Qualities to Look for in a Babysitter

A great side job for students to make money is babysitting. Some students may have been a babysitter before going to college, in which case they already know what it takes to be a great babysitter.

However, for those who want to try out babysitting as a way to make some extra money in school, what are some qualities to make the job a successful one? Here are six traits of a great babysitter.

1. Trustworthiness

Kind of a no-brainer, right? Parents want to trust you being alone with their children. How is this done? When applying to babysit for a family, ask to take them out for a cup of coffee to get to know them better. When meeting a family for the first time, it is a great way to build rapport with them and for them to get to know you better. Share why you want to babysit and some previous experiences, if any, with watching children. The more prepared you are to share your character with them, the more likely they are to trust you.

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2. Time Management

Babysitting while in college will demand some pretty good time management skills. On top of classes, homework, exams, friends, and clubs, adding babysitting is a tall order. College students are always busy these days. From all of those activities just mentioned, it seems like there are limited hours in the day to do it all.

Some advice? Pick the day where you are the least busy and try to babysit on those days. Feeling confident about your exceptional time management skills? Schedule a couple of days with the family you think you will always be available. Not only will this help plan your schedule, it will help the family have some peace of mind as to when they can rely on you to help them out.

3. Patience

Patience is a virtue. When working with younger kids, this is especially true. For those of you with younger siblings, I am sure you know what I mean (myself included). Patience goes a long way in building a great relationship with the children you babysit. By expertly managing a child’s attitude, you can get them to trust you and they will be more inclined to listen and respect you as you watch over them. This all begins with being patient and getting to know the child. Ask them what they find fun and that way you can build your time with them to be more productive, educational, and fun. In turn, you can teach the child you watch to be patient and other productive traits will follow.

4. Kindness

Kindness goes hand in hand with patience. If you are patient, you are more likely gentle and kind in working with people, especially children. Furthermore, your kindness is more likely to rub off on them. Kindness is the key to building great relationships between everyone, especially children. The kinder you are to them, the more likely they are to be kind to everyone they meet including other children their age, their parents, and even strangers. Do not forget, as a babysitter, you are also a role model to the children you take care of. Lead by example and teach them by how you treat them.

5. Creativity

Both children and parents love creative people. It helps stimulate their imagination and promotes an active mind and stimulates creative thoughts. Babysitters should be able to come up with creative, playful activities to keep the child entertained and educated. Parents count on babysitters to be not only caretakers but also educators. Being able to come up with creative activities is a necessity for babysitters and will help them stand out in a potential interview with a family.

6. Certified

It is a plus for babysitters to have certain qualified skills such as First Aid or CPR certifications. If an emergency were to pop up, would you be prepared? More and more parents are on the lookout for these certain sets of skills. Invest the time to take these classes. This will make you more marketable as a potential babysitter for a family and prove useful skills to have in emergencies.

Obviously, these are only a few important traits of a successful babysitter but very important traits to possess. Creativity, patience, kindness, and trust are all key to being a successful, hard-working babysitter. The next time you interview for a babysitting job, stress the traits you possess that would make you the perfect candidate for the job. Parents will appreciate learning more about your personality and experience to assess whether you would be a good fit for their family.