A Babysitting Kit

Submitted by Jennifer C.

Many years ago when I was a teenager, the greatest way to earn money was babysitting. I found that more people hired me, if their kids had a great time while I was there. One of my teachers showed us how to create a babysitter kit. I thought this was amazing! Not only did the kids enjoy it, I loved using the kit with the children.

The first thing you want to do is find an appropriate sized container. Today there are some really great Storage boxes that would be perfect. I would suggest not going any larger then 2 X 3 Foot box. You don't want the box to overwhelm you, or be to heavy to cart around to your various jobs.

Now your ready to create the items in your kit. The first thing is a Parent Checklist, you can create this on a Word document on your computer. If you babysit regularly for the same family you can file your document away for the next babysitting job. However, to save a tree, I would go with a laminated document using a dry erase marker. The checklist should contain the following information for the parents to fill out.

Parents Cell Phone
Emergency Contact
Doctor's Name and Phone Number
Any Medications or Allergies
Next you can get several fun activities to do with the children. I would suggest Story books, Coloring books, Crayons, Activity books, and some creative activity or your own design.

Finally, have a report ready to present to the parents that will briefly explain what the children did while they were gone. If the kids are old enough, have them help you fill this out.

Make sure to change up your activity supplies often so you aren't always bringing the same items each time you babysit.