THE unacknowledged value of babysitting

Teenage babysitter. Treehugger.

BY ANGELIKA GARRETT

Babysitting is one of the most common teen jobs out there, with 66% of all babysitters being between the ages of 11 and 13, and 30% being somewhere between 14 and 17, according to Kidsit. It also tends to be more popular amongst young women, who make up 97.1% of all babysitters. It’s such a common experience that many take it for granted, and don’t realize what a profoundly educational experience it can be for teens.

Problem-solving. SEEK.

There are, for example, certain skills babysitters must obtain and build on for the role. The American Red Cross lists both hard and soft skills that come with babysitting, such as knowledge of First Aid and experience in childcare, as well as empathy, problem-solving, and communication skills. A teenager and babysitter of 3 years, Dalya Lippmann can attest to these. Problem-solving, which is important in any area of life, is something she’s gained from babysitting. “Just, you know, being able to understand what a situation calls for and then… fix[ing] it… you have to get good at it,” she says. Personally, another valuable skill she’s gained is empathy, which goes hand-in-hand with problem-solving. Empathy allows her to more clearly understand what a child needs in the moment, and she’s learned that “a lot of the time when a kid is upset or like throwing a tantrum, what they really need is to feel seen and understood.”

Skills like the ones listed above can be applied to a myriad of experiences and careers, as well as being great to put on a resume.

Lippmann also has some advice she’d like to share. “For me, when I first started especially…a lot of the time I just felt like I was doing things wrong,” she admits. Often, after she finished babysitting, she’d felt like she’d done a bad job. “You’re not always going to make the right call and you’re definitely not always going to make the kid happy,” she reflects. However, over time, she’s learned that making mistakes is inevitable. “You just have to push through and, you know, learn from your mistakes and try again the next time.”

It’s a lesson that’s integral to any area of life, and which she’s learned through babysitting.