A babysitter is someone selected by a family or person to care for a child, and may or may not be fully qualified or experienced to do so. Some babysitters are young siblings or a family member not au fait with childcare practices.
Teenagers often do babysitting to earn some pocket money, and if this is enjoyed, some teenagers later opt to formally train as childcarers. Babysitting may be short term or longer term depending on the childcare needs and the needs of the family. Tasks may vary from playing with children, watching a child sleep, making meals, driving or walking the child to activities, and teaching the child basic skills.
Babysitting may involve caring for a child on behalf of parents for a couple of hours while they go out, on an ad hoc or regular basis. Some babysitters are hired on contract while others work informally for pocket money.
The purpose of the Babysitter in doing Babysitting is to:
- Meet the child’s needs while in care
- Responding appropriately if there is an emergency
- Using the family rules during care of the child or children
- Keeping children busy with positive activities, such as reading
- Giving medication where needed
- Feeding the child or children
- Helping the child or children with their development, such as using the toilet or changing nappies
- Assisting with homework (depending on the age of the child)
- Preparing children for bed
- Washing up and clearing or cleaning after the child
- Doing household duties as needed
The child’s needs
Depending on the child’s needs, the babysitter’s responsibilities may vary from feeding with a bottle to changing nappies. If children are older, it may be to prepare meals, help with homework, prepare for bed and so on. In all cases, the babysitter is ultimately responsible for the safety and care of the child.
Family rules for babysitting
Parents often have particular habits for their children or family rules that they want enforced, such as time for feeding and bed. Babysitters are meant to abide by such rules during their care. If children are read to before bed, the Babysitter is meant to do reading for the child before bed as part of the babysitting activity. Other activities may be walking the child to school in the morning or completing household duties, like laundry, after putting the child or children to bed. Some children are not allowed to eat certain foods or go to certain places. Parent(s) usually give clear instructions to the Babysitter about “Babysitting Rules”.
Emergency contacts
The parent(s) ensure the babysitter always has their contact numbers and also emergency contacts, such as neighbours, police, fire brigade, NHS Emergency, among some. Babysitters are taught what to do and what not to do, and are shown what is best for the child and safety.
Household chores/duties
Babysitters are often expected to clean up after the children. Depending what the babysitter is paid for, the chores may vary. The core duties of a Babysitter should be babysitting and childcare, not being used as a domestic in the home when performing Babysitting duties.
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