Care for an Infant

OK, it’s terrifying. A tiny person totally dependent on you. It feels easy to mess things up (probably easier than it really is). And there are no breaks, no ways you can pause a baby. You have to be ready for anything from a diaper change to playtime to getting them to sleep. It’s an intense amount of responsibility.

Which is why it’s so powerful when you can do it. It grows you up. It forces you to set aside your own needs and dedicate yourself to a tiny, dependent human. And when you can successfully care for an infant, even for a few hours, you show yourself and the world that you can handle the awesome responsibility of taking care of another life.

Handling this responsibility shows adults you are ready for more freedom and responsibility. It shows you that you can do something valuable, like keeping an infant happy, fed, and clean. And it can also be a great way to earn money, as good babysitters are always in demand.

Getting Started: This one is a little trickier during coronavirus, but depending on your family and community, it may still be possible.

Build Experience: The first thing to do is build experience, and luckily, parents of young children ALWAYS need help. The trick is just to find one. Unless you happen to have a baby sibling, think about your extended family first – do any cousins, aunts, uncles, etc have young children? If not them, how about your family friends, and your friends’ families – who has young children? Chances are you can find someone needing babysitting help this way.
Get the word out until you find someone: In case there isn’t anyone needing help in your family or through friends, the next step would be to share the word more widely, perhaps by asking your parents to email your school community. This depends on coronavirus here, too – if social distancing measures are in effect, you might have to stop here.
Start as a parent’s helper: Once you’ve found someone who needs help, give yourself an easy start. Do it for free at first, as a mother’s or father’s helper, while the parent is still there. This lets you build up comfort without feeling all the responsibility on your shoulders. It also builds trust, as you show the parents that you’re capable, responsible, and thoughtful.
Optional – if you want to build your skills even more concretely, teach yourself how to do infant CPR. Here’s a Red Cross lesson with video.
Start babysitting: Once you have some practice, it may be possible to start babysitting regularly, and depending on your family’s rules, you may be able to earn money for your services. With luck you’ll find it to be a great way to build responsibility and earn some money at the same time.