Babysitting BlogSittercity is looking for two live-in nannies in the Houston area to appear on a television show with SUPERNANNY Jo Frost. The selected nannies will be trained personally by Jo Frost and afterwards will continue to work for the family full-time. This is a great opportunity for you to get professional training from a well-known nanny star (talk about a resume booster!) and snag a once-in-a-lifetime job.
Traditionally, babysitting — and even nannying — has been an “under the table” industry when it comes to compensation. We’ve got an article coming out soon about nannies and taxes, but here’s the gist of it and why it’s important to keep it all legal.
Every so often, LilSugar puts out interactive quizzes on its site, and this time, there were actually two that both parents and babysitters could benefit from. First, there’s “Do You Know Newborn Conditions,” and then there’s “Do You Know What to Do If a Child is Choking?” Well, do you?
Guess again. In yesterday/today’s Dear Abby (different papers have it appearing on different days), a distressed mother writes in about how her good friend stole her sitter — and she wants Abby to tell her how to handle it.
When it comes to caring for kids, we all know that little accidents can happen. Between the strewn-about toys, rambunctious pets and quick-darting children, it’s not difficult to see how a nanny may slip, trip or become injured. This is why one particular nanny question from another site struck us — what would you do?
Looking for some ways to spice up kids’ snacks? The Craft Cow Funny Food contest may have ended, but the entries (along with some other cool ideas) provide tons of inspiration for how you can make any mealtime healthy AND fun. All it takes is a little creativity!
What would it have really been like to walk around with dinosaurs? Come find out! At Walking With Dinosaurs — The Live Experience (which had a $20-million budget, so you KNOW you’ll see some incredible effects), you can watch fifteen roaring, snarling, “live” dinosaurs roam the stage as they once roamed the earth.
Out of Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin and Hank Hill, who do you think would be the worst babysitter? We’re willing to bet that most people would say, “All of them,” given the fact that these characters are some of TV’s more incompetent cartoon dads. Hardly role models, to say the least.
According to Strollerderby, there are five important things that parents would like to tell their babysitters and nannies, but are often to “conflict-avoidant” to actually do so. Without much ado, here’s the list that they came up with.
One of our male babysitters recently wrote in expressing his frustration over the issue that many parents seem to “fear” the male babysitter. We admit, we checked out his profile to see if there was any other explanation for why he was lacking child care jobs. The only issues we found were that he doesn’t have any reviews (Catch-22 situation right there, huh?) and lists his references as “available upon request.” Other than that, it looks like he’s got some good experience.
In New York, there’s a new emotionally-charged one-woman play out there that features an inside look at the lives of nannies. The performer is Lisa Ramirez, a 45-year-old former nanny who is calling her 90-minute play “Exit Cuckoo” because “the cuckoo bird lays its eggs in other birds’ nests. It’s a metaphor for women raising other womens’ children.”
This doesn’t have too much to do with babysitting, but it was too cool not to share. Last month, Disney unveiled its House of the Future in Tomorrowland, an attraction that “combines state-of-the-art technology with the latest in Disneyland immersive storytelling.”
Dear Genevieve: This is my first time really using a sitter (as opposed to a family member) and I’m not sure what the etiquette is when it comes to babysitters and food. Do I make her dinner when she comes over for the evening? What if she wants to order pizza? Any help is appreciated. Thanks! ~Brooke, Washington, DC
Some fantastic guys made a Sittercity.com “ad” that one of our staffers happened across on YouTube the other day and it was too funny not to share. The ad is titled “Uncle Joe Tries to Help Out,” so take a look!
This is great. NY Magazine recently interviewed a bunch of kids about the profitability, strategy and marketing of their sidewalk lemonade stands — with results that are equal parts adorable, shrewd and hilarious. We’ve re-posted our favorite interview below.
The folks over at DivineCaroline have a great new article out, featuring the 20 healthiest foods under $1. This list proves that you don’t have to sacrifice nutrition just to save a few dollars. And, YES, tofu, broccoli and spinach are on the list, but with the accompanying recipes alongside each entry, you’ll definitely want to add these items to your family’s diet.
