Silly question.....

I babysit for a mom with two small boys... and she is expecting in
April again.... they are good kids but the more pregnant she gets the
more they work her... any ideas on how to break them of this ...
so they don't try and do it when she gets home at night?
Lynn
Happy Holidays From
www.yourkids1st.com

On Dec 1, 4:03 pm, lynng wrote:
I babysit for a mom with two small boys... and she is expecting in
April again.... they are good kids but the more pregnant she gets the
more they work her... any ideas on how to break them of this ...
so they don't try and do it when she gets home at night?
Lynn
Happy Holidays From
www.yourkids1st.com

Hi I am a mom with two small kids and I am having another baby in
January and yes it is hard because my kids work me too and really she
is due in April and I am due next month, but it is hard and stressful.
The mother that you are babysitting for doesn't need to be stressed so
much because she could seriously lose that baby or just be stressed
out through her whole pregnancy. The best thing for her to do is to
find something that both of the kids would like to do at home like
coloring or stuff like that. Sometimes I just put my kids favorite
movie in and make them sit down on the couch and I just tell them that
mommy wants some quiet time and she is very tired and I just sit down
with the kids and watch the movie with them. It really depends on what
time she gets home from work, if its close to bed time for them kids
give them a nice warm bath let them play for a little bit and then put
them to bed and I usually read to my kids when I put them to bed.

Good Luck,
Amber Kruger

lynng wrote:
I babysit for a mom with two small boys... and she is expecting in
April again.... they are good kids but the more pregnant she gets the
more they work her... any ideas on how to break them of this ...
so they don't try and do it when she gets home at night?

I wouldn't think in terms of trying to 'break' them of this behaviour.
You don't say how old the boys are or what it is they're doing to work
her, but it's normal for small children to be exhausting and a handful,
and, while of course children need to be gently guided into acting
appropriately as they grow older, it isn't very healthy to think in
terms of 'breaking' children of behaviour that's normal for their age.

How much time do you spend babysitting? If you're regularly taking care
of them during the day, there are certainly things you can do that will
help them be calmer in the evening. If they get a good chance to run
around and let off steam earlier in the day, they won't have as much
pent-up energy later on, so it's worth trying to get them out of the
house every day unless the weather really is appalling. It's also worth
making sure they have the right amount of naptime (check with mom as to
what she thinks works for them) - too little sleep during the day can
make a child turn into an overtired monster, whereas too much can make
them too difficult to get to bed at bedtime. And make sure they both
get lots of positive attention from you - focus on what they're doing as
they play and talk to them about it sounding pleased and excited
("You're drawing with the red crayon! Look at all those big circles
you're making!"). That will help them be happier during the day. If
they're acting up, gently try to restrain them, give them one simple
explanation of why it isn't good to act that way, and then try to find
something to distract them if you can.


All the best,

Sarah
--
http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com

"That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell

As an effectively single stay at home mother (for only another eight
teen days, thank goodness!) of a four and two year old with babe
number three due in 12 days, I agree with Sarah. Yes it is hard and it
is stressful, and more than tiring - but the more positive attention
and physical activity children receive during the day the better they
"should" be in the evening. Yes children will have their bad days,
just as adults do, but generally speaking the more energy they get to
vent during the day the easier they are to handle in the evening.
There are days when I am just simply exhausted and I can't keep up
with them, therefore they don't the same attention and activity that
they would normally have and they WILL work me for it! My four year
old is like a completely different child on my "next to dead" days and
my two year old more or less just follows suit. Naturally these sort
of days have increased the further along I have become and I have had
to enlist the help of friends and what not... but I also tried to do
other things as well to keep them busy when no help is available. For
example sometimes we'll have a race day - I'll just clear things out
of the way and let them run around "racing" each other while I sit and
watch and cheer, the big race can include anything from running down
the hall to the kitchen around the table back down the hall to the
living room, under the coffee table, etc etc. Some times we'll have a
baking day and I let them help me measure and pour the ingredients and
what not - so I'm still able to take it easy and they get to be
involved in something that they enjoy but yet don't get to do often.
Oh another thing that has become very popular with them, I use to do a
lot of step aerobics and the like at home before I became pregnant, so
I have a step and I have one of those big exercise balls (well, now I
have two - I had to buy another), anyway, I pop in an aerobic dvd and
they just love it. Of course they can't so what is being done on the
movie, but they don't know that and they just have a great time with
the step and balls movin' and groovin' to the music - all the while I
am able to sit back with my feet up telling them what a great job they
are doing. Anyway, sorry for rambling on and on... like I said, I
agree with Sarah.

-Jen

On Dec 2, 8:12 pm, Sarah Vaughan wrote:
lynng wrote:
I babysit for a mom with two small boys... and she is expecting in
April again.... they are good kids but the more pregnant she gets the
more they work her... any ideas on how to break them of this ...
so they don't try and do it when she gets home at night?

I wouldn't think in terms of trying to 'break' them of this behaviour.
You don't say how old the boys are or what it is they're doing to work
her, but it's normal for small children to be exhausting and a handful,
and, while of course children need to be gently guided into acting
appropriately as they grow older, it isn't very healthy to think in
terms of 'breaking' children of behaviour that's normal for their age.

How much time do you spend babysitting? If you're regularly taking care
of them during the day, there are certainly things you can do that will
help them be calmer in the evening. If they get a good chance to run
around and let off steam earlier in the day, they won't have as much
pent-up energy later on, so it's worth trying to get them out of the
house every day unless the weather really is appalling. It's also worth
making sure they have the right amount of naptime (check with mom as to
what she thinks works for them) - too little sleep during the day can
make a child turn into an overtired monster, whereas too much can make
them too difficult to get to bed at bedtime. And make sure they both
get lots of positive attention from you - focus on what they're doing as
they play and talk to them about it sounding pleased and excited
("You're drawing with the red crayon! Look at all those big circles
you're making!"). That will help them be happier during the day. If
they're acting up, gently try to restrain them, give them one simple
explanation of why it isn't good to act that way, and then try to find
something to distract them if you can.

All the best,

Sarah
--http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com

"That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell

"lynng" wrote in message
...
I babysit for a mom with two small boys... and she is expecting in
April again.... they are good kids but the more pregnant she gets the
more they work her... any ideas on how to break them of this ...
so they don't try and do it when she gets home at night?
Lynn

It may be a natural reaction to mum coming home.
When I nannied I had a little 18 month old girl. She was delightful, would
greet me with pleasure and obviously enjoyed having me there. But when mum
arrived home then she used to do all the things she knew that she wan't
allowed to do in rotation. (bin, chimney, stairs and I think there was
something else then start again with the bin) Her mum used to appologise and
say "I hope she hasn't done this all day". But she rarely went near any of
them until her mum came home.
We never worked out exactly why she did this, although we did wonder whether
it was a bit of a "punishment" for mum leaving her, even thoguh she enjoyed
beign with me.
Debbie

On Dec 1, 5:03 pm, lynng wrote:
I babysit for a mom with two small boys... and she is expecting in
April again.... they are good kids but the more pregnant she gets the
more they work her... any ideas on how to break them of this ...
so they don't try and do it when she gets home at night?
Lynn
Happy Holidays From
www.yourkids1st.com

You could try Super Nanny