The Un-Ending Adventures of Jenny Jumps

I started babysitting around the age of ten.  It started with having children over while my mother was still in the house.  Soon I was staying up late with neighbourhood children about my age or slightly younger, ordering pizza and getting paid for making sure the house didn’t burn down.

After a while I took a babysitting course through St. John’s Ambulance.  They taught a bit of first aid, and equipped the learners with some basic street smarts about calling home and using secret code phrases.  It also included an example information sheet where the babysitter could record important information about the children and the families they were sitting.

I took that information sheet and started keeping records on the few jobs I had.  Soon I was working almost every week from Thursday to Sunday night.  I based my eventual rate on earlier jobs; which turned out to be $5 per hour for two children or one, plus $2.50/hr per additional child.

I continued sitting neighbourhood children until I left for university.  I learned to be responsible, to schedule, to maintain records, to communicate effectively on the telephone, to behave professionally, to provide developmentally appropriate activities and exercises, and to care.