Ziyanah Alexander
February 7, 2022
This guide is for anyone who is going to be responsible for watching children for a limited amount of time. This could mean teenagers who are starting out on babysitting jobs, an older sibling who will begin watching their younger siblings, an adult who will be responsible for children for a limited amount of time, or anyone in a similar situation. The ages of the children in this situation are best suited for two to ten years and the age of the caretaker is meant to be thirteen or above for this particular guide.
| Congratulations, you have already done the hardest part, booking a job. Now, you have to make sure you do a good job so that you can continue booking jobs! The first step to a good experience in watching children is making a good first impression. Make sure that you have a smile when meeting the child and make a point to ask them a few questions or give them a compliment to start off on the right foot. Before the parents leave, you will want to ask anything that you are unsure of about the child. Some good questions to ask are if the child has any dietary restrictions, rules about screen time, how discipline is handled, if there is a schedule you need to follow, and if there are any medications or health conditions you may need to know about. |  |
| When the time comes for the parent to leave, make sure that the child(ren) is aware that parents are leaving and that they are able to tell them good-bye. In order to make the situation more smooth, make sure the child knows when the parent is coming back. Start an activity once the parent leaves because the child is less likely to be sad or upset if they are doing another enjoyable activity with you. |  |
| Your first activity with the child can be something that they usually play, or it can be a new game that you are familiar with and want to teach the child. You could ask the child what they want to play and allow them to take the lead in choosing some of the activities. In my experience, bringing a game or activity from my home is always a fun way to start out because they are eager to play with something new to them. |  |
| It would be great if kids listened all the time, but unfortunately, this will probably not be the case. If you do run into problem behaviors, the first thing you want to try and do is redirect the negative behavior. You should use a calm, neutral tone and concise wording and tell the child exactly what they are doing that is not okay, along with what they can/should do instead. If you are able to, try and see if there is another activity you can do with the child. It is possible they could be bored or tired of the current activity. You should also keep in mind what the parents said about how they handle discipline and if necessary, use the same strategies that the parents use. For example, if a child needs time to regain control of their body, I like to use a calm down corner. It gives the child space and time to consider their actions, without making them feel bad. After time has passed, you can calmly talk to the child and remind them of why they were there and see if they are ready to do something different. It is important that you stay calm and steady throughout this process. |  |
| Another good idea to keep the children entertained and engaged can be to take them outside if the weather permits. You can take them in the back or front yard, or if there is a nearby park, you can walk there together. Outside time is a great way for kids to get their energy out as well as play some fun games. |  |
| After all of these fun activities, the children are probably starting to feel hungry. Making sure that the children have something to eat before they get too hungry is a good way to prevent crying and irritability. You can have the children help you prepare a snack or meal. You can do this by giving them safe and simple tasks to do. You may have a young child pour batter, mix foods, or wash produce, while an older child may be able to cut, measure, or assemble. Make sure you are aware of any allergies or restrictions the children may have in their diet before you begin in the kitchen. Cooking together is great way to make a memory as well as build friendships. Here are two recipe ideas that are fun and simple to make and that include common ingredients: Pizza Sliders or Apple Muffins |  |
| By this point, depending on the time of day and age of the children, it is probably time to start winding down and do some calm activities together. This could be in preparation for a nap or bedtime, or just some time to slow down and rest since the children have had a lot of movement and stimulating activities, and you want to prevent them from getting overly tired. These activities could include reading books, listening to music, podcasts, or read aloud stories, doing yoga, playing with slime or play-doh, taking a bath and anything else that the child finds calming. |  |
| A good way to end your babysitting job is to lay the child down for a nap or bedtime. This ensures that the child is in the bed on time and well rested, and parents will appreciate it when they get home because that is one less thing they have to do. Since you have already set the mood and have a calm setting, putting the child to bed should be relatively easy. Make sure to comfort and reassure the child that their parents will be back soon if you see them starting to get anxious about going to sleep. If the child is older and does not need to go to sleep yet, you can continue with calming activities so that the house is still calm when the parents return. |  |
Sources for Images:
Photo by Lina Kivaka from Pexels
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
Photo by August de Richelieu from Pexels
Photo by Bruna Saito from Pexels
Photo by Victoria Borodinova from Pexels
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels
Photo by Yan Krukov from Pexels