Babysitting 101

Babysitting - a word commonly understood to mean a girl coming over to watch children while their parents are away for a time. If you're anything like me, you love this word, because it means an opportunity to play with kids and make money at the same time. :) I have babysat various kids since I was 14, and as I've gained experience, I've learned a few things that make a big difference in how well these adventures go. So, my fellow babysitting friends, I hope these tips help you!

1) Know the family. It really makes a difference if you know how the parents interact with the kids. What does mom do when there's a minor crisis? You know, the kid where someone bumps their head, scrapes their knee, calls their sibling a name, or drops their ice cream. Do they get a big "Awww, poor you, you sweet little suffering angel," or do they get a big, "You're fine, get over it"? Wat "fixes" it in the child's mind? A kiss for the boo-boo or a band-aid? What is typical restitution for conflict - an apology, time-out, no dessert? (By the way, spanking is NEVER a good idea unless the parents have specifically instructed you to do so.) Knowing how momma deals with these things will help you know what works best in these situations. Also, what's a big deal and what isn't? You may have your own views on parenting, but you're NOT the parent here. You do want to have a good influence when possible, but don't try to enforce your ideas. If it's not a big deal to the parent, don't make it a big deal to you.

2) Be the authority. It comes a surprise - especially to young babysitters - to find out that they are the authority in this situation. If the child misbehaves, you don't have to beg, plead, and coerce them to stop. You tell them to stop. Now, authority doesn't mean evil dictator - you don't get angry, raise your voice, show your power, or even count to three. You simply let them know their behavior is not okay and tell them to stop. If they don't, use small and peaceable means of enforcing it (like I said, know what mom does and it will help!).

3) Take time to NOT play with them. This sounds like a weird idea, I know. But the kids need to know that you aren't at their disposal 100% of the time. You may enjoy playing with them nonstop for a couple of hours, but if you ever have to babysit for a long time, it will be too much for you. So bring along a book, a craft/project, a journal, or something of that sort. At an appropriate time, let them know that you are going to go do ______ now, so they can play on their own/with each other until you're done. Even if it's just 15 minutes, it's good for them and good for you.

4) Be the leader. Often it helps if you decide what to do, instead of asking what they want to do. You don't always have to do this, but if they are fretful, indecisive, or you have several kids that all want to do something different, just cheerfully say, "We're going to do _______ now!" And lead them in it. More often than not, they'll jump right in and enjoy it.

5) Do something special. This is a great way to be a fun, favorite babysitter. Whether you're the babysitter who brings the crafts (that's me!) or bakes with them, or brings a treat, a movie, a book, play a certain game, or something different every time, it's super fun to be, well, fun! You'll love the way they look forward to you babysitting. :)

Happy babysitting! And happy Saturday :)

School and skits and stuff

Hi! Sorry it's been so long since I've written (do I say that every time? lol =]). It's hard to keep up with posting. A lot has happened; I'll try to post a summary of it. Let's see... I started school this past Tuesday. It was hard to get used to it the first couple of days, but I think I'm adjusted to the new schedule now. I usually like school because I'm the kind of person that likes a very structured, scheduled, orderly life. (You may not know it by my bedroom, but it's true =P)

This past Wednesday I did school again, then in the afternoon was drama team practice for the Teen Power-Up. I mentioned before that we're doing the "Everything" drama, which is REALLY awesome and powerful. I'm not in it, but I go to the practices anyway to fill in for anyone who couldn't make it, and just to help whenever I can. We stayed through from practice until prayer meeting that evening. At prayer meeting we got some disappointing news.... we might not be able to do the drama. There was some concern that the dancing/choreography wouldn't be appropriate, and a couple of other things. Everyone has been REALLY praying about it these past few days. I think that it has a really powerful message that is exactly what we want to express at this event, and if we do it it will be a huge ministry. At the same time though, we don't want to offend anyone, or cause anyone to stumble. So PLEASE pray that we would figure it out and be able to make it happen.

Yesterday I went to piano lessons! I am on my 5th year of lessons and they just started up again for the school year. I'm really excited - I love piano! Then today hasn't been terribly exciting, just school and chores, but it's been a good day. Tomorrow will be busy... we have drama team practice at 10 AM, then a picnic to go to, then I'm babysitting from 4 PM until late that night. I'll write more later I guess! :)

August 28-30, 2009

Wow! It's been a busy weekend! On Friday we headed out in the morning to go see some of our friends from PA who we were meeting at a mall a couple of hours away from our house. We got delayed by a whole bunch of stuff - road work, traffic, etc. and we got there almost an hour late, which was a bummer since we only had a short amount of time. We met our friends at the mall, then window shopped for a little while, just talking and enjoying ourselves. We had conflicting interests though... my friend Emily and I wanted to look around in Deb, but the boys wanted to go to Zumiez. We all just sort of went around and had fun and then went to Subway for lunch. We ate and then continued to walk around and look at stuff. Emily and I went to Deb and tried on some really pretty prom dresses. The one she tried on was yellow and she looked like Belle from Beauty and the Beast! It was really pretty. I tried on one that was off-white and really fluffy and lacy and it was so pretty. If it was a little longer and was pure white it would have looked just like a wedding dress! It was really, really pretty. After that we had to leave, so we said goodbye and headed to my grandparents' house to stay for the night.

The next morning we had to go to a funeral for my Great Grandmother. I was really encouraged to find out that in her last days she had accepted Christ as her Savior and so now she is in heaven with Jesus! Hallelujah!! After the funeral and a meal we headed home.

On Sunday, my mom and I had nursery during the morning service. There ended up being 7 kids there - all under the age of 3! It was pretty busy, one was wailing and crying for her mommy, one was really tired, one had an accident in the middle of the floor, and the rest were playing happily, but quite noisily! It was fun though; I love little kids. I found out that a family in our church who lives about 15 minutes away from us is in need of a babysitter, so I am REALLY excited about that!! I love babysitting!

Today I got up early and did chores throughout the morning. We had auditions today for a skit called "Everything" that our youth group is doing on September 19th, so I headed out to go to that around 11 AM. Different people tried out for different parts, and after a lot of practice we finally decided who the cast would be. I didn't get a part and was pretty bummed about that at first, but I'm glad because we got the perfect people for each part. After we had the parts chosen we practiced it a few more times. It went very well for a first practice. I'm really excited to see what God will do with it!

And I think that pretty much sums up my weekend. God is good! :)