Being a babysitter is a responsible job. It’s not
the sort of thing that you should enter into because
all your friends are doing it or you just want the money.
The money is great but you will gain a lot more satisfaction
from the job if you take a little while to examine why
you want to do it in the first place.
Maybe you love children? That’s a good start!
Maybe you’re thinking of working with children
in the future as a Nursery Nurse or assistant, or even
as a teacher. Working as a babysitter is great as a ‘dry
run’ for these jobs. Children can be endearing,
cute, adorable and loveable. They can also be difficult,
demanding, downright dislikable at times and totally
exhausting.
If you discover that babysitting isn’t really
for you, be honest with yourself and with the parents.
Trying to continue a job like this when your heart
isn’t in it can lead to a drop in standards and
everyone will end up miserable.
I love it!
If you do enjoy it – make the most of the experience.
Building a relationship with children and parents can
be extremely rewarding and satisfying. If children
are going to play a large part in your life, either
as an employee or as a Mother (or Father) yourself – use
it as a learning opportunity.
Watch the children as they play and observe how they
reason things out through role playing or the use of
dolls and toys. You might be amazed to find that even
small children are highly observant of what is going
on around them – especially things that they’re
not supposed to know about or notice!
If you’re lucky enough to work regularly with
one family, watch how the children are growing and
changing. Their speech will alter and their physical
abilities will change and become more defined.
Taking all of this in may sound like a lot of work
but if you just absorb it while you play and interact
with them, you will be learning a lot about children
just by spending time with them.
How babysitting can affect you.
You will learn a lot about yourself. Many parents
say that they didn’t know that they had a temper
until they had children! Children are masters at testing
you to your limit and beyond, just to see how far they
can go. However, they love boundaries as it makes them
feel safe. Don’t fall into the trap of over-indulging
them just because it is cute to see them behave like
tiny adults. They’re not and they’re looking
to you for guidance and the safety of limitation.
It might feel strange at first to be ‘in charge’ of
the children – unless you have younger brothers
and sisters. It’s fairly important to be firm
from day one. You can always relax a little later but
if you start off too laid back, it’s much harder
to regain control.
Having the responsibility of babysitting and carrying
it out successfully can be a great confidence booster.
This can affect other areas of your life. You may find
that you’re not as shy as you once were or that
it’s easier to make decisions.
Getting the most from babysitting can make it a fulfilling
and enjoyable job. There is a saying that in any situation,
you get out what you put in – and babysitting
is a perfect example of that…so give it your
best shot and enjoy!
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