Being a babysitter is a big responsibility for anyone, whether you are a teen or an adult. Making it a fun experience for both you and the children is another story. You might be going into a babysitting job thinking you'll have an easy time of it, get to watch movies, play on your iPhone, and chat on the phone with your friends. Sure, you may get a job like that if the kids are put to bed right away, but if they are up and awake you will need some ideas to keep them entertained. No question about it, you are the entertainment!
Here are a few ideas and tips for babysitter games and other activities that will help you keep the kids entertained. Who knows, they may like the experience so much that they'll request you back!
Crafting
Plan a crafting activity that can be done with the children you are babysitting. You will need to choose something that is able to be done by each of the children's age groups, but it is often easy to modify a project for younger children by helping them out or making it simpler. It is fun for them to make a craft item that they can give away to someone else, such as their mother for Mother's Day, or something for Father's Day, or perhaps a Grandparent is having a birthday.
One idea for babysitting crafts is to make tissue paper flower bouquets. At your local dollar store, get different colored tissue paper and some children's scissors and craft glue. Making tissue paper flowers is as easy as cutting long strips of tissue paper, rolling it up and gluing it every now and then. At the end, glue it and begin to peel back the layers to make them appear like petals. Instructions for making these and other types of tissue paper flowers can be found online.
Birthday cards are another fun thing to do with kids. Bring over a few scrapbooking supplies and help the kids make a birthday card for Dad.
Board Games
Most families have a selection of board games in a cupboard somewhere. Ask the parents, before they leave for the evening, where they are kept. Kids are always asking adults to play games with them and this is a good opportunity for them to get the games out of their systems, plus it will keep them entertained. Explain the game rules to the children and play along with them.
Card Games
Card games like Uno, Memory, or Go Fish are easy for kids to pick up. Some of these are good for educational purposes as well. If the family does not have any card games, then bring some of your own along. Bringing a selection of things such as babysitter games with you that the kids do not see that often will make them more interested in playing along.
Movies
The family that you are babysitting for will most likely have a selection of cartoons and movies on DVD that you can show the children, however it is more fun for them if you bring something from your own collection. Make sure the parents are ok with you showing it to them first!
Internet
There are many kid-friendly websites that have online games for children. Both educational and recreational games can be found. Again, make sure the parents are ok with you allowing the kids online, supervised, while they are gone. They may have rules about t.v. and computer that mean the kids have limited watching time per week.
Educational Babysitter Games
Using your babysitting time to teach educational games and activities with the kids is something that the parents will really appreciate. Doing homework isn't necessarily fun, but with the right attitude, kids will go along with it. There are also a lot of educational games available on the market which will help in this manner, but you can also make up your own.
Here is one idea:
Using index cards, print a letter on each card. Hand out each child a set number of cards as well as yourself. Play the game similar to Uno, where one card is placed upright next to the deck of leftover cards, face down. Going around the circle, in order, have each child play a card of a letter that they can 1. say the letter name, 2. say the letter sound, and 3. say a word that begins with that letter. (Depending on the age of the child, you may want to have them just do #1 or #2 instead.) If they get it right, they can 'play' the card. This is a fun game that I do with my 5 year old and he loves it!
Reading
All kids like to be read to, especially before bed. One of the best ways of entertaining children and introducing them to the wonders of the written word is to pick a good story book and read it to them. We're not talking a board book or small children's book that a child can read themselves, we are talking a big long work of fiction. One that is a book that you bring and read to them a chapter or two each time you babysit, providing it is a regular job. It will keep them asking for more! Check with the parents first, but here are a few ideas of books to get started: Charlotte's Web, Treasure Island, Little House on the Prairie,Chronicles of Narnia, etc.
Game Jar
Prior to the babysitting job, cut a bunch of strips of paper out. Write an activity on each strip of paper, fold it up and put it in the jar. When you are at the house, this is a great babysitting game to play with the kids. Allow each child to pick out one piece of folded paper. Then all of you will play the game or activity that is on the paper. After playing the game, then let the next child pick out a paper and then everyone play that game as well. Let them each have a turn. Make sure the activities are doable or it won't make sense to the kids if you have to say no to it.
