babysitting, and the youngster
A few weeks ago, the wife called me at work. She asked what I thought of the youngster doing some babysitting. I thought about it, and didn't see a whole lot wrong with it. As long as it's in the neighborhood and he has all the phone numbers he would need to keep out of trouble...well, sure. Why not? He'd need to take the Red Cross course and...no, what did I think about him doing it that evening? .....................................Oh.
Well, it was a Thursday, and someone in the neighborhood who knows him asked if he could do it, for just a few hours while they went to a school meeting, and he had Friday off...and he really wanted to...and one of his buddies usually does it, but he had something else to do, and they're really in a bind and...
Damn, what a wake up call. Talk about trying to see your baby through other parents' eyes, and..is he ready for this? Watching someone elses kids? You step back and try to be objective about your kid and look at him without the dad glasses on, and yeah, the youngster isn't quite that young anymore. He really is good with kids and when he gets put in the position of being responsible with younger cousins and friends' kids, he does well. So, well, I guess so.
So he did it, and got along really well with the kids, and enjoyed it. When the parents got home, they asked what he charges. He had no idea what to say. He just said whatever they normally gave his buddy would be fine.
One time deal...until last Saturday. Same folks called and wanted him back, from 6 till...whenever they got home. OK, so now we're starting to talk real babysitting. He got home around eleven with $30, and was so stoked. This babysitting thing was getting lucrative.
Sunday morning we went to church. On the way home, we stopped to get some groceries, and saw another woman from the neighborhood that we know from church. She saw the youngster and said, "Hey, I understand you're babysitting now. I could really use you. Do you do weekdays too?"
He looked at me. I looked at him, then her, and just said, "No!" She kind-of said, "Ooooooooooo K then, no weekdays," I guess I overreacted just a bit, but we have a lot of school issues to work out, and weekday babysitting isn't getting in the way. That "No!" probably sounded pretty forceful, even if it was more of a scared "No!" than anything. After we walked away, the youngster said, "Daaaaaaaad" (the three syllable "dad"). "That's money we're talking about." I explained when the grades get a whole lot better, we can discuss the weekday babysitting thing again, but for now, I don't think so.
In the meantime, if he really is going to do some of this on a regular basis....we need to find out how one gets Red Cross certified and becomes a real babysitter...other than saying, "OK, I'll do it."
Well, it was a Thursday, and someone in the neighborhood who knows him asked if he could do it, for just a few hours while they went to a school meeting, and he had Friday off...and he really wanted to...and one of his buddies usually does it, but he had something else to do, and they're really in a bind and...
Damn, what a wake up call. Talk about trying to see your baby through other parents' eyes, and..is he ready for this? Watching someone elses kids? You step back and try to be objective about your kid and look at him without the dad glasses on, and yeah, the youngster isn't quite that young anymore. He really is good with kids and when he gets put in the position of being responsible with younger cousins and friends' kids, he does well. So, well, I guess so.
So he did it, and got along really well with the kids, and enjoyed it. When the parents got home, they asked what he charges. He had no idea what to say. He just said whatever they normally gave his buddy would be fine.
One time deal...until last Saturday. Same folks called and wanted him back, from 6 till...whenever they got home. OK, so now we're starting to talk real babysitting. He got home around eleven with $30, and was so stoked. This babysitting thing was getting lucrative.
Sunday morning we went to church. On the way home, we stopped to get some groceries, and saw another woman from the neighborhood that we know from church. She saw the youngster and said, "Hey, I understand you're babysitting now. I could really use you. Do you do weekdays too?"
He looked at me. I looked at him, then her, and just said, "No!" She kind-of said, "Ooooooooooo K then, no weekdays," I guess I overreacted just a bit, but we have a lot of school issues to work out, and weekday babysitting isn't getting in the way. That "No!" probably sounded pretty forceful, even if it was more of a scared "No!" than anything. After we walked away, the youngster said, "Daaaaaaaad" (the three syllable "dad"). "That's money we're talking about." I explained when the grades get a whole lot better, we can discuss the weekday babysitting thing again, but for now, I don't think so.
In the meantime, if he really is going to do some of this on a regular basis....we need to find out how one gets Red Cross certified and becomes a real babysitter...other than saying, "OK, I'll do it."
John put this out here at 8:57 AM
1 Comments:
I got $3.00 for my first babysitting job back in '75!
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