After 10 days in Utah, I came home to a 5 day babysitting job at the H's home. There were six kids, plus our two. That equals 100. Including our kids, the age range was 13 years down to 6 months. 
Stevie's eating aversions aside, they are great kids - they readily posed for this picture in the "eagle nest" at the zoo. However, I think this will be the last year I babysit them. 100 kids is just too many.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Adventures in Babysitting
Santa Fe Chicken for dinner. Chicken, corn, black beans, salsa, and cream cheese. Yum. A sure-fire winner. But not for four-year-old Stevie. He covered his mouth with both hands and sent his entire body into heaving convulsions. "I'm not going to eat that!" he moaned. Then, in plaintive tone: "I'm going to diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Lucky for me, I've been reading "Parenting with Love and Logic." Unlucky for Stevie, he is the guinea-pig recipient of it's principles. "OK, " I say calmly, completely unruffled (yeah, right). "This is what's for dinner. We'll see you at breakfast." Stevie looks at me and squints his eyes shut in an attempted glare. Both fists curl into tight balls of shaking anger. He stomps to the couch, starts jumping on it and hucking pillows in the general direction of the dinner table.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Oh man, I hate babysitting for a extended periods of time. I hope you survive!!I should read parenting with love and logic!
You're a far braver and stronger woman than I am. I've never had the opportunity to babysit 6 (8) (100) kids for 5 days...thankfully...'cause I don't think I would make it! Congrats to you!! You probably learned a few things. I was a "babysittee" once (along with my 2 younger siblings) when I was 10 or 11 years old. I hated it. It was one of the longest weeks of my life. However, Santa Fe Chicken would have gone a long way towards improving the situation. Three cheers for the Love & Logic approach. My office funds an 8-week, 1.5-hour Love & Logic Parenting Program that I will be visiting this fall. It's probably related.
Post a Comment