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'Adventures in Babysitting'Having never babysat myself, I was excited to be asked to babysit for my niece. After researching through some babysitting ‘do’s and dont’s’, I finally turned to my friend who works full time in childcare. After being told that she has only ever babysat once and for good reason, I smelled an article. So here is her experience, for anyone after a good laugh. I arrived at my brother’s house at about 5pm. Both children were playing quietly, Poppy, aged four and Ethan, aged two. Armed with my KFC, I sat Poppy and Ethan down at the table and doled out chips and popcorn chicken whilst John and Jayne finished getting ready. Both children ate happily and thinking this would be a peaceful, easy night, with early bedtimes all round, I waved John and Jayne off with a cheery smile. Within a minute of the car doors slamming all hell broke loose. Poppy was clinging to the handle of the front door sobbing and Ethan had climbed up onto the table and was now shaking the flat screen monitor precariously. Deciding to tackle the youngest first, I lifted Ethan from the table and told him firmly ‘no’ before setting him down on the floor. Looking horrified, Ethan quickly burst into screaming tears running into the sitting room. Moving onto Poppy, I took her hands from the door and asked her why she was crying. Only to be met with; ‘My grown ups have left me. It makes me sad that my two grown ups have gone’. Wondering vaguely where the words ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ were in this child’s vocabulary I assured her that ‘Auntie Rebecca’ was there with her. Poppy looked up at me with big, wet eyes and mumbled ‘But you’re not my family’. After trying to explain that I was ‘Daddy’s sister’ and getting absolutely nowhere, my attention was brought back to the living room where Ethan had successfully navigated the cupboard and was stretching his tiny, destructive hand towards a carved elephant. Running, I snatched him away and put him on the sofa, where he sat and promptly started bawling his eyes out. After ensuring that he wasn’t going anywhere I went back for Poppy. Who was still pawing the front door. Picking her up and sitting her next to her brother, as brother and sister sat crying sorrowfully I stared at the two, praying for patience. With a sudden demand of ‘I WANT MY MOSHI!’ from Poppy we started the hunt for whatever a ‘Moshi’ could possibly be. Finally locating her favourite book I was pulled into an hour long game of ‘Find Princess Moshi’ (the toddler version of ‘Where’s Wally). At 7pm I took a bleary eyed Ethan to his cot, where he quickly settled down to sleep. I returned to the kitchen to find Poppy staring out the window. When I asked her what she was doing she replied; ‘I’m waiting for my family to come back’. Thinking that she thoroughly deserved a place on X-Factor I promised her that if she went to bed quietly, her ‘grown-ups’ would be there in the morning. After both children had fallen asleep I sat down to a good film, with one ear firmly on the child monitor, I prayed that John and Jayne’s bedtime routine would hold!’ Also in the magazine we have some key revision tips and feature Little Kickers as well as our usual fun pages. |
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