Entertaining Toddlers and Infants When Babysitting
If you've never really dealt with small children, you may be feeling a little unsure of exactly how you'll occupy them while their parents are gone. The truth is that it's not as difficult as it might seem. Not only does it make you popular with your charges and allow you and the child to relax together (making them more likely to listen) it's also a great way to boost their learning and cognitive abilities which will please their parents.
Make a Babysitting Bag
Buy a sturdy canvas bag with enough room for toys and other items you might want to bring along. Decorating it with stitched on patches, buttons or other colourful items will make it interesting to the small child. Have fun with it, give in to your inner toddler and go wild! Stocking it with a few simple and inexpensive items can give you something to build from. Improvisation works best with smaller children.
A Few Packs of Flashcards: There are a wide variety of interesting and informative flash cards out there. Alphabets, numbers, animals, colours all of these work great, grab a couple of sets for variety.
Few Colourful Balls and Scarves: The more colourful the better and it helps to have varying sizes (but no balls smaller than about the length of your thumb for safety). You can use this for several games like rolling the ball between you and the child, playing peek-a-boo with the ball, and bobbing it in their bathwater. Scarves are great for tickling their nose or dancing around to music with. A neat trick is to tie several scarves together and pull them out of the bag a few inches at a time pretending you don't know when it will end.
A Few Books: Never underestimate the value of a good story! Have a few for varying ages. Board books are best for wee ones that like to chew on the edges.
A Hand Mirror: Infants are especially fond of seeing themselves in the glass.
Your Imagination: It's the most valuable item in your arsenal and it can make a few toys into fuel for a thousand different games when you put your mind to it. After all small children love games involving silly faces, clapping games and most anything that involves grownups getting down on the floor and playing with them!
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