Summer is a time where children have too much time to get into mischief and adults have to keep an eye on their children. As all schools are on holiday, children have a lot of free time and excess energy in them. Managing a job while constantly keeping an eye on kids can be a challenge for parents during summer. This is where babysitting services come into play. Many parents leave their children with a sitter at least for half a day during summer months. If you too are a babysitter, you would know of this scenario. But keeping children happy and occupied during the summer months can be a challenge as a babysitter. Try the tips below to give your charges a fun filled summer.
Baking Lessons
A sitter who is not so good at baking will most definitely cringe at the idea. But what you need to remember is that it is kids you are babysitting. You need not be a Michelin chef to ensure that the kids have fun. Bake something simple and what you are most comfortable with such as cookies, pancakes or cupcakes. Kids will love the deviation from their usual routines and will most definitely have fun.
Exercise
In contrast to adults, kids love exercise. Therefore the more opportunity to jump around, the happier will they be. One such idea is to hire jumping castle. You can create and play many games based on it, such as obstacle courses, hide and seek or simply play trampoline.
Another idea, that is as good as hire jumping castle in Melbourne, is to have sports days, where you organize a series of games, and give each kid points based on their performance. This will surely keep children occupied while they are trying to beat each other in the games.
Put on a Play
Acting out a play is another way in which children can be kept occupied while you babysit them. Choose a simple play, depending on the ages of your charges, and act it out. Practice it until the kids are ready for a showing. Make or rent costumes and plan an opening night. Act it out in front of their parents or at a local elders’ home.
Reverse Roles
If you have been the designated babysitter for some time for a group of kids, chances are that they know your routine pretty well. The idea is to change your routine so that the kids are kept on their toes all the time. One way to do this will be to reverse your roles, where you pretend to be the kid while your charges play the role of the babysitter. This trick works wonders with kids of 3 to 7 years of age. Let them teach you songs or tell you stories. Let them feed you a pre-prepared snack such as mashed potato, fruits or vegetables. You could take the game one step further by pretending to be sick or fussy. Let your charges figure out how to handle the situation when you are pretending to be sick or fussy. Do not forget to keep a straight face while doing so!