tomorrow i am babysitting 10 kids with my friend. please give all the advice you have!!?

Question

my neighbors are having a party and all the kids of the parents are staying in one house and my friend and i will be in the next house over. i have babysat 2 of the kids before, but i don't know the rest of them. i am worried that they will take advantage of me and go crazy!! the kids ages range from 3-8. please give any advice you can give!!

Answer 1

stock up on games, cartoon vcds/dvds, colouring books and other group activities that can occupy most of the kids. And food...a hungry child can turn nasty. Sandwiches are good.

Answer 2

First of all--you are a very brave soul for taking this on!

I have 6 kids ages 5 to 12 who I have had for 3 years (long story) and in that short time I learned the following:

1) As the nanny said: give them choices, and stick to those choices (ie milk or juice? Spongebob or PBS?) Dont let them talk you into a third choice!

2) Let the group vote on an activity-majority rules. The younger kids will want to do crafts or color, the older ones will want to play Gamecube or watch a movie. 2 activities at once as long as you can see all of them is ok.

3) Quiet activities are good later in the evening such as a movie (Over the Hedge just came out on DVD) and make sure everyone has a good place to sit, is comfortable with a blanket, and most will either fall asleep or will be quiet.

It is ok to keep all the kids in one or two different areas that are close together so you can see all of them. Set the boundries of where they can be, what they can do or not do, and let them know what choices they will have for the evening.

Good luck!!!!

Answer 3

Relax, take it from an experienced mom: The more kids the easier they are. If you are watching one kid or a couple of siblings they are bored, and the focus is on you, and they want you to entertain them and might in fact think torturing you is entertaining. Get a big group of kids together, they all go play and you can sit and chat and not fuss about them at all. The trick to keep a crowd of kids from going crazy is, bark (specific!) orders at them when they get out of hand. If you don't like what they are doing, tell them, with authority, what to do instead. That is how the moms do it, and it works. Find out when your babysitting gig is over and start barking "cleanup" orders about a half hour ahead of time, but realistically you will have to do a lot of the cleaning yourselves. Until that time comes though, you won't be required to do much beside sit back and relax.

Answer 4

I am a nanny for kids ages 7 months through age 6 (two are twins.) What is really important is that you go prepared with fun activities, yes you may have to spend like 20$ but it will save your sanity. Maybe even print pictures offline that the kids can color in, Bring playdo, girls that age love to make things with string or lanyard so you could get some of that. Give the kids options to give them the feeling that they are in control like would you rather have juice or milk? rather than here is some milk. If they act up you can put them in a timeout and if they pull the old I don't have to listen to you say your mom/dad told me to call them if you misbehave and the will ground you, or something along those lines. Maybe you can bring a movie that is age appropriate for all the kids or even just throw on nickolden (it seems like whenever the TV is on, it does the babysitting for you lol) Maybe buy a bag of candy like m&ms and give rewards for good behavior. You can also play games like simon says or duck duck goose. Good luck and remain calm You are wiser then them!!

Answer 5

My advice, RUN!

Seriously, plan activities and games. Pick out 5-6 movies so they can pick from the bunch. Have your snacks and drinks all lined up ready to go so you spend as little time as possible in the kitchen. Read stories to them, sing songs, Itsy-Bitsy-Spider, have coloring pages (don't forget crayons), play charades, Simon Says, Red Light - Green Light, Pin the tail on the donkey, tic tac toe, hangman, ask parents to make suggestions. Remember, kids at those ages have short attention spans so don't be surprised if they want to change activities frequently. Don't present all the options to them at once; they'll want to rush through and do them all and you'll have 2 more hours to go. Plan a rough schedule; Game time 4-6 pm, Dinner 6-6:30, Movie 7 pm, etc.
Best of luck, it can be a fun time - the more organized you are the better. =o}

Answer 6

Give the older kids little Jobs to do "'ways to help " because they are the BIG kids . That makes them feel helpful and important . Let them help with the others too . Play little games too , maybe read a story and give parts to some of the kids . Always praise good behavior more than you reprimand bad .
You should be fine just let your friend in on the game plan .

Good Luck !

Answer 7

Be organized and arrive with a plan.

Kids will be cooperative when they aren't bored. Boredom equals behavior problems.

So, if it were me, I'd plan a program if you will of activities, complete with a schedule for my time with them.

In it, I'd include game time, a craft, snacks, watching a video and free play. You could also take a walk together or include some kind of outdoor time...maybe collect leaves and then use them for leaf pattern painting (dip in paint and print on paper) or for a collage.

It also helps if you pick a theme and run with it. Maybe autumn. Rake leaves, collect your favorite ones, make a craft with them, don't forget jumping in the leaves... you get the idea.

Also come up with a plan for positive discipline. For me three strikes your out is a good set up. "Johnny don't hit Susie" twice and then you spend some time out with the kitchen timer, sitting in a chair.

Have fun!

Answer 8

regardless of your age, paintings is ensure, and paintings is definitely worth what this is well worth, regardless of who does the paintings. That suggested, $8/hr for even in basic terms 2 children sounds low. if you're actually not sitting for kinfolk, this is continually solid to have the contract in writing, before hand. it will be so easy as a sparkling variety you made with areas for such issues as type of children, hours, fee, and so on. Take a pair copies, fill it out once you get there, you and the moms and dads signal both copies, and then you each and every shop a replica. verify out the information superhighway website listed below to envision the expenditures you charge in the destiny.

Answer 9

I babysit a lot for two kids. I can not imagine 10! My advice is to make sure you DO NOT give them sugar (lol, j.k.). Seriously, make sure you have some movies that they can sit down and watch because it should calm them down if they get too wild. Maybe have some "rewards" (like little party favors/snacks), for the kids who are on their best behavior.

Answer 10

Ok
the ones who are 3 to 5 get them in bed before 7.30pm...play a few games with them first then get them settled...because once they get tired they get cranky and will drive you crazy...the older ones....well you could have some games set up like charades or junior scrabble, or even have them make their own pizza...then get a kids movie and have them watch that till about 10pm then off to bed they go....try to keep them quiet before they go to sleep so they dont wake the other kids up....IF the kids are not having a sleepover, then just try to keep control...but make sure the younger ones are settled anyway....oooh i feel for you....good luck

Answer 11

Just be as patient as you can and try to keep the kids busy so they don't have to find things to get into. Since the parents are going to be right next door, don't hesitate to have the parents of any unruly children to come over to rectify the situation.