“We spend the first 12 months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk, and the next 12 months telling them to sit down and be quiet.”
Babysitting is fantastic! You get paid to hang out with younger kids, and if you do a good job, you’ll be their hero. You get paid to be some kid’s hero?! This is an especially good job for a girl. Although boys can also babysit, we can all agree that girls make better role models. X Plus, almost every culture in the world trusts girl babysitters more than boy babysitters. That’s because girls are responsible (of course!), and they know the secrets of being a good babysitter. These secrets have been recorded in The Ancient Book of Babysitting Wisdom [2] as follows:
Babysitting Wisdom
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You really should take a babysitting or first-aid class before you accept responsibility for other people’s kids. (The Red Cross or your local parks department probably offers these in your area.) Besides, you get a cool-looking “official” card!
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Do not call the children you babysit any of the following names: orcs, rug rats, house-apes, hobgoblins, ankle-biters, munchkins, droolers, li’l monsters, or smurfs.
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Pay attention to the kids you’re babysitting and play with them. (Stay off the phone!)
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Even if the parents have weird rules, like “Junior should wear his safety helmet and body armor if he goes outside,” it’s best to follow them. This keeps the kids in their routine. Once you break one rule, they’ll want to break all the other ones.
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Clean up any messes that get made. (Better yet, have the kids clean up!) And if you really want to impress the parents, straighten up messes that were there before you arrived.
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Don’t invite any friends (especially boys) over! That is a big no-no.
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When the parents come home, tell them some funny stories about what the kids did while they were gone. Parents love to hear stuff like this.
Experienced babysitters know that all children are legally required to say, “But my mom always lets me do [fill in the blank] when she’s here.” This is often a lie. What the child is asking to do might be really kooky, like feeding a goldfish to his little sister or washing his hands with soap and water.
Don’t let yourself be tricked! Instead, use this amazing comeback. This comeback is so clever, no child has ever come up with a response to it.
"But your mom isn't here right now, is she?"
Ta-dah! Problem solved.
Money: The Hardest Question
So you’ve made a “babysitting connection.” Yes! You have a job! Then comes the hard part. The parents ask how much money you charge to babysit. Uh-oh! How much money should you charge for babysitting?
You can always babysit for free, but don’t get into the habit of it, because people will take advantage of your good nature. It seems to us that you should at least get paid your state’s minimum wage. In most states, this is over $5 an hour. But six states don’t even have minimum wages. Dang it!
A nice woman named Debbie checked with parents in six different states for us, and she found that babysitters may earn anywhere from $4 to $15 an hour, with an average of about $7.75. So it’s all relative. If you are a beginning babysitter and you’re only taking care of one child, your pay shouldn’t be the same as an in-demand, Red Cross–certified babysitter who’s in charge of six kids. A girl in that position might be making $18 an hour. (And she’s worth a lot more than that!)
You can always ask your friends what they charge and use that for a comparison. If you’re still really not sure, ask the parents what they think is fair. Try to be honest if it’s not what you had in mind.
A mother’s helper is a girl who helps take care of children while the mother is actually there. Because this isn’t as much responsibility as babysitting, she’s usually paid from 60 to 75 percent of what a babysitter makes.
Okay, to earn that money, you’ll end up having to do this sooner or later, so let’s get to the ugly truth of:
Changing Diapers
If baby went poopy, remember to breathe through your mouth.
You will need: A strong stomach, a baby, a dirty diaper, a clean diaper,
Babysitting a warm wet washcloth or wipes, and a changing area covered with a towel. Optional: A toy (to distract the baby with), diaper rash ointment, an assistant.
First of all, when changing a boy’s diapers, know that the boy may decide to pee as soon as you get his diapers off, and the pee will go UP . . . toward you! We suggest putting a clean diaper over his private parts as soon as you get his diaper off. (That, or just steer clear of boy babies.)
It’s a good idea to get your supplies ready before laying the baby down for a change. That’s because as soon as you try to change a baby’s diapers, she will usually fight against it. We don’t know if the smell of their own poop makes them mad or if they think the diapers you picked out for them are ugly and unfashionable, but babies never make this process easy.
Make sure the baby can’t escape your changing area. You don’t want to have to explain to the parents why their new couch got poopified.
After getting your supplies ready and washing your hands, put the baby on her back. Open up the diaper. Breathe through your mouth and sing to the baby as you remove the toxic waste. Give her a toy to distract her.
With one hand, hold the baby’s ankles gently together and lift up. With the other hand, pull out the dirty diaper. Once the dirty diaper is off, move it off to the side (and don’t step in it later!).
Take your baby wipes and start wiping off little baby’s hindquarters. Wipe from back to front with boys, and from front to back with girls. Then stick the dirty wipes into the poopy diaper and wrap the whole mess up tightly. (This is what adults call hazardous material.)
Whew! Now baby’s clean. As far as getting a clean diaper on, just make sure the front is laid down on the towel closest to you. Raise the baby’s legs like before, slide the clean diaper under her, rest her down on the diaper, and lift it up between her legs. Fasten the diaper tightly, and you’re done.
If the baby’s wearing cloth diapers, make sure to get them on snug and pull those little plastic pants over them. You don’t want anything sneaking out of the diapers and going down Junior’s leg!
The baby will show her appreciation for your hard work by going poop right away. This is a baby’s way of saying, “I recognize your talent. Another demonstration, please!”
Do Babies Need Diapers?
In China, India, and 73 other countries, most kids are diaper-free. They either go bottomless or have “split-tail” pants. Their parents are good at spotting when the little one has to go and then just holds the baby over a toilet or other good spot. No more diaper rash or yucky stuff sticking to the kid’s bottom! And no more landfills of baby diapers—those are really gross and a huge source of pollution.
Tricks
A good trick is to have little prizes or treats with you when you babysit. Depending on the age of the kids, these can come in pretty handy. For example, if you had some M&Ms, Lifesavers, or Tic Tacs, you could put them in a container or small bag and call them “Proton Pills.” If the kids do something good, like pick up their toys or foil a bank robbery, give them a Proton Pill! (Naturally, these give them super-powers.) Or you can use them as “Sweet Dream” candies for when it’s bedtime (but before they brush their teeth!) But first be sure it’s okay with their parents to give them a little candy.
Silly tricks like these are priceless in babysitting. Let’s say the kids don’t want to go to bed. You could threaten them with a wet noodle until they flee in terror, but why not make it a game? Turn going to bed into a bus ride. You’re the school bus driver, and you pull up in the bus. All aboard! The kids need to line up behind you as the passengers. Then you start driving (with the kids following behind you). Stop anywhere you need to for them to get ready for bed. Once they’re in their pajamas and have brushed their teeth, drive them right to their bed and tuck them in.
Cool Word! pajamafy (pronounced pa-jam-uh-fie): The act of getting the kids into their pajamas. It can make going to bed a fun adventure.
Babysitter: Who wants to be pajamafied?
Little Timmy: I do! It’s pajamafication time!
But no matter how skilled a babysitter you are, the time will come when you can’t keep the kids from screaming and running around. Since parents don’t want their children to disappear or be hauled away in an ambulance before they return (picky, picky, picky!) here’s some important safety advice.
DO: Let the baby sit in your lap.
DON’T: Sit on the baby.
DO: Make sure the child eats his dinner and goes to bed.
DON’T: Eat his dinner and go to bed.
DO: Let the kids play in the sandbox.
DON’T: Let the kids play in the quicksand box.
More Tricks
One of the best ways to keep the kids from going nuts is to have some good tricks up your sleeve. The following tricks and activities in this chapter will work with any person, kids included. We have listed them from the easiest to the most challenging. If the kid you’re babysitting is really young, all of these will be a little too advanced. (But this would be a boring chapter if all we had were tips on baby-talk and snuggling!)
The best trick a babysitter can bring is patience and a smile.
Kung Fu Grip
Try this trick yourself once, to see how simple it is.
Ask Junior to clench his hands together so that his fingers are all interlocking. Have him squeeze tightly for about 20 seconds in a good kung fu grip. Then, while his hands are still gripping each other, have him stick his forefingers (the ones closest to the thumbs) straight out so that they don’t touch.
Quickly wave your hands over his hands and say a magic word, such as “googly-moogly.” The fingers will “magically” start moving toward each other! (They would have even if you hadn’t said the magic word, but still.)
Belly Button Question
If you push your belly button, will your legs fall off? [3]
You will need: Belly buttons, some pets in the house.
Ask Junior to show you his belly button. Once you’ve established that he has one, tell him that all people have them. (As you know, before a person is born, an umbilical cord leads into this spot and gives the baby all of its food and oxygen.)
Ask Junior how many total belly buttons there are in the house. We’re not sure how smart your kid will be, but the correct answer will be however many mammals there are in the house. Almost all mammals have belly buttons, including any humans, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, mice, ferrets, or wooly mammoths that are around.
Note: Anything born in an egg won’t have a belly button, so don’t count fish, frogs, insects, reptiles, or the strange neighbor kid who’s hanging out in your family room.
The Impossible Tippy-Toes
Challenge your challenging child to flex his tootsies!
You will need: Any person, an open door.
Kids love hearing a challenge like “I bet you can’t [insert challenge here].”
Start your kid off with some easy challenges. Try, “I bet you can’t wink!” or “I bet you can’t inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide!” Once the little troll has met these challenges, try this one:
“I bet you can’t stand on your tippy-toes!” Naturally, the child will be able to do it. Then say, “No, that’s the easy way to do it. Try it like this.”
Open up a door and have the child stand up against the outside edge of the door, so that his feet are on either side and his nose and stomach touch the door.
Now, without using his hands, have him try to stand on tip-toe! He won’t be able to because it’s impossible. (Try it yourself!) But that won’t stop him from trying.
Easy Candy Trick
Kids love candy! Use this to your advantage.
You will need: Candy, a rug that’s more than a few feet across (not wall-to-wall carpeting).
Put a piece of candy in the middle of a good-sized rug. (Unlike a carpet, a rug isn’t wall-to-wall.) Tell the kids that if they can pick up the candy without their feet touching the rug, they can have it. The important thing is that the first thing to touch the candy must be one of their hands.
Let them brainstorm on that for a while. If you feel nice, let them use tools to reach out to it, even though these won’t be that useful for this challenge. (The easiest solution is just to roll or push the rug up until you are close enough to pick up the candy. Be sure to give them hints as they try to figure it out so they don’t give up and so they can earn the candy.)
Mysterious Crayons
Don’t let crayons color your opinion of this trick!
You will need: Some crayons. Duh!
Get from 4 to 20 crayons and spread them out on a table. Tell Junior that you will magically be able to identify a crayon that he picks without looking.
Turn your back on Junior and put your hands behind your back. Tell him to take a “mystery” crayon and to put it in one of your hands. Then have him come around to where you can see him in front.
While he’s coming around, take the hand that’s not holding the crayon and scratch the crayon slightly with your fingernail. When Junior comes around, look him in the eyes and tell him you’re going to read his mind!
Place the hand not holding the crayon on Junior’s shoulder or head as you begin “reading” him. At some point, glance at your fingernail to see what color crayon you scratched. Make a big deal out of getting a “color signal” from him, and amaze him with the correct answer!
Free Tip! The wrong time for horseplay and games is right after a baby or young kid has eaten (unless you really want your clothes covered with Gerber baby barf) or right before bedtime (unless you want them to be too hyper to go to bed).
Babysitting Emergencies
A good babysitter keeps cool in the face of emergencies. Here are some things that might happen to you, and some solutions to keep the situation under control.
Junior Freaks Out When His Parents Leave
It’s a conniption fit!
Do you remember how on the first day of kindergarten some kids would completely spazz out as their moms dropped them off for school? Wow. (Maybe you were one of those kids!)
A little kid can really hit the wall when his trusted parents leave him with a total stranger. If this happens (or before it can happen), you need to imagine being the kindergarten teacher who is trying to calm down a child and make him feel welcome and safe. One advantage you have over a teacher is you can ask the child to show you his room. “Wow! Are all these toys yours? Which one is your favorite? I like this one.” Try to engage him by giving him attention; read a book together, go outside to play, or ask for a home tour. Steer the conversation away from his parents. Anything to distract him—even tickling can work! If all else fails, you can try this amazing Jumping Stuffed Animal trick.
The Jumping Stuffed Animal
If you have rhythm, this one will amaze younger kids.
You will need: Some coordination, a small stuffed animal (or any light object that isn’t bouncy), and something you can sit or stand behind, like a table or sofa, for example.
This trick is easy, but you’ll want to practice it a few times before doing it for Junior.
1. Sit at a table. (Your audience will be on the other side of it.) Take a small stuffed animal (or any small, non-bouncy item) and hold it out to your shoulder height. Have the toes of one of your feet raised up.
2. Say something like “Hey, watch this! Your tiger can jump!” Then bring your hand down below the edge of the table, as if you were throwing it on the floor.
3. The next steps happen quickly. As you’re bringing your hand down below the table’s edge, turn your wrist so that the animal is facing up. Tap your toe down, to make a noise, as if the animal hit the floor. And then, with a flick of your wrist (not your arm!) toss the animal straight up. You should practice at home beforehand to get your timing down on this, so it looks right.
4. As the animal “bounces” upwards, look at it, amazed! Junior will have fun trying to figure out how you did it.
Junior Is Making Too Much Noise or a Big Mess
Fun contests to stop you from losing your mind!
For some reason, little kids are REALLY good at making a lot of noise and a lot of messes. Since their parents probably don’t want them to do too much of either one of these things, here’s a way to deal with that problem.
You will need: The ability to get kids excited about a game. Optional: Silly prizes at the end for all those who enter the contests.
Contest 1. If the kids are really screaming and spazzing out, tell them it’s time for a Very Important Contest. Tell them that wise women invented this contest many years ago to see who the best child in a village was. It’s called the Silent Contest. The contestants must sit at a table and see who can be quiet for the longest amount of time.
Get everyone seated and then officially start the time. Don’t expect the kids to stay quiet for too long—these contests tend to turn into giggle fests! But anything is better than screaming.
Contest 2. Sheesh, there are toys everywhere! The easiest way to get them picked up is to have a See Who Can Pick Up the Most Toys Contest. As before, you may want to give the kids some background about how in the olden days, the Child Who Could Pick Up the Most Toys was destined to be a great leader. Plus, the kid who wins gets candy! (Make sure you have candy before saying this.)
If you can “sell” this contest to them, any mess the kids have made can be cleaned up in no time. (It’s amazing how fast kids can move when they want to!) Singing a song while you do it will help. “Clean up, clean up, everyone do their share. Clean up, clean up, the babysitter’s very unfair.”
Contest 3. Believe it or not, there may be times when the kids you’re in charge of are really shy and quiet. Maybe they’re naturally quiet and shy. Or maybe they’re afraid of you! Anyway, you’re worried that this visit will be boring for them and you.
To pump these kids up and get some energy in the house, put on some music. Then say, “I want any bad kids in this room to be really quiet.” At this, the kids should start screaming and going nuts (okay, or at least start talking). If not, it’s time for a Dance Contest. Anyone can be a judge for a Dance Contest. There might be categories for Slickest Moves, Coolest Outfit, or Most Likely to Hurt Himself When Dancing.
Junior Got Stuck Playing with Super Glue
Why do kids do things like this?
You will need: Nail polish remover or hot water.
At least once in a kid’s life, he will goof around with Super Glue, and get stuck to something . . . like himself. And for whatever reason, he will do it on your watch.
The solution is pretty simple. If there is any nail polish remover around, soak some tissues or cotton balls in it and wedge them between the kid and whatever he is glued to. The acetone in the nail polish quickly dissolves the glue.
If you don’t have any nail polish remover, soak the stuck parts in hot water. (Note: Don’t do this if he stuck his lips, eyes, or nostrils together.) This is much slower than using nail polish, but it’s better than listening to him yell. (Note: If he stuck his lips together, the bright side is he won’t be yelling!)
Junior Is Bored
Here are a couple fun tricks to keep your kids entertained.
Magic Bucket
Round and round it goes, but it doesn’t get you wet.
You will need: A rubber bucket, some water. Optional: a long rope, gloves.
Do this one outside and at a safe distance from the kids. Fill the bucket halfway up with water. Grab it by the handle and start swinging it around your body. Once you have it going pretty fast, start swinging it at more of an angle so that it goes over your head.
If you are swinging it fast enough, no water will come out. That’s because the force of the swinging pushes the water toward the bottom of the bucket. (This is called centrifugal force.)
If you want, you can tie some rope to the handle so that the bucket can swing farther, making the whole scene more dramatic.
WARNING! Do not ever “kick the bucket”! This is instantly fatal, and results in death, too.
Upside Down Wa-Wa
It doesn’t seem like this would work. It does!
You will need: A cardboard square (between 3 and 5 inches), a full glass of water.
Do this trick over the sink, just in case. Slip the piece of cardboard over the glass of water. Hold it in place and flip the glass upside down. Let go of the cardboard. Ta-dah! It stays put! Don’t tell the kids you’re babysitting that it’s just air pressure holding it there—say it’s magic.
What to Do If You Really Don’t Want to Babysit Those Kids
Okay, you babysat for a certain family once or twice, and it was a pretty bad experience. Let’s be honest: Those kids are brats! If you really feel this way, you shouldn’t work for the family anymore. It gets tricky, though, because they are going to keep asking for you because you are so great. What to do?
Sure, if you have the guts you can just tell the parents that you might not be the best person for their kids. The problem is that they will know what this means. Saying, “Your kids are brats!” doesn’t sound like such a good idea. (Honesty may not be the best policy here.)
We think this is a good problem to get your parents’ help with. If that family calls, have your own family excuse, like “Tonight is family night” or “I need to study tonight” or something. Brainstorm with your mom and dad. They may have some great ideas. After you say “no” one or two times, the family will get the idea and find another babysitter.