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As a babysitter, you should always portray a sense of professionalism in your dealings with clients. The more professional you are in your activities, the more likely you will be to obtain repeat jobs. Furthermore, you will establish an excellent reputation with your clients, allowing you to use them as references when you seek additional opportunities. One of the best approaches to developing a great reputation with your clients is by developing a babysitting routine. Successful Los Angeles babysitters are those who are creative and innovative in their approach to childcare, and routine allows both babysitter and client to know what to expect.
One of the most important elements of your babysitting routine is your arrival. It’s important to arrive on time, but it’s essential to know when your clients will depart and how far in advance they want you there. Plan to arrive at least fifteen minutes ahead of your client’s departure time so that you can go over specific instructions and details.
Develop a routine for greeting and acknowledging your clients and the children you will care for. Shake hands with your client and the children as well. This can be fun, warm, and friendly, a way of establishing contact from the very beginning of your job. Place your things in a designated place, and remember to do the same each time you work for this client. You will want quick access to your activity bag, your cellphone in case you need to contact the parents. Consistency will enable you to find these items quickly each time. Our babysitters represent themselves as professionals when they demonstrate they are organized, collected individuals.
Make it a habit to help the children you work with as they transition into babysitting time. This area of the routine will vary depending on the children’s level of comfort or anxiety over their parents leaving. If the children are comfortable, include a round of goodbyes in your routine, followed by a transition into activity time. If your young charges are anxious, allow yourself time to get them busy with an activity before their parents leave. Be flexible, but always have a plan for how your babysitting time will begin. Babysitters will be most successful when they pre-think the scenarios that they will encounter in their babysitting work.
Create routines for meals, snacks, and bedtime. Keeping these uniform for all clients may not be completely possible, but the more uniform your routines, the easier they will be to remember and follow. Tailor these routines to the needs of your clients and to the length of the engagement. Also remember though, it is important to be flexible.
Establishing your routine will benefit you, your clients, and especially the children you care for.
