Smart Advice From Top Teen Sitters
Meet the kids before the parents leave. “This is especially important if the child will be asleep before you arrive,” says Caroline D., a 19-year-old in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. “If a 3-year-old wakes up and mommy’s not there, how is he going to react?”
Ask a lot of questions. “I ask for numbers I can reach them at, where the first-aid materials are, and if there is anything the kids can’t eat or are allergic to,” says Bailey D., a 15-year-old sitter from Des Moines, Iowa.
Bring along a survival kit, “like a few age-appropriate toys and a mini first-aid kit,” Caroline suggests.
Don’t invite friends over. “It’s distracting and things can easily go wrong,” Caroline says.
Be parent-friendly. “I always try to make the house look better than it did when I arrived,” Bailey says. “and give the kids a bath before bedtime.”
Joan Anderson 07/13/07
Great article! I think what’s really interesting about it is how it encourages parents to get to know their kids before they decide if they can do this job. It’s not the actual babysitting you have to consider, it’s the responsibility. I would definitely enroll my twin 12-year-olds in a babysitting course first.
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