Almost anyone can be a babysitter, but not everyone can be a "GREAT Babysitter." When you are considered a great babysitter, you get more jobs and make more money!

Here are some babysitting tips that will help you to be considered a great babysitter:

• Dress appropriately for your interview and when you go to a babysitting job. You don't need to wear a business suit, just clean comfortable clothes. Refrain from wearing T-shirts with inappropriate words, symbols, or logos, or clothing that advertises cigarettes or alcohol.
• Always plan to arrive 5-10 minutes early for a babysitting job. If you think you may be late, call your client and let them know so that they can plan accordingly.
• Stick to your commitment. If you agree to babysit for a client on a particular day and time, do NOT cancel unless it is absolutely necessary. They are depending on you. If you DO need to cancel, give your client as much notice as possible.
• Another important babysitting tip is to engage the children. Play with them, read to them, do puzzles with them, make crafts with them. Be sure to interact with them. Putting kids in front of the television so you can talk on the phone or text is never a good idea.
• Clean up after yourself! Parents have enough to do all day, they don't want to come home from a night out and find the house a mess. Whatever toys you and the children used, put them away. If you have had a drink or snack, make sure the cups and dishes have been washed, put in the dishwasher, or at least put in the sink. Wipe up crumbs etc.

Make Watching Television More Than Just Sitting in Front of the TV

Never rely on the television to do your job for you. If the children choose to watch tv while you are babysitting and it is allowed by their parents, watch with them and discuss what's going on. After the show is over, do an activity that relates to the progam. For example, if the number of the day is "4" try finding things in the room that have to do with the number four, such as a picture with four corners, a bed with four posts, a stuffed animal with four legs, a sofa with four pillows, etc. You can incorporate it into snack time as well by giving four crackers with cheese as a snack or four chunks of banana.

You can talk about different scenarios from the program and have the kids dress up and act them out. This is helpful to children when a problem has been resolved in the scenario. You can also ask the children what else could have been done to resolve the problem.

Avoid Power Struggles by Giving Children Choices

Toddlers and even school age children often have a strong desire for control and end up in a power struggle with their parents or babysitter. Instead of forcing a child to eat all his dinner or forcing her to wear the outfit you picked out instead of the mismatched, too small, summer outfit she wants to wear in February, give the child a choice.

At meal time, you don't need to give a child a choice of what he wants for dinner. But, if you are serving meat, a starch, and a vegetable, tell the child he needs to eat two of the three foods on his plate and let him choose which two he wants to eat.

When you need to leave the house in below freezing temperatures, instead of trying to force a child to wear fleece lined jeans and a sweater when she wants to wear a sleeveless sun-dress, pick out three weather appropriate sets of clothes and let her choose which one to wear.

If you haven't taken a babysitting course, you should sign up for one. If there aren't any classes in your area and you don't have any experience, consider working as a mother's helper for a while until you gain experience.

If you are unfamiliar with the term "mother's helper," it means that you babysit for about half price because one or both parents are home. You play with the kids so the parents can get projects done around the house etc.

 

 

 

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