How to be a good babysitter: Top tips

Babysitting can be daunting whether you are a newbie or a practiced sitter. It’s responsibility. It’s emotional work. It can also be really fun! This is what is so special about babysitting; it’s a good sort of challenge. So, to help you out, here are some tips on how to be a good babysitter.

Learn some basic first aid: In my opinion, first aid is a skill that everyone should have and there are different courses you can do to learn these skills. For a babysitter, however, first aid is absolutely essential as kids live with a crash-bang sort of vibrancy that can lead to some scraped knees and the likes. Do you know how to stop bleeding? How to handle an allergic reaction? In an emergency, can you administer CPR? Being prepared for the worst could save a life and make you Babysitter of the Year.

Practice good communication: This starts with listening and it starts before the sit has even begun. It is so important to properly understand the directions of the parents or caretakers and the needs of each individual child. So listen. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Equally important is being able to advocate for yourself to communicate your own needs to the family, such as transport arrangement, times, and pay. Then, make sure you keep this communication up with the kids so that they are able to feel secure and heard while in your care. And of course, make sure you know how to contact the family, just in case.

Pencils

Be engaging: It sounds obvious, but being a good babysitter means you have to be good at sitting babies. Well, kids at least. For the most part, kids are pretty easily entertained. Frankly, it makes you wonder how you can ever be bored! From running around in the backyard to watching a film on Netflix, getting stuck into some arts and crafts or settling in for a bedtime story, there’s no end to the fun to be had. As a guide, I try to switch up the activities that we do so it isn’t all super active or overly passive. It keeps it interesting (and gives you a chance to rest after hours of playing tip).

You weren’t born yesterday, don’t let them think you were

Kids can be brilliantly devious, so you have to stay on top of your game. “But Mum usually lets me…” Ha, sure she does. It can be tempting to fall for those puppy dog eyes, but you must exercise some judgement here. I suppose the key to this is finding the balance between being their friend and being in charge of their welfare.

Ultimately, you have to think of what the parents would actually want and usually there’s a bit of a checklist for the sit to guide you here. In a similar vein, try not to join in on conflict that arises (i.e. channel Switzerland and stay neutral) and instead diffuse it. Smile and wave. I promise, this child isn’t as scary as they might seem.

Hopefully these tips help put your mind at ease about babysitting because really, they’re skills that a lot of us use in our daily lives anyway. So, what’s stopping you from claiming that #1 Babysitter mug? It’s yours for the taking. 

Playing with Lego
What a site! Needed a babysitter for Saturday night and just confirmed one within an hour! You guys are awesome!! SARA-JANE (Parent)
In just a month I have lined up several permanent and one-off jobs through this site. It's well put together and straightforward to use. I'm very grateful. NIKI (Babysitter)