You should also include at least 3 references on the resume who parents can call to verify your credibility. For example, if you babysat your younger cousins, you can put down the contact info for your aunt and uncle as references. An example of an extracurricular activity that shows additional responsibility and knowledge would be if you were or are a boy or girl scout, especially if you had any leadership role in your troop.

For instance, you may feel that infants and young children are more difficult to care for and opt to babysit older children.

You could talk to other local babysitters and see how much they charge to help you decide what a fair price is.

Be sure to include ages you will babysit, your phone number, and days or hours you would be available on any fliers. If your community has any local social network pages, such as a Facebook page or Nextdoor page, you can also advertise there.

If you are under 18, then always make sure your parents know when you are going to an interview and give them the name, phone number, and address of the potential clients, even if it’s someone you know. If the child you will be babysitting is present during the interview, make sure to interact with them so the parents can see how you get along. If you aren’t comfortable with how a certain job sounds, it’s perfectly OK to reject it. The interview process goes both ways and is about finding a good fit for everyone.

You can also keep track of your payments in a notebook or app to do personal accounting as well as record all of the contact information for your clients and any special notes about the children you babysit.

If a child does have any allergies, make sure you know where their emergency medication, such as an epipen, is.

Other emergencies could include getting locked out of the house, a child choking, a child falling down and hitting their head, a child running off, or a burglar. You need to know how to react to any of these possible situations.

This will keep the kids entertained and they will look forward to spending time with you. Planning fun activities will make you a way better babysitter than someone who just sits and watches TV with the kids for the entire time.

Parents will really appreciate that you kept the house in good shape for them.

This is especially important when you are watching young children who can easily get themselves into trouble if you aren’t paying attention.

This is very important because your parents will be able to judge if you are mature enough and responsible enough to care for other younger children. If your parents don’t feel like you are ready to babysit, you can ask them what you need to do to show them you are ready for the responsibility. Even if your parents agree that you are up to the task of babysitting, they might have other concerns. For example, they might worry that it could interfere with your schoolwork or family responsibilities. You can discuss these types of concerns with your parents and try to come to an agreement about how you will balance babysitting with your other tasks to get their approval.

Some course topics include basic child care, professionalism, safety, and even how to start a babysitting business. You typically have to be at least 11 years old to take these types of babysitting courses.

For example, if you have any young cousins, you can ask your aunts and uncles to let you look after them while they go run errands or go out for a date night. After they see that you can look after their kids with no problems, they might recommend you to other people they know and you can start charging for your services.