Coloring/Drawing
Bring coloring books and crayons with you when you go babysitting. Make these special books that you bring on the job and take home when you leave. This will help make them special to the kids. If they see them everyday, they will be less interested in playing with them, but if you take them away when you leave they will want to see them again.
Babysitter games are easy to come up with. If you are looking for more ideas, take a look online and see what else you can come up with. Check in your games closet at home and bring some of your own board games over. Or, best of all, put yourself in the kids' shoes. Think like a child and decide what you would have wanted to do if you were that age. You most likely end up with a lot of babysitter games that you can use for future babysitting jobs.
Because of these attributes some of the right toys for toddlers are cause and effect toys, action toys, and toys toddlers find challenging. So, among the right toys for toddlers we would find things like push and pull toys that make noise, ride-on toys without pedals, puzzles, stacking blocks, big lightweight balls, pop up toys, bath toys, shape sorters, musical toys, crayons and paper.
Here is a list of some specific toys for toddlers.
There are many eco-friendly toys available for toddlers. Among them are handmade plush toys such as play food items. These are a great option when looking for toys for toddlers. They often are made for children of that age and do not contain small parts that can be a hazard. Look online for plush toy food items like the crocheted donuts shown above.
Mega Bloks 80 Piece Maxi Bag is one of the good toys for toddlers. It is a collection of basic building blocks. They are colorful and durable. They challenge your toddler to use his or her imagination in building things. They are very good for developing hand-eye coordination and grasping and stacking technique. Mega Bloks are simple and fun.
The Corn Popper by Fisher price has been with us for quite a while and it is still one of the best toys for toddlers. It’s a push toy with a handle and toddlers walk behind it. The walking motion causes the little balls under the clear dome to pop. You’ve seen it. You probably had one. It is a very sturdy toy and excellent for developing walking and balancing skills, if you can handle the noise!
Leap Frog makes the Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set. It is an educational toy that you stick to the refrigerator. Interactive magnets form the shapes of the alphabet and a letter reader attaches to your refrigerator. Children learn to recognize the shapes of letters. They don’t realize that they are learning the alphabet while playing this inventive game.
Neurosmith Musical Blocks come with a unit and cartridges. The musical blocks are inserted into the unit in order to play a musical piece. Turning the blocks and changing their position causes changes and variation in the music. Among toys for toddlers, this one is a challenging toy that very markedly teaches cause and effect.
One can’t finish without mentioning Fantasy Land Wooden Blocks by Haba. These are your classic wooden blocks in vibrant colors. This is among the very best toys for toddlers. Wooden blocks are a classic toy and something all toddlers must have. They stir the imagination and they are a classic, timeless toy with which every child in the world relates. You can find wooden blocks as toys for toddlers going as far back as you could imagine. Wooden blocks are one of the few toys every child in every country has in common. You cannot think of toys for toddlers without considering wooden blocks.
In summary, when shopping for toys for toddlers be sure and look at only those toys which are made for that specific age group. That way you will be less likely to deal with any hazards. As well, whenever possible try and find toys which have an educational quality to them. Teaching children something important at a younger age they are more likely to retain it. Lastly look for toys that are colorful and attractive and fun to play with. Kids will gravitate to bright, colorful and cheerful toys!
Dolls
Of course it goes without saying that girls love dolls. So girls toys that include dolls have to be discussed. Instead of buying a mass-produced doll, why not try and make one yourself. Or, have the Grandma do it if she is the more accomplished seamstress. When making a doll, involve your daughter in the process. Take her with you to the pattern store to select the doll pattern she likes best. Or, better yet, get her to draw a doll and then have the adult develop a pattern from that. Allow her to choose the hair color and the clothing fabric as well. It will mean more to the child to have a doll she helped to make than a doll that was purchased from the store. It will be something she will treasure for years to come.
