anahorvath.com

Tag: babysitting

  • Spring Break 2019

    Just like that, another break goes by. I don’t get it. I’m at school for a week and it feels like five months. I come home for spring break and it feels like three minutes. Time flies when you’re having fun! And it also flies when you’re not worried about chemistry 24/7 (gotta love being a bio major for that one!).

    My spring break started last weekend after Colorado was hit by that interesting bomb cyclone. I got two snow days as a result of that one. Haha thanks Colorado State University and a big thank you to my biology professor for postponing our exam this past Thursday!

    There was a lot of tennis played and it felt so good to get back on the court again. I had the opportunity to watch my sister win her first match at 1 singles for my old high school too which was really fun. Go Allyson! 🙂 Hitting with my dad was really fun as always, and I had the opportunity to hit with some of the ladies at the country club my family plays out of.

    Being with my doggies again for a longer amount of time was also wonderful. And of course, being with my bird was also a lot of fun. All of the the animals in the Horvath household were happy to be with me again.

    I also babysat for two of the days during my spring break. Watching a two year old can be exhausting but man is it fun! Being with kids is just so much fun, even if they can be a bit too crazy and too energetic sometimes. It was really nice to make some money this spring break and it was also just really fun to hang out with a super adorable kid. He always makes me smile and I love that family.

    By the time my spring break was coming to a close, my aunt from New Mexico came to visit to celebrate my sister’s birthday a bit late and also just to spend some quality time together. It was a bummer that my uncle couldn’t get work off to also come visit, but I know that I’ll get the chance to see both of them again very soon, like in May when Allyson graduates high school. Woohoo!

    This past weekend with my aunt was spent eating (we ate SO much food, I’m not even kidding), more tennis, and good company. We went to Denver to get lunch at BurgerFi and I got to try their chili cheese fries which I TOTALLY recommend. My sister also gave us all a tour of Regis University, which is where Allyson has decided to go for college. The campus was super pretty and super cute. I’m happy she decided to go there. We also walked around Denver a little and got to show my aunt the new premium mall that was just built not too far from my house.

    Great weekend, great spring break, and just great people. I feel so lucky to be able to have the opportunities and experiences I do and be with all of the people that I am around in my life. Spring break may be over and that does make me sad, knowing that I have to get back to the books now, but summer will be here before we know it! Have a good week everyone! 🙂

  • How to Be a Babysitter

    For about a month, I’ve been pretty busy babysitting. Being a babysitter requires social skills, time, responsibility, and creativity. Babysitting is extremely fun and I enjoy doing whatever I can to help others, so it’s something I’m doing more and more often.

    I wrote this blog post for a school assignment and I thought it would be good to share with you all. Here are a few tips on how to be a great babysitter. Just kidding, these are actually some very sarcastic tips on how to be a babysitter. Enjoy!

    Congrats newly minted babysitter!

    Welcome to the wonderful world of babysitting! Here are a few tips on how to succeed in the babysitting industry:

    1. Don’t exchange information with the parents. When you first arrive at the house, the parents will mostly likely ask for your phone number and maybe your email. Don’t give them your information and never ask for their’s. You don’t want them scamming you and remember the rules with stranger danger.

    2. If you are babysitting when the kids have to go to sleep, tell them scary stories before bed. Make sure it’s scary to the point that the child is screaming and possibly crying. Kids love stories before bed, and by telling them a scary story, you accomplish another task on your babysitting list.

    3. Feed the kids a bunch of candy and sugary foods. Most children love sweet treats like candy, cookies, and ice cream so give them what they love! You’ll be extremely popular with the little ones and watching them bounce off of the walls can be very entertaining.

    4. Make yourself at home. A majority of parents will tell you to “make yourself at home” which basically means “get comfortable and do whatever makes you feel at home”. Eat the food, watch some T.V., and even sleep in the parents’ bed if that makes you feel at home. If you really feel like making the house feel like your own, change up the place a little and let our your inner interior designer.

    5. Show the kids where all of the dangerous items are. By telling the children where the dangerous items are, they will be aware of them. Make sure the objects are visible and easy to reach just in case the kids need to defend themselves or use any of the items.

    6. Leave all of the doors and windows open. Leaving the windows and doors open allows for fresh air to circulate throughout the house. Also, everyone on the outside can observe what is going on inside the house, and you, the fearless and protective babysitter, can observe everything that is happening outside so you can protect the kids.

    7. Introduce the concept of procrastination to the kids if they have homework. Homework isn’t important until the night before it’s due, so emphasize that to the children. Procrastinating will improve the kids’ performance in school because performing under stress forces kids to work harder to get their homework done.

    8. If the family you’re babysitting for has pets, leave the doggy door or cat door closed. The doggy door or cat door is the only way a pet can escape, so by closing off their only way of escape, you prevent them from running away.

    9. Respond to every phone call the house receives. The parents don’t need any messages. You’re there to answer the phone so you will answer and make decisions for the parents.

    10. Remember that YOU are in charge. You are the one getting paid, so you need to make it crystal-clear to the parents that they pay you the amount you want to be paid, you will do what you want, their children will follow your rules, and the parents arrive at home when you tell them to. If you tell the parents to be home at 9 pm, and they say they’re running late and will be there at 9:45, get out of there. The kids were your responsibility until 9 and after that, they aren’t your problem.

    Good luck!

    How to Be a Babysitter