1. My best friend and I took a babysitting class at the hospital when we were in 4th or 5th grade that taught CPR and who knows what else. It was great!
2. I made my own Babysitter's Club-inspired Kid Kit but I don't think I ever once remembered to bring it with me.
1. My best friend and I took a babysitting class at the hospital when we were in 4th or 5th grade that taught CPR and who knows what else. It was great!
2. I made my own Babysitter's Club-inspired Kid Kit but I don't think I ever once remembered to bring it with me.
3. I was a mother's helper starting at age 10 and then started babysitting the year after that. As a child-free Illinoisan, it blows my mind that kids can't be left unattended until age 14 now. WHY and HOW. I was the go-to babysitter for the neighborhood. The neighbors made sure my mom was home when I first started out or when I watched an infant for the first time, just as a back up. But I never needed the help.
4. Most families paid me $2/hour but one family paid me $4 AND left an array of snacks for me. The absolute dream!
5. Because I was mostly watching neighborhood kids, there was no issue of transportation. I'd just walk across the street. The exception was my neighbor's sister who lived across town. Either she or her husband would pick me up or drop me off. There was never any weirdness with the husband—I don't think I ever thought twice about being in a car alone with him, which I now recognize could have gone south. I'm grateful all my babysitting experiences were positive, aside from the occasional kid puke incident.
6. Once I left for college, my younger brother took over most of my babysitting gigs. We had girls and guys babysit us growing up so babysitting never seemed like a gendered thing to either of us.
7. I nannied twice as an adult (once after grad school when jobs were scarce and once in my early 30s when I was massively burned out by work) and I'm still in touch with the last family I worked for. I adore them and I'm so glad nannying gave me some space to figure out what I wanted my life to look like.
Some of my babysitting highlights:
1. My best friend and I took a babysitting class at the hospital when we were in 4th or 5th grade that taught CPR and who knows what else. It was great!
2. I made my own Babysitter's Club-inspired Kid Kit but I don't think I ever once remembered to bring it with me.
3. I was a mother's helper starting at age 10 and then started babysitting the year after that. As a child-free Illinoisan, it blows my mind that kids can't be left unattended until age 14 now. WHY and HOW. I was the go-to babysitter for the neighborhood. The neighbors made sure my mom was home when I first started out or when I watched an infant for the first time, just as a back up. But I never needed the help.
4. Most families paid me $2/hour but one family paid me $4 AND left an array of snacks for me. The absolute dream!
5. Because I was mostly watching neighborhood kids, there was no issue of transportation. I'd just walk across the street. The exception was my neighbor's sister who lived across town. Either she or her husband would pick me up or drop me off. There was never any weirdness with the husband—I don't think I ever thought twice about being in a car alone with him, which I now recognize could have gone south. I'm grateful all my babysitting experiences were positive, aside from the occasional kid puke incident.
6. Once I left for college, my younger brother took over most of my babysitting gigs. We had girls and guys babysit us growing up so babysitting never seemed like a gendered thing to either of us.
7. I nannied twice as an adult (once after grad school when jobs were scarce and once in my early 30s when I was massively burned out by work) and I'm still in touch with the last family I worked for. I adore them and I'm so glad nannying gave me some space to figure out what I wanted my life to look like.