Babysitting Jobs

While babysitting for the summer may sound like an easy way to make a little extra money, it can actually turn into a very successful and profitable career in several fields:

• Day Care: Many who take up babysitting as a summer job turn it into a full-time career working with day care services. Some even go out and open their own day care centers. However, due to many states having different laws regarding a minimum amount of space per child. If you wanted to branch out like this, however, it wsould be wise to start by starting your own babysitting service.
• Foster Care: Unlike day cares, which cater mostly to younger kids, foster care will have you dealing with children of all ages. With the only true requirement to be considered a foster “parent” being a license from your state's Department of Social/Human Services, this is one of the easier options. However, getting a license in itself is no easy task.
• Personal Nanny: While not nearly as successful as in the past, personal nannies are still in demand. As a nanny your duties would go beyond simply watching for the child's well being. You may also be responsible for helping to tutor the children, as well as maintaining the house as a whole.
• Teaching: One of the many skills you will learn as a babysitter will be tolerance and patience, two things you will need if you want to teach younger children. Many kindergarten and elementary school teachers gained their experience with working with children from their time as babysitters while in school to become a teacher.

Finally, if nothing else you should consider babysitting as on-the-job training for another job possibility: Parenting. Odds are that one day you will be a mother or a father if you are not already, and having experience with watching and caring for other kids will help you feel more comfortable around your own children.