Books
Photo Story Junior is really practical as a boys or girls toys selection. It is a kit, through which your child can create his or her very own book. Your child is the author, illustrator, and photographer of their very own book that the manufacturer will publish and bind. The kit includes everything from the tape to adhere photos to marking pens, and the envelope and pre-paid postage to send the manuscript in for production. If your child prefers, Photo Story junior can also be used on the Internet.
Crafts
Strictly a girls toys selection, Girls Crush Hair Beader kit will keep your daughter busy beading her hair with the special beading machine. It only takes a few strands of hair placed gently in the beading machine, and a pull on the trigger to have instantly beaded hair. This is a favorite girls toys selection.
The Aqua doodle is one of the best girls toys for moms. The Aqua doodle is a mat that children can use for doodling. They doodle and draw with a special water-filled magic pen. The drawing magically appears on the mat, then dries up and disappears. This is drawing with no paper, no mess, and no clean up. No wonder it is a parents’ favorite among girls toys. I can personally attest to this toy as my two year old daughter uses it. The mess-free aspect of this toy makes it perfect for in the car.
Barrel of Crafts is another favorite among girls toys if strictly for the variety it provides. It literally is a barrel of crafts items, featuring pom poms, feathers, chenille stems, clay, craft sticks, wiggle eyes, foam shapes and sheets, dough cutters, buttons, spangles, rainbow cord, sequins, pony beads, and glitter glue pens. Your little girl will have hour and hours of fun making her own imaginative creations from all these crafts materials.
Play Toys
The Paint and Pretend Mini Tea Set is one of the best keepsake toys for girls. It’s a mini tea set with unfinished teacups, teapot, saucers and cream and sugar dispensers. Your little girl gets to design and decorate the entire set with the paints and palette provided. Once the paint has been applied, the tea set can be baked in the over to make the paint set. Your daughter is left with a play tea set personally designed and painted by her own hand. The set is very durable and should provide years of tea party use long after the paint has been applied.
The Easy Bake Real Meal Oven is the latest rendition of one of the classic girls toys of all time. Your daughter can bake pretzels, chocolate chip cookies, macaroni and cheese and more. These are meals that she can enjoy and even the family can help to eat. The oven is safe for use by small children and the food is real, and it tastes pretty good, too.
While we realize that we have described these as girls toys, we recognize that some of these toys are just as much fun for boys as well, so be sure to include them in playtime too. Have fun shopping for the little girl in your life!
Make Your Own Cheap Toys
Of course, you may not even need to spend a cent if you make your own toys. This is probably the best way to get cheap toys. Some ideas would be to make a sock puppet, make a little diorama or scene out of a box, sew a costume, make a boardgame or even make some snowglobes.
The teddy bears at left were made using felt scraps and other bits of things found around the house. You can easily draw your own patter up. Kids toys don't have to be perfect - just think colorful!
There are many DIY articles online that will help you make cheap toys. Have a look around and check for supplies in your cupboards and you may be surprised with what you can come up with.
Dollar Store Cheap Toys
Be sure and check out your local dollar store for cheap toys. You can find toys for $1 a piece and it is a good opportunity to stock up. Buy a small selection of cheap toys and keep it in a cupboard for when a surprise birthday comes along or another occasion that you wish you already had a gift to bring along.
Second Hand Cheap Toys
When yard sale season rolls around, this is one of the best places to look for cheap toys. People are in the mood to clean out their houses in the spring and more often than not, if they have children in the house, they will be apt to get rid of toys... and cheaply. Year round, be sure and check into thrift shops and charity shops. Things can be had for very cheap there.
Other Cheap Toys Ideas
Morph-O-Scopes are a really great selection for cheap toys. They are basically distorted coloring pages. They come with a cup shaped mirror that you set on the page to bring the objects into clarity. These things are fun and entertaining and kids love to do the reveal with the mirror.
Joining the Morph-of-the Month Club is less than ten dollars and you get links to ten morphs, a mirror, crayons, and links to new morphs. This toy promotes concentration and imagination in kids six to fourteen.