Does your nanny get paid sick days? Whether you officially offer sick days as a part of the job perks or whether you unofficially add some extra cash to your nanny’s paycheck even though she missed a few days, offering paid sick days is increasingly popular in the child care world — though not everyone agrees with it.
There can be some pretty sordid confessions that make their way over to PostSecret. Sure, a few secrets are silly and fun, but the anonymity over there makes everyone a lot more comfortable revealing their innermost secrets in all their shameful, intimate glory. So imagine our surprise when we found a babysitting-related confession among all of the juicy submissions.
You’ve probably noticed the new module on the Sittercity homepage featuring our brand new Video Monitoring Program. We’re super excited to offer our members a simple way to stay connected even when they’re not home, and we hope you’re excited about it too! To give you the skinny on what this thing is all about, here’s a little more information.
There was a recent Dear Abby column (don’t laugh) where one concerned reader wondered what her children should call their babysitter. She wrote: “I have two children under the age of 4. When they address adults — including babysitters — I have taught them to preface it with ‘Ms.’ or ‘Mr.’ and the person’s first name. We consider it a form of respect, and although I realize that each parent has her (or his) own take on this, it has begun to bother me when their children address us by our first names. Am I making a big deal out of nothing?” — WONDERING IN LIVONIA, MICH.
A recent Parenting.com report on CNN posed — and answered — this question, with the crucial caveat that boys and girls are each harder in different ways. (Personally, we think THAT’S the answer right there.) We’re interested in your own experiences with boys versus girls and how it measures up against the report’s findings.
There are TONS of super cute baby pictures out there. Babies in mid-yawn, babies smiling sweetly, babies dressed in adorable outfits. You’ve seen all of this. But these baby pictures are more comical than cherubic. Good for a giggle at least. See for yourself…
Admittedly, we missed last night’s two-hour episode of The Baby Borrowers, so we’ve got some catching up to do. But that doesn’t mean that we haven’t been following some of the blogs that have been popping up, both criticizing and lauding the show. In fact, we came across one particular blog that had a comment that we couldn’t help but share.
In light of the last blog about a sitter who shared her personal blog with her employer (and then got fired), we thought this was a good time to post about the nanny-parent relationship. The Wall Street Journal’s awesome blog cited a survey that reinforced the idea that the nanny-parent relationship can exceed the personal boundaries of a “regular” employee-manager dynamic. It then asked its readers to comment on their own nanny relationships. Here were some of the responses…
Do you have a blog? If you do, have you ever given the URL to an employer you babysit or nanny for? Might not be the smartest move. No matter what kind of topics you write about on your blog, this story from the NY Times will make you think twice about opening up your personal life to the families whose children you care for…
Cookie Magazine had a great article recently about when to call the doctor and what you can do when kids get sick in the wee hours of the morning. With such great advice on five common conditions, we thought we’d share a quick run-down of the more important highlights. Now, it’s not the most elegant content we’ve ever had on here, but it’s hard to talk about bodily functions and medical conditions without getting a little graphic…
At the beginning of this month, there was an article in a West Coast daily titled, “Is pizza delivery OK for sitters?” Is this another one of those health food articles? we thought. Nope. Instead, the article focuses on whether or not it’s really safe/appropriate to order food while you have a babysitter…
We found a pretty cute blog the other day, one that features the unintentionally hilarious things kids say. As parents and babysitters, we’ve heard our fair share of funny tidbits, but some of these statements are so priceless, we had to share a few of our favorites!
Here’s a fun little craft to do with the kids: make your own paper-model figures of some of your favorite cartoon characters. This one particular site we like has the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (plus Splinter), Sonic the Hedgehog and several more. Talk about a blast from the past. 
The days are longer this time of year, so many babysitters and nannies now find themselves with more opportunities to play outside with the children in the evening hours. Of course, you can only play so many games of kick the can, so that’s why we love the idea of camping in the backyard — complete with your own outdoor movie screen!
