Babysitting tips for toddlers
Babysitting for toddlers will be one of the most challenging ventures of your babysitting careers. Not only are they going to want your complete attention but they will have the idea set in their minds that they want to test all of your limits as well as their own, so it’s probably a good idea to go in with a checklist of what you set out to do in the time you are with them in order to make clear who is running the show.
In order to help you overcome what may be troubling you in how to cope as well as occupy toddlers, our Fran team has constructed a list of tips to help calm your nerves, and make you every toddler’s number one babysitter.
Ground rules are a must.
It’s important to establish ground rules before the parents leave, try to learn as much as you can from these rules about the style of parenting that the parents of the child like using. It’s important to establish what is fine by the parents whilst their children are in your care and what is not fine. Don’t break any rules or fall for any sneaky toddler tricks such as ice cream before bed to keep the nightmares away. Kids at all ages love testing the limits to see if they can get things to go their own way, and in times of them demanding, “Mummy and daddy always let me…..” You will know exactly how mummy and daddy feel about this situation.
Never leave them alone.
At this age toddlers love to explore and see everything as an adventure, opening up, closing, and digging for just about everything everywhere in the house. It is so important that through these adventures they are always being watched, at the end of the day they are under your supervision, so they should be supervised at all times. Keeping anything dangerous away from within their reach is extremely important to ensure the child’s overall safety and wellbeing.
Snacks are always a good idea.
As growing little people- toddlers tend to be eating more as they are moving all the time and growing rapidly. If they are feeling peckish or keep asking when their next meal is don’t be afraid to give them a healthy snack to cure the tummy grumbles. On this note always discuss with the parents any allergies that the children may have, as well as what the child loves and dislikes eating. When providing them with their snacks and meals, always ensure you watching them to ensure there are no choking hazards.
Make an activity list, note that books are not prehistoric at this age.
Keeping toddlers occupied is extremely important. Make sure you have lots of toys out to play with, depending on their age craft is always a good idea, and maybe even read them a book. Kids love story time, and any opportunity to put their imagination to use. Prepare yourself for the child to want to swap between games and toys, and not want to sit still for as long as you may want to. Whilst they will appreciate that you want to play with blocks, they may also just want to wobble around in the backyard for a while. When reading them books make sure it’s one full of pictures and colour, encourage the use of dialogue in-between such as, “Is that a dog? What sound does a dog make?”, as well as describe the animals and sounds.
Have a limited amount of options, too many and they may lose interest.
Keep the child’s interest by only showing them one toy at a time and introducing new characters or toys in slowly. This helps the child have a greater understanding for the game and information you may be sharing with them as well as doesn’t over crowd their mind and make them lose interest quicker.
Hope some of these tips can be helpful to you. Check out some of our other blogs if you need some extra idea or information surrounding your babysitting position.
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