a family member are all signs of being neurotic too but those are conditions I’d have trouble with.

You must really love your niece. That is very sweet.

   You're doing them a favour in looking after their child, on your one day off, from a full time job and yet they are calling all the shots. Very selfish on their part IMO. I could maybe, understand the paranoia of your sister in law being a young first time mum if the baby was only a few weeks old but heck the child is 12 months old.
I'm a firm believer that children, from a very young age should experience someone, apart from they're parents, looking after them for a short period of time as and when and in a different environment than in their own home. If there was ever an emergency the child isn't going to cope very well at all if they haven't been used to a different person/place previously.

That is the perfect response.  The parents need to know why you can’t babysit and your reasons are 100% valid.  
I thought I knew overprotective parents, but I think your brother and sister in law cross the line into neurotic territory.   When my brother was born my mom left my grandparents a 7 page note (front and back) on how to take care of him.  They were watching him for 3 hours!  
It is a shame your niece isn’t being exposed to new experiences and is having her time with family so limited. 
Do they find many caretakers with all these restrictions? 

"If you want someone to stay in your home all day with the baby and not go anywhere, you really need a nanny. Not just a babysitter. I"m a mom, not a nanny."

Just say no.

I was thinking the same thing. I never had any family near me when my kids were little so my boys either came with us or we didn't go! Very rarely we paid for a babysitter.