Cheap Crafts & Activities for Babysitters ~ Halloween Super Simple

Whether you're a nanny for the whole summer or just babysitting on a Saturday, entertaining the kids while the parents are gone is obviously one of the main reasons why you were hired (along with safety reasons and making sure the little rascals don't burn the house down).

But sometimes, keeping the kids entertained can be really difficult to do... especially if the kids aren't easily amused and constantly need to be entertained. This is mainly a problem with older kids, ages 7-12. This can also become progressively more difficult if you babysit the kids for long periods of time or for multiple days (such as a summer nanny job).

Hopefully you know that you can't just plug in DVD's all day to occupy their short attention span. You can't play the same game over and over again because they will get bored quickly. And you can't just leave them unattended and flip through a magazine.

So, what can you do?

The thing that causes long-term or long-hour babysitting gigs to be so difficult is essentially determined on the allowances of the parents. They are in control of what activities you're allowed to do with the kids (such as driving them to the local library) and whether or not you get a spending budget (for things such as getting ice cream or purchasing craft items).

If you babysit long hours or multiple days a week, talk to the parents and discuss your allowances (both money and activities).

Need to persuade them to give you a spending budget per week/month? Give them a detailed plan and show them what crafts/activities you would like to do with them. This will prove that you actually do spend time with the kids and care about their entertainment while you are babysitting...hence, most of the time, they will agree to give you a spending budget for keeping the kids entertained. Even if it's only $20 a week.

Cheap Craft & Activity Ideas: