Finding families, getting hired, and getting paid what the work is worth.
Six ways babysitters actually find work, why the big apps put you in a price race with 200 other sitters, and what to say when you ask a family directly.
Finding FamiliesWhat to decide before your first booking, what to ask the parents, what to bring, and how to get paid without the awkward bit at the door.
Finding FamiliesThe eight things a babysitting flyer needs, the three that make people ignore it, and where to put it so the right parents see it.
Finding FamiliesWhen babysitting stops being pocket money and becomes a business: rates, a rate card, an agreement, a cancellation policy, and what the IRS expects.
Finding FamiliesHow to write a babysitting resume when you have never been paid for it, what families actually read, and how to list babysitting on a resume for a different job.
Proving You Are GoodThe short answer for the United States, what a babysitting certificate actually is, and the point where childcare does start needing a license.
Proving You Are GoodWhat the Red Cross babysitting course costs, what it covers, and whether it pays for itself. With the actual math on what certification adds to an hourly rate.
Proving You Are GoodWhat each babysitting app costs a sitter, who takes a commission, how you get paid and what sitters actually earn on each one.
Proving You Are GoodNo US state sets a minimum age to be a babysitter. Only four set an age for leaving a child home alone. Here is what the law actually says and what families actually decide.
Just Starting OutWhere teenagers actually find babysitting work, what to charge at each age, and why starting cheap costs more than any other decision you will make.
Just Starting OutAn hour by hour walkthrough of a babysitting evening, from the handover at the door to the conversation when the parents get back.
On the Night