This will be a many post rant about babysitters, being a babysitter, leaving your child with a babysitter, those squeaky clean girls from "The Baby Sitters Club" and how just about everyone from my generation wanted to be them and attempted to create a club just like them only to have it sizzle in about an afternoon, and anything else babysitting related I want to talk about.
How had I forgotten about Stephanie from "Full House" was also in "The Babysitters Club"? Even with those glasses her 80s life was every girl's dream.
Let's back up. I babysat at a champ when I was young I rocked the babysitting rounds in the ville. I babysat all. the. time. Many times different families on the same day, had standing summer and night gigs, I mean just constantly. The intensity somewhat declined when I turned 16 and just had to get a real job and became a glamorous hostess at Tony Roma's. How did I not know how much I had it made?
Babysitters hold all I mean, ALL the power. They run late? You run late? They get sick? You are basically sick. These teenagers hold your schedule, your wallet and your life in their hands. How did I not know this as a 14 year old?
And the perks? Omg. Where else do you get paid way above minimum wage (for the record, I got paid way under the minimum wage. My first babysitting gig where I babysat every Monday night, I got paid $2.50 an hour, but the going rate here is $10.00 an hour) get to watch tv or God knows whatever else when the kids are asleep (better be asleep, I run a no tv in front of my baby rule in this house after I read this awful/informative book about how the brain develops. I mean it was great, but now we can't watch tv, you decide if it's worth it) AND the "boss" is supposed to be concerned with what you eat and if you like it.
The food thing is pretty amazing. When I would babysit, certain families would have the holy grail of snacks. Goldfish crackers, york peppermint paddies, and fruit snacks were my lunch for an entire summer in the middle of 8th and 9th grades. I would also talk trash about families who hadn't asked me previously what I wanted for dinner or what cold cuts I liked or had awesome kid snacks. When I moved on to Tony Roma's nobody really cared if you ate for free (shocking) actually it was not allowed, even though we worked in a restaurant. We would regularly steal bread and that delicious garlic butter and that's how I gained weight.
This is literally the bread. I laughed when I thought of googling this and it was really there. Who puts this stuff on the Internet? Bread lovers like me, I get it. It really was delicious.
When the kids are older, you get to do stuff like, take them to the pool, park, bowling alley, bake cookies, etc. and the parents PAY for it. Many parents would leave cash so we could do all these fun things. I also thought I was so fun for always baking cookies with the kids. Little did I know, I was creating huge flower messes, that I'm sure I never cleaned really well. So after being at work all
day, losing all their money to pay me and to pay for us to go to lunch and bowling, these people also had to clean up our cookie extravaganza. Really?
I wish I had known the power I had then and the craziness these parents went through to keep their kids safe and happy. I hope I would have eaten less goldfish.
If any random person is reading this that babysits here are some things to think about.
1. Keep doing it, no real job is tax free and provides meals.
2. Be fun and keep the kids happy. I made messes, would use the family's elliptical, eat all their foods and I maintained busy because their kids were happy.
3. Be on time.
4. For God's sake clean up your mess.
5. If it's at night, have the kids asleep when they get home.
And whatever you do, if there is a jar of Nutella, you better leave it the f- alone.
For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.
