Did you know babysitting is a wonderful resume enhancer? Babysitting not only helps you grow people skills but develops skills that go beyond just child care. Whether you are a weekend sitter, babysit a few days a week, or work as a full-time nanny, you’ll learn important interpersonal skills that can be used in everyday life and as you advance on your career path.
6 Beneficial Soft Skills of a Successful Babysitter:
Effective Communication
When you babysit, you interact with kids and their parents, too. It is essential that you adapt your communication skills to each audience. Child care providers should be able to communicate professionally with the parents. At the same time, they should work hard to listen, respond, and engage with the kids so they can be understood.
Empathy
Thriving babysitters have strong empathy skills. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. A good sitter listens to the child and interacts with them in a gentle and caring way. By showing empathy, you also create a safe space for children to interact and feel comfortable with you.
Reliability
In school or in the workplace, people rely on others to get the job done to the best of their ability. The same goes for babysitting. Parents expect the sitter to communicate often and well, show up on time, and carry out the responsibilities of the job correctly and competently. When a parent leaves their child with a babysitter, they are putting one of the most important parts of their lives in your hands. An outstanding sitter understands the importance of being reliable.
Problem-Solving Skills
Babysitting teaches you how to think critically and figure out solutions in a decisive manner. Babysitters work hard to keep children entertained, fed, and out of harm’s way. When you are in charge of small children, there are always decisions to be made whether it’s helping bickering siblings, thinking of a new activity, or managing an emergency. Strong sitters must have a solution-focused mindset.
Creativity
Babysitting is not just keeping an eye on children. You also have to entertain them! The most successful sitters get down on the floor and engage with kids. They think of creative activities that align with the passions and interests of the kids. It’s important to ask children questions to find out what their interests are so that you can suggest games, activities, and crafts that everyone enjoys.
Time-Management
Time management is an important life skill. Organizing and planning your schedule will help you succeed in your personal and professional life. Babysitting helps you work on those skills because it requires punctuality, following a schedule, and being able to complete tasks on time like school pick-up.
Quick Tip: Turn these skills into action words and add them to your resume or cover letter. Use phrases like, “Effectively communicated with both parents and children to…” or “Used critical thinking skills and a solution-focused mindset to quickly resolve (insert situation).”
Babysitting is an easy way to develop interpersonal skills needed for any career. Successful sitters build their toolbox of skills and can implement them in any situation. Babysitting is a dream job! You choose your own hours and who you work for, all while gaining valuable experience and developing your soft skills. If you have not tried babysitting yet, we encourage you to start!
On Bambino, you can find safe and trusted families to start babysitting for. To start, all you have to do is download the app, create a sitter profile with at least 1 recommendation, and that’s it!