For those of you who are or have ever been a babysitter, you know that it can either change your life for the better or the worse (depending on your personality.) Like, it could totally ruin and mentally exhaust you, or it’s pretty fun. For me, I have found that babysitting has truly changed my life for the better, simply based on the fact that I have really grown to care for the children I have been watching these past few years.
I started watching the little girl I babysit when she was in kindergarten. When I first met her, she was shy and didn’t open up to me too much. Now, as we sit on the NQR on our way back home from school, she talks endlessly about what happened in the cafeteria and how awesome it is that we both love Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, which are both actually frequent topics of conversation. Contrary to what you might 
assume, I actually do enjoy making bracelets together, as she teaches me the techniques she has learned on youtube (she is VERY SMART. I literally struggled making that bracelet.) But really, I’ve watched this kid go from struggling to sound out the words, to reading chapter books. And despite this happening every day to children around the country, we have to recognize this as a pretty amazing thing. She’s worked for it, and is proud of herself, and how can you not think that’s awesome?
What some people don’t realize is, there are actually a lot of things you can learn from both spending time and listening to kids. Not only has she taught me how to make rubber band bracelets, and play chess, but she’s also shed light on how she sees the world. She’s a seven year old growing up in Manhattan, being raised in a place completely different environment than my small town in Connecticut. She takes the subway, and has already seen some of the best museums, parks, and places around the city. But she doesn’t take anything too seriously, and is hilariously honest, while maintaining her kindness. She has a sassy sense of humor and doesn’t like princesses all the much…but she’s in love with her absolutely adorable superwoman costume for Halloween, which is probably the best thing you’ve heard all day.
And the boy I babysit for, whose a little older, has taught me in a different way. He loves tennis, and winning, which is a pretty common thing in a ten year old kid. But, even if he’s seriously disappointed, he isn’t a sore loser. Despite his eagerness to be the best, he’s a really good kid. He has a strong loyalty to his friends, and loves nothing more than spending time with them. He doesn’t like when he doesn’t understand something, which has served him really well in school. On the way home, he will gladly talk about what he learned in math, and I think that he’s actually really good at it.
He has gotten to the age where he really loves spending time with his friends and they hold a really high importance for him. I’m not saying friends aren’t important when you get older, but there’s something about late elementary all the way to high school where a lot of kids depend on having friends and socializing with them in order to maintain their happiness and sense of belonging. And when you see this start in him, you can have a relate-ability and remember, “Hey, I used to be that way too, and I see where you’re coming from.”
What I’m saying is, he really reminds me what it’s like to be a kid, and I want to make sure I don’t forget it. And I hope these two don’t forget it either, and that someday they find kids who leave this impact on them. Because one day, they won’t need a babysitter, and I’ll move on to a different job. I’m sure there will be a sweet goodbye, and they will probably forget a lot of what happened. But I hope they know that when I laughed along with their jokes, and played card games with them, I wasn’t pretending, and I really did enjoy their company.