Adventures in Babysitting
By Faith, age 15, Indiana
Babysitting is always a teen's nightmare. You have to watch the little twirps run around the place, making messes you have to clean up, not listening to a word you say, and not enjoying the food you made for them! It's enough to make you up and quit!! But I have a few tips that will keep the kids loving you and the cash flowing in!
Games
Kids love games. I should know this, since I live in a neighborhood full of little kids, from ages 3 to 14. Of course, my mom is so nice that the kids end up coming over to our house to spend the weekend ... and what can you do to keep 6 and 8 year olds busy? My mom came up with the greatest ideas for the "younglings".In our front yard, which is huge, she set up 5 mini games. One station was an egg toss, station 2 was a baby bottle drinking contest (the bottles were filled with juice), station 3 was a race, station 4 was a potato sack race (we used garbage bags as potato sacks), and station 5 was a free popsicle stand. It kept the kids going for hours. And every weekend they wanted to do it!
Road Trip
Take them to the park to burn off some steam! If you can drive, take them to a museum! Take a walk around the neighborhood, and maybe the kids will see some of their friends, and you can let them play with them!Getting Them to Eat
This is always hard, especially if you're feeding the kids something they hate. What I always do is make the food fun for them. You might be wondering what I'm talking about. Here are a few tips that will help them enjoy what they eat:1. Have the kids help you. They love to be involved with things. They surely eat it since they helped make it!
2. Ask them what they like ... then if you can make it!!
3. Be creative when you give them their plate. Make faces out of there food. Little kids love that!!
Cleaning
I always clean up after the kids fall asleep or when the kids are playing. I really try to get the house cleaner than before the parents left. Then maybe I can earn an extra large tip!!Hope these tips help!!
GOOD LUCK!!!
