About Guest Blogger
Pop in when you have a few spare moments for a cosy chat. Read about real-mom experiences and contribute your own slices of life at our Drop-In Centre.
This is the last of four Drop-In Centre guest posts by Lizz Bryce over the month of February. Read her previous posts on babysitting in the modern world here.
While babysitting an active four year old (let’s call him “Zach”) at the Ontario Science Centre one day, I encountered a familiar childcare problem. In Zach’s overly-excited state (ahem… running around like a maniac), he wiped out on the hard cafeteria floor. He cried a bit, but quickly recovered and we sat down to eat our pizza.
Unbeknownst to me, someone had called security.
The guard came over to us and started asking my kid questions.
“Are you OK?”
Zach looked puzzled and nodded his head.
“Are you dizzy?”
Kid, having no idea what the guy was asking, shook his head “no.”
“Do you want some ice?”
My bewildered child stared blankly at the persistent guard.
I sat there, eyes glaring at me from all around. I knew he was fine. I was sure he hadn’t hit his head. But I started to worry. Am I missing something? Oh my God did I break him? What do I do?
I did the only thing that made sense. I phoned a mom.
After a series of calm questions (pain, bumps, sleepiness), she suggested testing him by asking him to count to 10.
His response? “In English or Spanish?”
He was fine all along. But when in doubt, ask the experts.
The best part of being a sitter is spending time with fantastic kids. I’ve witnessed the joy that simple things — like finding a stick on the ground or discovering a freshly formed spider web — bring to children. I’ve watched kids learn to read, and learn to ride a bike. Sure, not all of it was good (remember the lice and the puke?) but for the most part, babysitting has been a rewarding experience.
I’ve also had the opportunity to learn from amazing parents. I’ve watched how they interact and understand their own kids, becoming experts on their offspring — a talent I’m in awe of — and seen just how much kids change parents’ lives. I’ve learned childrearing techniques (and seen the ones that don’t work), and witnessed children growing and changing.
In short, I’ve learned about the kind of parent I hope to be one day. When that time comes (it’s still a long way away) there will surely still be trial and error, but I feel as prepared as I’ll ever be. Though when times get tough, I’ll be thankful (and hopeful!) that there will still be experts around to take my phone calls.
Lizz Bryce considers herself a retired babysitter but still makes occasional house-calls for her best clients, and loves invites to kiddos’ birthday parties (because they have the best cake). She blogs at www.lizzbryce.com and befriends strangers on Twitter as @opinionatedlizz
While we're sad to see Lizz go (thanks Lizz! We learned a lot!), we welcome our March guest blogger, Leanne Shirtliffe of IronicMom.com. Go drop her a visit. She'll make you laugh, we're sure of it.