Caring for Kids

If you have a knack for caring for kids, you might want to think about becoming a babysitter in the near future. You may not be able to make the equivalent of a pediatric nurse salary doing this, but you should be able to make more than minimum wage. You just have to find the right clients to work with and figure out if this is the right line of work for you. Before you get your hopes too high about pay though, you may want to know what babysitting work is going for nowadays. Here are some charts that can help you see just that.

Babysitter Wages by Years of Experience

As you become more experienced in childcare, you will be able to make more money as a babysitter. That is because people will be more likely to trust their children with you, seeing that you have a reputation for doing good work. Listed below are some of the common salaries you may experience as you grow in your career.

• Less than 1 year: $5.03 – $10.18 an hour
• 1-4 years: $4.99 – $11.66 an hour
• 5-9 years: $5.19 – $12.96 an hour
• 10-19 years: $6.11 – $15.19 an hour
• 20 years or more: $4.87 – $15.60 an hour

Babysitter Wages by Employer Type

Some employers pay more money than others, so you might want to look into several different kinds of work before settling in somewhere. Most babysitters run their own business and work for individual clients from there. You just have to determine if that is the right path for you. Here is a look at the changes in salary you may experience with different employers.

• Company: $7.32 – $15.10 an hour
• Contract: $4.93 – $14.68 an hour
• Fellowship: $4.79 – $19.87 an hour
• Franchise: $8.50 – $13.24 an hour
• Hospital: $6.00 – $12.00 an hour
• Non-Profit Organization: $5.00 – $8.50 an hour
• Private Practice: $6.00 – $12.21 an hour
• School District: $5.75 – $11.00 an hour
• Self-Employed: $5.05 – $14.54 an hour
• University: $7.00 – $12.00 an hour

Babysitter Wages by Benefits

Some clients will actually offer benefits for your work as a babysitter, just like the benefits you would find in the corporate world. These benefits will have an impact on your salary, so you might want to explore your options before taking on a job. This list shows just how your salary may change when benefits come into play.

• Casual Dress: $5.09 – $14.82 an hour
• Cell Phone: $4.84 – $11.84 an hour
• Flexible Schedule: $5.27 – $13.91 an hour
• Free Drinks: $5.06 – $14.32 an hour
• Paid Holidays or Vacations: $6.07 – $19.87 an hour
• Pets at Work: $4.79 – $13.50 an hour
• Work from Home: $4.87 – $7.57 an hour

Babysitter Wages by Location

As you may expect, some babysitters make more than others based on their location in the country. You might want to look into the wages specific to your area before deciding if this is a career you want to pursue. Here is a list of babysitter wages throughout the country:

• California: $5.15 – $15.04 an hour
• Florida: $5.12 – $14.62 an hour
• Illinois: $4.99 – $12.16 an hour
• Michigan: $4.80 – $11.84 an hour
• New York: $5.34 – $19.32 an hour
• Pennsylvania: $5.24 – $14.83 an hour
• Texas: $5.00 – $11.00 an hour

Working as a babysitter could be a great way for you to spend time with children and get paid at the same time. If you know of people in your area that want help like this, consider pursuing a career as a caregiver in the future.

Children can be a joy to be around, but they can also be a little intimidating. This may seem like an absurd way to think about someone the size of Verne Troyer, but some people just don’t handle children well. My mother always says that she “doesn’t know how to play” with my younger brother, so he ends up having to entertain himself. If you feel like you are in a similar predicament, you may just need to learn how to play well with children.

You don’t need to have a teaching career to know how to play with little kids. You just need to have a desire to be involved with their lives. If you think you can do that, you should do just fine with the suggestions below.

Think with Your Imagination

Children have wonderful imaginations, and they use them all the time. If you ever see a group of children playing with one another, listen to the stories they are telling each other. You’ll hear them come up with elaborate stories about whatever it is they are doing, even if they don’t make a lot of sense. You need to think in the same way when you start playing with a child. This may not be easy to do at first, but you just have to get yourself in that childlike state of mind. Come up with cooky ideas that flow with those of the child, and you may actually start having fun along the way.

Do Something as a Team

Kids like to feel like they are part of the action, whatever that action may be. That is why they always ask to do stuff with you. Try to come up with something that you can do together as a team, like an art project or a special game that is designed for little kids. If you can get the kid to feel like he or she is included in what you are doing, you will have a much better chance of enjoying the time you spend with him or her.

Think with Innocence

The reason why little kids can lead such carefree lives is because they are innocent. They don’t have anything to be ashamed of – no regrets. If you can put yourself in that state of mind, you may have an easier time playing with children. For the time being, put work, school, and the bills behind you. The only thing you need to focus on is play time. As silly as this sounds, it can make a huge difference in your ability to play with little kids. Remove yourself from life’s stress for a few moments, and you might be surprised by the results of your efforts.

Watch Some Children’s Shows

Sometimes all you need to do to play well with children is get an understanding of how they think. You can do this by watching children’s shows and seeing their reactions to the things going on in them. My niece used to love Dora the Explorer, and she would get mesmerized by the TV when it was on. That made me realize that she would respond well to hide and go seek because it was a game similar to the journeys that Dora was going through on the show. We had a blast playing hide and seek every time I saw her, so I know this works. You just have to find the right show for inspiration.

