Quick question.?

Question

Okay, I'm 12 and I'm going into 7th grade.

Turning 13 in April.

Well until I turn 13 I want to do things to get experience with babysitting.

This summer I think I might call up my old babysitter who runs a home business by babysitting children, and see if I can spend a couple weeks with her helping her out with the kids.

And I also might see if I can voulteer at a daycare?

If not I might go to the place where my mom works because they start earlier than my school and work with the Pre-K kids for a few days.

And take a babysitting course somewhere or CPR. Do those sound like good things to do before I turn 13, because 13 souns a fair age to babysit. I've baby sat a 6,3 and 1 and half year old for two hours and I got $15 dollars.

Answer 1

i'm not sure quite what your question is here.

however:

i started babysitting for my aunt when i was 13 - her daughter was just 3 months at the time.

although a cpr course is always a good thing to have done (future employers will look very favourably on anyone who has first aid training of any sort), the main thing is to be responsible in your daily life - most babysitting is arranged through word-of-mouth, and parents want babysitters who will be able to care for the kids whilst setting a good example.  so if they see that you keep up with your schoolwork and don't get into any trouble they will be more likely to hire you.

apart from this, the most important thing of all is to listen to any instructions the parents give you when you babysit.  they know their kids best, they know when they are likely to misbehave and what they will do when they're playing up, and they know what things make their children anxious and where you will need to reassure them.

all you really need to get started is a relative or friend of your parents, who knows you and your family, to let you look after their children for a bit.  if you have done this, you can ask them to act as a reference for future jobs, and if they think you are any good, they will hire you over and over, and recommend you to their friends.

i got 4 good years of babysitting for my aunt and her friends this way, from when her first child was a baby until i left home, and then... well, i'm actually still doing it, only now it's not just for a few hours while they're round having dinner in the neighbourhood, it's for 3 or 4 days while my aunt and uncle go to paris for a weekend! (the oldest kid is now 15, so it's been quite a nice little earner for over half my life!)

just make sure that you always know where to contact the following while you're sitting:

1) the parents of the children

2) the emergency services (just in case)

3) your own parents, in case there's anything that isn't an emergency but you're not sure how to deal with it, or in case there's something really badly wrong and you need help dealing with it.

all of this is much easier now that most people have mobile phones and are contactable when they're not home.

volunteering at a daycare may well turn out to be a good way to make contact with families who need a sitter, and will prove to parents that you are committed and enthusiastic for the work.