What Does a Teenage Babysitter do?

As a teenage babysitter, you’ll spend the majority of your time taking care of a child or infant when their responsible caregiver is not there, most likely being their parent. You will be responsible for cleaning up after the child, feeding the child, and entertaining the child, along with other needs the child may have. Depending on the child, they could require a lot of attention, or you could leave them alone for an entire day. Basically, you will be taking care of a child as if you were their parent, when their caregiver is not there. You’ll spend a lot of time working with children, and it is good to be patient, as you don’t want to be freaking out at a child. They can be stubborn sometimes, but you have to stay calm too.

How Much Does a Teenage Babysitter Get Paid?

As a teenage babysitter, you can earn $10-$15 per hour. The biggest issue with this type of a job is that children are extremely unpredictable. One day they could be completely nice, the next day you might have to spend a lot time trying to manage them. This could be good or bad, depending on your luck. If you get the type of child who plays by themselves and is perfectly content with that, then you will not have to do much, so you can do whatever you want while supervising the kid, and you still get paid. But if you get a naughtier child, they could really get on your nerves. But nevertheless, it’s great experience for the future and will be impressive to tell future employers on your resume.

How Can I Get Started as a Teenage Babysitter?

1. Before you begin, you’ll need to determine other services you can provide. A babysitter is a great way for you to earn some money, so why not earn some extra while at it? You could offer a house cleaning service or a car wash while babysitting the child, so you can earn extra money, perhaps $10 extra. You can find a list of home-cleaning tasks you need to do weekly, and you can offer any one of these as a service to your client. Not only can you offer home-cleaning services, but feel free to propose any of your ideas to your employer in the future after you get hired. The homeowner will love it that they don’t have to hire 2 people, and you will love that you can work 2 jobs at once.
2. Now that you’ve determined your services, you will need to write a solid resume. There are many teenagers looking to become a babysitter, since it is such a popular job that is portrayed in tv shows, movies, and a lot of things that teens read. This being said, you will need to stand out from the other teenagers. One of the ways you could do this is by writing a good resume. Write about how wonderful you are with kids, as that is a needed skill to become a babysitter. That’s just a simple example of a skill you could write on your resume, do whatever you think fits you as a baby sitter.
3. You’ll now have to find a job and apply. MAKE SURE that you have your parents help with this step, you need to stay safe. Jobs won’t be on big company websites, as the typical person who is hiring a babysitter will be your average parent. They will most likely be lurking in areas such as Sittercity or Care.com. Search for jobs on Craigslist, and if you don’t find many that you like, you could always create your own ad. Create an ad offering your babysitting services, and wait for the employers to come talk to you. When being interviewed, stay calm and courteous and talk about the skills you have. If you don’t get hired the first couple times, keep trying and stick to it.
4. Congrats, you’re officially a teenage babysitter. You might get frustrated at times with kids, or bored at your job. But you will earn a good wage at the end of the job, and although you can’t get promoted, it’s great experience. In your future resumes, you can add this as an experience and employers will be very impressed. But you must stick to it now, and great times are ahead.

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Helpful Resources

• ​Parent Approval:  DO NOT go and contact people by yourself, not everyone has good intentions.  Please get your parents permission.
• Care.com:  This is a website that is full of babysitting job opportunities.
• Sittercity.com:  This is another website that lists babysitter jobs.