 Let me begin with that if I was a teenager now I would be just like these teenagers, and your children would be running around with no supervision. I’m not proud, but I have to admit that I was a bad babysitter. In my defense teenagers are self obsessed, that is normal, and I was no different.
I thought I was a pretty responsible person, and realized that if something happened to children in my care it would be my fault so I was a strict babysitter. Parents loved me because kids were in bed on time, dishes were done, and toys were picked up; but their kids really didn’t like me because I did a lot of yelling. I was a horrible babysitter admittedly. I had no idea what I was doing, it was just a job, and I was getting paid to simply sit and watch out for the kids, and raid the refrigerator. Another thing I wasn’t proud of; I loved seeing what the families had to eat and I would eat cookies, chips, and Mac n Cheese. It was like a treasure of food; not that we didn’t have the same food in my home but for some reason it always tasted better in someone else’s home.
I’m also not saying that older or mature people don’t do the same thing when they’re watching kids. I see it all the time at the park, playgrounds, stores, parking lots, and the list goes on. I’m shocked at how much people ignore kids. If it’s their parents that’s one thing but if it’s a care giver that’s a whole different ball of wax. Babysitters face legal action not just for abuse (which should never happen either emotionally or physically), but also if they sometimes do the exact same things parents do when with their children like texting for example.
When you babysit children you’re held to a higher standard. You can’t be on your phone, you can’t be on Facebook or other social media, you shouldn’t be chatting with friends, you shouldn’t be taking kids to places to meet your friends. It is your job to be with those kids and give them all of your attention. That is your job and your only concern for the time you’re with the kids. If you’re not then you could possible risk having legal action if something happens under your watch to the children in your charge.
That’s why, I think, babysitting is hard. There is so much at risk if you don’t do it properly. Children are at risk; not paper, not books, not a missed order, not a misplaced pen. The thing that you are responsible for is a living, breathing , human being and you sure as heck better not misplace THAT!