The Zolo Ha Ha Mirror and rattle is a cheap toys selection for babies. Babies enjoy looking at themselves and playing with rattles. Here are two for the price of one. Zolo Ha Ha Mirrors cost less then ten dollars.
The Star Fountain is a cheap toys bathtub selection. It costs around ten dollars and flashes a blue light as water shoots out the star in a sprinkler effect. It will be a hit with parents because it gets the kid in the tub every night.
Appleletters is a spelling game in a red apple case. Its one of the best cheap toys because its not only cheap, but educational as well. Children can play it like dominoes, only using letters instead of dots. It comes with other, more challenging, game instructions, too. Children really like the carrying case, also. Appleletters cost around seventeen dollars.
Rainbow Brushes are colored markers that you can snap together to write or draw in rainbows. There is a DVD in the introduction kit to show how to mark bright colored art. You can also get kits with dinosaurs and flowers. At ten dollars, it is one of the best cheap toys for the aspiring young artist.
The Play-Doh Burger Builder is one of the classic cheap toys, at under fifteen dollars. This kit includes five cans of Play-Doh, and a press to create onions, pickles, lettuce, and a brand new Play-Doh chip maker. Building the burger is pretty much intuitive.
Cahootie is a variation on the fortune-telling game kids used to play with slips of paper. The kit features eleven themes and forty reusable stickers, so the game is always different. It is always fun to tell fortunes, especially at seven dollars or so.
The Crayola Box of sixty-four crayons is only about five dollars and it now comes with a code for Crayola’s Lights, Camera, Color!, which is a new system they’ve created that turns family photos into coloring pages. You can get twenty-four hours of free uploading with the code. Lights, Camera, Color! Even allows children to add borders, backgrounds, and comic bodies to the coloring pages. This is probably the best cheap toys deal.
The key to finding cheap toys is to keep your eyes and ears open. Put the word out to friends and family of things that you are on the hunt for and they will also be aware of such deals to pass along.
First, we consider Playskool’s Busy Ball Popper (shown at right) to be one of the best baby toys because it engages the infant in a lot of activity. Some baby toys don’t do much. This is not true of the Busy Ball Popper. Balls are placed on a track. The balls roll down the track and are then popped back up amidst sound effects and music. Babies find this extremely entertaining, in fact, so did I. The entertainment factor aside, this toy teaches infants the basic skills of grasping and lifting. It also helps infants develop hand-eye coordination skills. Combine these positive educational effects with the sheer entertainment and you have certainly gotten one of the best baby toys on the market. This toy is for babies nine months old and higher.
Next, we have to have a look at one of Fisher Price’s best baby toys. The Peek-A-Blocks Incrediblocks, featuring lights, sound, and loads of action are a great item for baby. There’s plenty for infants to do with the peek-a-blocks. They can be stacked, spun with music and lights and stuck through holes where baby can see them disappear. These blocks allow an infant to be very imaginative. They encourage hand-eye coordination, grasping, and holding. Peek-A-blocks run on three C batteries, that are not included. They are one of the best baby toys for infants nine months and older.
The Learning Drum from Leap Frog is a very responsive toy. Your baby beats on the drum and a response is given in music or a recitation of numbers and letters. This is an interactive toy for infants that elicits curiosity and communication. The baby will hear a voice encouraging them to hit the drum. The drum responds not only audibly, but by displaying numbers and letters on it surface as well. The featured settings for the drums responses can be changed from follow the beat, to ABC, 123, or interactive song. It is the varying type of available interaction that makes the Learning Drum one of the best baby toys.
Our next toy has been one of the best baby toys for a long time. They are snap lock beads. Brilliant Basics from Fisher price has good snap lock beads for babies. Babies learn problem solving through snapping and unsnapping the beads, along with hand-eye coordination, colors, and shape recognition. This is one of the best baby toys for infants six months and older because of its simplicity and durability.
So, there’s a little idea of what is out there as far as best baby toys. Everything from animated interaction to simple basic, old-fashioned colored plastic. All of these toys, and an assortment of others, are available online and in stores now.
