It begins with a simple knock on the door. On one side of the door is a teenager preparing themselves to walk into a day full of tantrums, food spills, silly games and maybe a phone call to the parents. On the other side of that door is a child who is either bouncing off the walls with excitement or just wants to go back to bed. This was a normal summer routine for the 38 percent of Yutan students who spent their time babysitting.
One student who spent their summer babysitting is senior Mackenzie Govier, who babysat a one-year-old and a three-year-old. Govier made $15.50 an hour babysitting for the family normally at night and on weekends.
“I babysit for my neighbors, so it’s super easy. They go out a lot, so I’m the first one for them to contact. I started doing it just for some extra money, but I love kids, so it doesn’t really feel like I’m working,” Govier said.
Junior Lexi Engel, who babysits a six-year-old and an eight-year-old, also feels that the kids are what make the job memorable. This is part of the reason she continues babysitting into the school year, earning $75 a week to watch the kids for two hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
“I love hanging out with little kids and watching them. When I get them from school, they have so much to tell me, and I love that they like to come to me as a person that they can trust,” Engel said.
While Engel and Govier focus on entertaining and keeping the kids safe, senior Anna Rupp believes that making sure the parents come home to a clean house is equally as important.
“It’s mainly about taking care of kids, but it’s also about keeping the house clean. You’re kind of like their guardian while their parents are gone, in a way, so you’re keeping the house clean while having a lot of fun,” Rupp said.
Rupp spent the past three summers babysitting for the same family on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:00 to 3:30, earning roughly $250 a week. Since the children are now ten and eleven, Rupp has gotten to know these kids very well over the years.
“I love watching them grow up. It was so different from the first summer I babysat them,” Rupp said. “When I babysat them last summer, we had a lot of fun. I see them as my little sisters, so it’s really rewarding watching them grow up.”
Since Rupp has watched the kids go through many stages, their activities have somewhat changed over time.
“I think the first summer we did a lot more art crafts. This summer we did some but we also did swimming and a lot more going to the park, concession stands and just different stuff. We made TikToks too,” Rupp said.
The age of the children can make a big difference in how the job goes. Even though Govier has also been babysitting for three years, the young ages of one and three means that she has to watch them more intensely.
“I feel like with older kids they kind of can play and entertain themselves on their own,” Govier said. “But with little kids, you have to watch them and keep them entertained and basically look after them 24/7.”
Engel notes that the other challenge that comes with babysitting is when the kids act out.
“Sometimes the kids like to go play with other kids in the neighborhood, and the kids can influence them to have bad behavior, and then I have to discipline them for it,” Engel said.
However, for Engel, once there’s trust, there aren’t any other major hardships of babysitting.
“I don’t really think that there’s a hard part [of babysitting.] I think the only thing is that you have to get comfortable with them in order to have fun and make sure that they have fun too,” Engel said.
Despite the occasional challenges, babysitting can present a multitude of rewards. That simple knock on the door can quickly evolve into a memorable experience for life.
“I love kids, so I think just being with them and hanging out is a lot of fun. And you do make money, so I feel like it’s a super easy job,” Govier said. “I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a summer job next year.”
