Home Security

For people with children, one of the most important aspects of life is home security. This is why more and more families are investing in ADT SECURITY systems, in order to protect children and keep the home safe and comfortable. There are inevitable risks that come with having children in the home. For example, every parent will face a time when he or she has to trust a babysitter with the children. This can be nerve-wracking for parents, having to trust someone else with the safety and protection of their children. Therefore, it is important for anyone babysitting another person’s child to remember even some of the most basic safety and security tips – the ones that we are all taught as children.

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How Teens Can Make Money Doing Odd Jobs

odd jobsThere are other ways to make money besides babysitting. Here is one of those ways.

You already do jobs around your home like clean, run errands, buy groceries, cook, etc. Why can’t you do it for other people who will pay you to do it?

Rent yourself out to do odd jobs.

This is not a new idea. If you do a Google search on “rent a husband”, “rent a daughter”,  “rent a son” or “rent a helper”, you’ll get lots of hits.

Everyone has things they don’t like doing, don’t have time to do, or just plain don’t know how to do. There is a market out there for doing odd jobs, and people tend to feel safer hiring someone who lives nearby.

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Babysitting rates

babysitting ratesHere is an article I found on-line about babysitting rates that will give you a feel for what some people are charging.

The price of everything is going up.

Except babysitting.

Babysitting rates have fallen three percent in a year to $11.55 an hour, according to Sittercity. I would point out that’s still higher than the minimum wage earned while flipping burgers.

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How to make children mind

How to make children mindHow to make children mind; How to make children behave; How to improve behavior; Whatever you call it, I’ve discovered how to make it happen, and I want to share it with you.

A lady was shopping at a grocery store and couldn’t help but notice a young mother and her little girl, who was about two years old. The little girl was crying loudly as she sat in the child seat in the shopping cart, but the mother seemed remarkably composed under the pressure. As the lady passed the mother in the isle, she heard the mother calmly say, “It’s okay, Patty, we’re going to be out of here pretty soon and then we can go home.” Continue reading

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I’m a Germ

germsMy name is Joe. I’m a germ. You can’t see me because I’m so small, but you’ve seen what I can do. My job is to make you sick. I love my job. And I’m good at it. All I need is a chance to get inside you. It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just that I was born to hurt you.

One of my favorite ways to get inside you is to jump from your hands to your mouth. When you lick your finger, or touch your mouth, or touch food that goes into your mouth, that’s my ticket in. I get excited just thinking about it.

There are 5 places I love to hang out, waiting for you to touch so I can get on your hands. Some people call them the top 5 dirtiest everyday objects. That’s music to my ears. If you touch any of them, then I can hang out with you. Here they are:

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The 10 Worst Snack Foods

snack foodsBeing a smart babysitter also means being smart about the snack foods you eat and the snacks you give to children. Sometimes I learn the hard way, by doing things that cause me problems – eating is one of those things.

I also know that young teens don’t like to be told what to eat and what not to eat. So just store this information in the back of your brain. If you occasionally read articles or watch videos about healthy eating or weight loss, it won’t be the last time you hear about this.

So here goes. Introducing what are arguably the 10 worst snack foods. Drum roll.

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How Smart Babysitters Discipline Children

Child DisciplineAs a babysitter, sometimes you’ll tell children NOT to do something, and they’ll do it anyway. Sometimes you’ll tell children to do something, and they won’t do it.

Sometimes you’ll hear someone knocking at the front door who turns out to be the two-year-old who only moments ago was safely in the back yard, or so you thought, and then he will point to his four-year-old brother who has climbed the neighbor’s tree and won’t come down.

Sometimes it will get real quiet and you can’t find the children because they’ve hidden somewhere in the house – or at least you hope they’re still in the house – and you want to strangle the person who said babysitting was easy money.

These experiences (and others like them) made me want to do one of two things: either have nothing more to do with little kids – EVER, or, figure them out. I chose to figure them out. And I’m glad I did.

In this post I’m going to teach you what I learned, something that will change the way you discipline children forever – and make your life a whole lot easier.

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Hair Design and Fingernail Painting

Hair design for babysitters

This is my daughter with her St. Patrick's Day 3-leaf clover

When I was a babysitter I did some fun things with the children I tended. One of the things I did was to give the girls a glamour treatment. I did their hair and nails. The girls loved it and the parents were impressed – with both my talent, and the extra attention I gave their children.

I remember times when the mom and dad walked into the house and the girls ran screaming to them, “Mom, look at my hair. And look at my nails. Cool, huh?” The girls had fun. I had fun. Mom and dad were impressed. And I got paid. Is this a great job or what?

I didn’t let on how easy it was.

I grew up with four sisters. We did each other’s hair and shared fingernail polish and glitters. My dad jokes that we bought hair spray by the case.

So, it was only natural to use my glamour skills while babysitting.

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How Much to Charge for Babysitting

Babysitting - how much to chargeThis is a popular question among babysitters: “How much should I charge?”

If you charge too much you will lose business. If you charge too little you will make less than you deserve.

One way to decide on a fee is by asking babysitters in your area what they charge. Another way is to ask parents what their babysitters charge them.

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How Old Should I be to Start Babysitting?

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How old should you be to start babysittingSome parents don’t like the idea of “kids taking care of other kids”. Some parents prefer their babysitters be old enough to have a driver’s license and be a responsible driver. The Red Cross teaches babysitting classes to kids as young as 11 years old. So, what’s the answer?

In my opinion, age doesn’t matter as much as ability and responsibility. Ability is what you know. Responsibility is how you act when I’m not looking.

Let’s do a little interview. You be the babysitter. I’ll be the parent. And I’ll try not to make you cry. Are you ready? Here goes.

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