Put yourself in the mind of a child, and you will be able to play well with him or her. It works every time. I promise.

Getting “the talk” is a big moment in a child’s life. It is when he or she discovers what happens behind closed doors, and clothed doors for that matter. As big of an event as this may be for a child, it is just as big of an event for a parent. You may be nervous and hesitant about this moment, but it is something that has to happen. Otherwise your kids will learn the facts of life from the creepy guy that sits at the back of the bus. Is that what you want? Eh, I didn’t think so. Here are some tips to help you find the right time to talk to your child about sex.

When the Kid Asks

One of the easiest times to give your child the talk is when he or she asks about the subject. This is not always a great fall-back plan thought because some kids never ask. I didn’t. My parents tried to shelter me from the world, so I never really had something to spark my curiosity. I just learned stuff at school as I went. My mother eventually explained the basics of the process to me when I was a teenager, but by then I had learned everything I needed to know. If your kid happens to say something to you about this topic of interest, answer him or her.

When Puberty Strikes

Another convenient time to talk to a child about sex is when he or she hits puberty. That way you can explain the changes going on in the child’s body and connect it with the subject at hand. Some doctors say this is too late and that a kid should be informed about life much earlier than this. You will have to figure out what the best option is for your child specifically.

When the School Has a Class

Most elementary schools have a day where they show a video about sex to kids so they can learn about their bodies and what they are capable of. You do not have to allow your child to watch this, but it may answer some of the questions you didn’t think about when you had the talk. I would recommend talking to the child before the video, just so he or she knows how to interpret it. However, you could wait until afterword because the process will petty much be out in the open at that point. Either way, this is a good time to plan the talk.

When the Child Is Ready

If you feel like your child is starting to get curious about sex, that may be a good time to jump in with the talk. My little brother recently started hanging out with a girl in his bedroom a lot, and he got really awkward whenever he came out of his room with her. My mother and I both thought he was getting “curious” about this little girl, which sparked my stepfather to give him the talk. You just have to pick up on signs like that and try to minimize the problems that may arise in the future.

When You Are Ready

At the end of the day, you have to make the commitment to talk to your child. You’ll probably feel like you’re going through a FBI Q & A at this point, but you just have to get through it. Even a child in the gifted and talented program will need an explanation of some sort. Man up, and get ready to provide that for your little one.

One of the hardest parts of being a parent or babysitter is having to punish a child. No kid likes to be punished, an no person wants to be disciplinary. Nevertheless, kids have to be taught the difference between right and wrong at an early age, which means that their actions have to have consequences. If you have been trying to come up with a way to show your child what not to do, you may want to look at a few punishment techniques to try out. Every child is different, so you never know what your kid will respond to until you test out a theory or two. Here are some suggestions that you can use to discipline your child in the future.

Time Out

If your child is fairly young, he or she may respond to a simple time out. This is where you make the child sit in a quite spot in a room to think about what he or she has done. Some kids will get upset enough by this process to reverse their actions. Others will just use it as a way to create a bigger temper tantrum. If you think that your child will be able to correct the problem by just thinking about it, try a time out and see if it works.

Spanking

I’m not a huge fan of spanking, but I know that it can be effective in moderation. In this case, you will use an open hand to swat your child on the butt as punishment for his or her bad behavior. I would not recommend this if you are simply watching a child, but you could try it for your own. By law, you cannot use a stick or belt to spank your child if he or she has done something wrong – at least not by law in America. You can only use an open palm to do this. I wouldn’t try spanking your child until you knew that nothing else would work. Most kids respond better to other forms of punishment.

Grounding

If your child is old enough to go out of the house, you could ground him or her from leaving. This would basically turn your home into a prison for the child, which may cause him or her to avoid a certain activity in the future. I never got grounded as a child because my mom sheltered me in general. I didn’t have anywhere to go and thus did not have anything to be grounded from. If your child does something wrong right before a big event at school, prevent him or her from going to it. That should make your kid think twice about doing the same thing in the future.

Disappointment

Some kids actually respond by simply knowing that they have let you down. They would rather be given a series of extensive chores to do than to deal with the fact that they let their parents down. I was one of those children. My mom just had to give me a look, and I knew that I had messed up. I swear she could teach a class on this at CTU online. She was that effective at it. I can’t say that I corrected myself every single time this happened, but I definitely thought about my actions. You can try to do the same with your children to see if they will feel bad for letting you down.

Taking away Privileges

This may be considered a form of grounding or perhaps even an extension to it. In this case, you will take away something that your child likes to do as a form of punishment for something he or she did wrong. If your child is obsessed with his or her cell phone, take it away for a night – just one night. I guarantee it will make a world of difference. You could do the same with an allowance, the TV, video games, toys, etc. You just have to think about what your kid will miss the most and then use that as a tool to make him or her a better person.

Final Thoughts

Kids are going to make mistakes. That is just something that comes with the territory. As a parent or caregiver, it is your job to help a child get past this mistake so that he or she can understand the right way to live. You may not get an instant reaction from your punishments, but you will eventually find something that works for you. Test out the options above the next time your child does something wrong, and you will hopefully find a way to get him or her on the right track in life.