Thursday, May 13, 2010

How can I make parents comfortable with the idea of me watching their baby, when I don't have that experience?

I have been babysitting for about 5 years now, but I have never cared for a child younger than 6 years old. I really want the experience of caring for infants and toddlers, but (obviously) no one wants a someone to watch their baby when they don't have that experience. What can I say to assure them I will be sensitive to the needs of their child?How can I make parents comfortable with the idea of me watching their baby, when I don't have that experience?
Not sure if there is anything you really can do. Once parents, especially mothers make up their mind about the care of their infants, especially if they are a first time parent, they usually stick to it.





You can give them written references from your past employers stating what you did, how well you did, how the children loved you, etc.





Have you taken any babysitting courses? If not, you could do that too. They may feel alot better knowing you had taken classes and know cpr.





Other than that, besides begging, i don't think there is much you can do.How can I make parents comfortable with the idea of me watching their baby, when I don't have that experience?
You can't convince them because no parent will believe you are TRULY capable of caring for an infant the exact way it needs to be cared for if they've never done it before. They know because becoming a parent is a real eye opener! The only thing you can do is gain experience through family members or maybe friends- help out with their children if they have babies until they feel comfortable with leaving you alone with him/her. Consider it OJT (On the Job Training). I would never leave you alone with my baby. It's hard enough finding someone who actually has taken care of an infant before that you can feel comfortable with let alone someone who hasn't.
volunteer to help out while they are home as a ';mothers helper.'; This is a good way to get experience and the parent feels comfortable because they are still close by. After a while of doing this for a few families, you will be able to say you have experience working with infants and toddlers, and hopefully have some great references as well.
well you need the experience, are the parents in your family?if so, then it shouldnt be a problem to say to them what you have said to us on here, they prob will let you take the baby for an hour or so to begin with to see how you go.





if its strangers and you are goin to do this as a proffesion then you need qualifications, so get yourself to college and whilst there u usually have out of college work once a week, say at a nursery to get hands on experience too.





good luck
Go over and help them care for thier child while they are home. That way they can teach you how they do things and see they you would do a good job.

No comments:

Post a Comment