There are so many things toremember when babysitting. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions regarding babysitting.

What if the parents have to come home drunk and they are supposed to drive me home?

Don’t get in the car with them. Work it out with your parents ahead of time so that you can call them in that situation. You can tell the parents that your mom or dad called while they were gone and said that they would pick you up. If they ask why you can always say that you parent wanted to go for ice cream or to your grandparents. Tell them you will call your parent and let them know you are ready to be picked up. If for some reason your parents won’t be home that night, ask a family friend or a neighbor if you could call them in that situation.

What should I do if the child bites me?

Tell the parents. Biting can be very serious, especially if the child breaks the skin. If they bite you and it does break the skin, you should have it looked at by a doctor. Wash and sterilize the wound and put a band-aid or gauze over it until the doctor can look at it. You need to make sure the parents know because if the child goes to daycare or school, the parents need to make the teachers aware of the fact, and they can work on getting the child to stop.

How do I figure out what to charge

That depends on a few things. Where you live is a big factor. If you live in an upscale neighborhood, pay could run anywhere from ten to fifteen dollars an hour. If you live in a middle class neighborhood, eight to ten dollars an hour is sufficient. Age is another factor, the older you are the more you can charge. This will help you get a better idea of what you should charge.

Should I answer the phone?

Ask the parents. That is a good question to ask, because they might want you to answer in case they want to call and check on things. Sometimes there is an answering machine where you can hear the message. I almost always let that pick up, but I monitor who is on the phone. Caller ID is good also, if you don’t know the person, don’t answer the phone.

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Your three-year-old charge smiles up at you as sweetly as can be. “Can I have a piece of candy?” She asks, pulling you over to the cupboard. Before you can even answer she is jumping up and down in front of the cupboard, squealing “In here! It’s in here! Hurry, hurry, get it!”

It’s just before dinner though, and her mother told you that she couldn’t have any until after dinner. “Not now, Sarah,” You tell her. “Your mom said that you could have some after dinner.” You wince as the sweet, adorable Sarah throws herself onto the ground, screaming and kicking with all her might.

What do you do now? Do you give in and hand her a piece of candy? Do you punish her? Absolutely not. Here are some things you can do, though, to handle temper tantrums.

If you are in a situation like in the example above, you have a few options. In this situation you aren’t forbidding the activity completely, you are just telling the child that they have to wait a while. Unfortunately, small children aren’t very good at waiting. The first thing you need to remember to do is always keep a calm voice. They are screaming loudly, but if you raise your voice, they will raise theirs also. By keeping a low tone of voice, they will have to quiet down to hear you. They won’t quit screaming or crying most likely, but they will tone it down a bit because they don’t want to miss what you are saying. You could be telling them that they can have what it is they want for all they know.

Remember the“compliment sandwich” that was used on you as a child? Where they told you what you did right, then what you did wrong, then something else you did right again? What you are going to do next is a variation on that. Tell them when they can do it, that they can’t do it until then, and once again when they can do it. (E.G., “After dinner you can have some candy, but not before. When you have eaten your dinner you can have it.”)

If there is a set time the child can do it, be sure to tell them when it is. If it I two o’clock now, and they can go outside to play at four, show them on a clock. Point to the big hand and tell them the number. Then show them where the big hand has to be before they can go outside to play. You can’t show them until they have finished their tantrum, but offering to show them where the clock will be is often a good way to get them to stop crying.

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Finding a babysitter you trust and the kids love can be a challenge. Find out where to find a qualified babysitter, as well as how to keep a sitter happily employed.  Whether you’re looking for a teenage babysitter or a regular in-home caregiver, begin by asking your friends, colleagues, and neighbors for recommendations.  Call your local library, YMCA, and community education facility to find out whether they offer babysitting classes. If they do, they might be able to give you a list of local babysitters.

Also consider contacting your local community college or nearby universities. Their early education departments may have job boards where you can post your request.  Schedule interviews with each potential candidate. If possible, make arrangements to conduct the interviews in your home so that the candidates can meet and interact with your children.  Prepare a list of questions for the interview. There are five main categories you’ll want to cover during the interview: previous experience, rules, emergencies, play time, and compensation.  Once you’ve selected a babysitter, ask him or her to arrive early on the first day so that you can go over your rules and expectations.  Also think about how you can make your babysitter’s experience in your home a pleasant one. You might consider keeping a few special snacks around and reminding your children that the house rules remain in effect when you are not home.  Try to be home when you said you would. Your sitter may have other plans, or may simply need a break by the time you arrive home.  Finally, always treat your children’s babysitter with respect. Stick to the hourly rate you agreed upon during the interview, and occasionally ask the sitter how things are going. Take the time to express how much you appreciate what he or she does for your family. Your kind words could mean more than you know!

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Parents who have never left their child before, except maybe with relatives, are sometimes really panicky. They are worried that their baby will cry all the time, or will be scared. The babysitter has to help teach these parents that their child will be just fine without them. The advantage is that if you do a good job, you will probably get all their work, because they will be too nervous to use a different babysitter.

If you know a parent who has never left her baby, offer your services as a babysitter. Suggest you come over a few times for free so the baby will get to know you, or offer to work as a mother’s helper, which means you’ll take care of the baby but the mother will be home. Tell the parents that this will help the kids get to know you. While you are there, play with the baby, read it stories and do all the diaper-changing and other tasks. The harder you work, the more impressed the mother will be. If the baby goes to sleep, offer to help the parent with housework or other tasks. Be sure you take the baby into other rooms away from the mother after it knows you well.

Ask good questions about the child so the parents will be impressed by the way you care about her. Ask what her sleep routine is, what toys she likes best and that sort of thing. Let the parent show off her knowledge of the baby. Most of the time, you will want to do things just the way the parent does, but if she seems really unsure of what to do, then you can do what works for you. You might even give her new ideas.

When you’ve been helping for a little while, suggest the mother go to the grocery store or something just for a little while. When she sees her baby survives, she might be willing to start letting you be a real babysitter. Tell her that most babies cry until their mother leaves and as soon as they hear the mother return, but not in between. They just want the mother to stay, but you will be sure she has a good time while her mother is gone. Tell the mother that in your experience, if you babysit regularly, the baby will learn that the parents go away, but then come back.

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