Books from library can help you be better babysitter—January 25, 2008
Any parent will tell you, good babysitters are hard to find! If you have never done any babysitting and would like to learn how, or if you are currently babysitting but would like to improve your skills, help is available at the library.
“The Babysitter’s Handbook” by Harriet Brown includes advice for babysitters on such topics as feeding, crying, keeping children entertained, and bedtime. Although it contains many helpful tips, the author points out that reading a book cannot take the place of hands-on training.
Debra Mostow Zakarin’s “The Ultimate Baby-Sitter’s Handbook, or, So You Wanna Make Tons of Money?” covers advice on starting a babysitting business as well as on topics such as questions to ask the parents before they leave and things to do (or not do!) with different ages of children.
“Safety for Babysitters” by Lucia Raatma contains chapters such as “Being in Charge,” “What to Do in an Emergency,” and “How to Have Fun and Be Safe.” It also includes suggestions on where to go to learn more about babysitting safety.
Annie Buckley’s “Be a Better Babysitter” is one of the newest books on babysitting in the children’s collection. It contains a list of do’s and don’ts for the sitter as well as a suggested list of items to take along in your “babysitter’s bag” to help entertain the children.
There are five books in the new “Snap Books: Babysitting” series in the children’s department. This series includes “Babysitting Jobs: The Business of Babysitting,” Babysitting Skills: Traits and Training for Success,” “Babysitting Basics: Caring for Kids,” “Babysitting Safety: Preventing Accidents and Injuries,” and “Babysitting Activities: Fun with Kids of All Ages.” Each of these titles is illustrated with color photographs and contains many good tips to improve your skills.
Babysitting is a big responsibility and it takes a mature preteen or teen to be a good babysitter. And remember, babysitting is not just for girls! Some of my children’s favorite sitters were boys.
