Babysitting 101 | Tips and Guidelines for Beginners

Both of us, and our mom, Mindy from CuteGirlsHairstyles, are headed to VidCon in Anaheim, CA, this week, and will be holding two Meet Up's on Aug 3, 2013! We hope to see you there! See below for details:

For VidCon Attendees: Saturday from 3-3:30pm in YouTube's Fan Booth at the Anaheim Convention Center. You must have a VidCon ticket to get into this event. The first 10 fans will receive a free CGH vintage t-shirt!

For Non-Vidcon Attendees: Outside of Tortilla Joe's {at Downtown Disney in Anaheim} on Saturday from 5-6:00pm. Come meet us, take pictures, and the first 20 fans will receive a free CGH vintage t-shirt!

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It is back-to-school season, and we all need some extra spending money for new clothes, right? Well, since there are not many employment opportunities for pre-teen or early teen teens, babysitting is an excellent way to earn a little extra money, and it can be fun!

Brooklyn and I have been babysitting since we were age 11, when we used to go together as a package deal. Although it has only been 2.5 years of experience for us... we get asked to babysit by family friends and neighbors A LOT! Sometimes families even try to outbid each other to get us to babysit for them on a specific date!

Since so many of our fans are about our age, we thought it would be a great idea to share with you our tips and guidelines for babysitting. It isn't about just that day's job and the pay you get... we have to think of ourselves like a business. If we do a great job, going above what the parents expect us to do, it will likely lead to more "call backs", referrals, and even higher paying sitting jobs!

Please do leave a comment below, letting us know your tips for babysitting!

Hope our ideas help you, too!

xoxo

Bailey

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Music: Only You
License: Personal emailed permission from Katie herself.

[laurenmccue]

Take an old perfume bottle or spray bottle, put a lable that says monster spray on it. If the child is afraid of monsters. Spray around his room and house. If he or she can't sleep, say it is sleep spray.

[maddie-ehmw]

The craziest thing happened today! I am in Home Ec, and we just started our babysitting unit. And my teacher showed your video!

[supersitter]

A few things - tips, tricks, etc. 
1) I love Taylor Swift, and I would always sing the kids to sleep with her songs. Now, they request it, specifically "Never Grow Up" (which they refer to as the nightlight song)
2) ALWAYS STAY CALM AND KNOW FIRST AID. This is a biggie, especially when working around a kid with allergies. I once had a kid eat peanut butter by mistake (the package was mislabeled - the mother confirmed that). I knew there were 4 things for me to do - call 911, administer the epi-pen, call the parents, and still be aware of the other kids in the house. I did them in that order, and thankfully everything worked out. Just remember to stay calm - the kids feed off of you.
HAPPY BABYSITTING

[Hannah-mzib]

Lol, watching this 7 years later. so helpful!! They're so much smaller though!!

[carsonalexander]

another good idea for restless kids is to let them call their parents before bed to say i love you or good night and it will make them feel better!

[CuteGirlsHairstyles]

I think that is something you should ask the parents before the leave... just to make sure that they are ok with you taking their child to the park:)

[missloomer]

I tend to charge 8-10 dollars just because I clean and watch their kids but if the parent doesn't bring up how much you charge say "hey just wondering how much you pay per hour" so the parent doesn't feel like they have to agree with how much you say you charge and it is also a nice polite way to ask! :) I hope this helped you!!!

[haileedunn]

i started babysiting when i was 12 and when i was 13 i babysat a 15 year old it was halariase

[barbielover]

BABYSITTING TIPS:
1. Be fun! : if you are fun and cheerful with the child than they will beg their parents to hire you again!
2. Know where everything is. : if an emergency happens you need to know where all the supplies are.
3. MEAN IT. : if a child is being bad you CAN'T say something like "if you do that one more time I'm going to take away ALL your toys" because the child knows you don't really mean what you're saying. You SHOULD say something like " stop acting like that right now or I will put you in time out."
4. Get to know the kids. : if you know the kid(s) it will make them feel more welcome and closer to you. You can ask them things like "do you have any hobbies?" "What's your favorite T.V show?" This way you will know the child(ren) better.

I hope that helped!

[velfcookie]

I once babysat a 3 year old with ADHD and his sister who was 4 had a speech problem. HOOO boy lemme tell ya. Doing activities while trying to keep up with their personal needs is tiring but putting them to bed....oh my gosh. Thankfully they really liked to play hide and seek because all that running expended their energy that day and they fell asleep 10 minutes earlier than their normal time while I read them a book.

[rebekahlynn]

If the baby or toddler won't eat their food, they usually cry, right? Well, I use that to my advantage. When they open their mouth to scream, I shove the spoon of food in their mouth, and tell them to eat it. Trust me, it doesn't harm the child at all (just don't stick it down too far) and it gets the food in their mouth. But then, they won't swallow it and want to spit it out, that's when (while their mouth is closed) I use my index finger and rub their throat. THIS ALWAYS WORKS! They immediately swallow even if they don't want to. If their parents have set something aside for them to eat, make sure they eat the whole thing (unless the parent says they don't have to).

[amritaanand]

I've done babysitting for my little sis! So, We always make these little Wing Amulets. Craft projects really make kids feel great!

[thejasosei]

I watched this video in class!! We were learning about child care :)

[Lightupmyworld]

I'm 16 and I was really impressed, this was really helpful keep up the good work girls:)!

[mckenziestevens]

Does this make anyone else want to get a babysitting job? Haha.

[nicatnite]

I'm almost 13 and I've been wanting to start saving up money and I was on the fence about babysitting. This video made me sure that I want to start babysitting :) Thanks for the tips x

[PrettyGirlTomBoy]

Wow, these were really good tips! I never really thought about the TV one, because a lot of times the TV is already on when the parents leave, and they're like "Yeah, you can just leave the TV on." But it is a good idea to not have it on.

[kevinmondaine]

how did the kids stay asleep while your vacuuming???

[emileejohnson]

You guys are so fun and helpful! I love yours and your moms channel so much!! I love all your tips!! Thanks Brooklyn and Bailey!! xx

[oliviachew]

This really helped me! I'm going to take a Red Cross class soon, and am hoping to get fun babysitting jobs. Thank you so much!!