Most college students I’ve met have worked with children in some capacity, and all can agree that it is an experience unlike any other. It’s hard work, and it’s not for everyone. Personally, I love working with kids because I’ve gained some great skills (including how to make a bomb grilled cheese) and created some memories that I’ll never forget. I asked the members of Her Campus Pitt and some friends to share their own memorable stories about working with children.
“I was babysitting, and I was walking upstairs with the little girl when we found a big snake sitting in the foyer. The little girl started screaming hysterically, and her brother came running into the room with his mom’s lighter while suggesting we light the snake on fire. I had to stop that from happening and scoot the snake out of the house with the top of a monopoly box. After that happened, we just sat on the couch and watched TV in order to recover.”
“Once I was babysitting and the little boy got really mad at his sister and yelled, ‘Debbie, you’re just a macaroni!’ I still don’t really get it but it was so funny.”
“I babysat for a little boy once who was probably about 8 years old. He tried to convince me he was being drafted for the NFL, then pulls out his Peyton Manning jersey and goes, “See, they even gave me this. I just didn’t feel like putting my last name on it, so I used Peyton’s instead!” (His name was Peyton, too.) The logic was riveting.”
“I was a camp counselor and there was this one little boy who was the ‘class clown.’ He would always sing ‘I like big butts and I cannot lie’ and shake his butt. He also lied about his age the entirety of camp.”
“I work as a flute instructor at an elementary school, and one day there was a birthday in class so one of my fourth graders brought a donut to her lesson. She was super giddy that day and she ended up on the floor hysterically laughing after I said some (not even that funny) joke, and now every week she brings a donut to her lesson and makes me reenact the entire thing line for line. It’s been going on for months now and it’s the most adorable thing ever.”
“I used to work at a place called Pump It Up, which is basically an inflatable zone for birthday parties. We give the birthday kid a blow-up crown to wear during the party. I gave one to a little girl once and she asked when her ‘real crown’ would be arriving.”
“There was one time where the boy I was babysitting couldn’t do his fidget spinner because his hands were too small. He was on the verge of tears so I sat there holding the fidget spinner while he spun it for 15 minutes straight”
“I was working as a camp counselor at a basketball camp. This one girl was really attached to me and would do anything I said. The camp was having free time, which always got a little crazy with forty girls running wild. The girl who was really attached to me sat on top of one of my co-counselors and asked me if she (the little girl) could slap her (my co-counselor). I jokingly said yes, expecting a little pat to the face, but she wound her arm back and swung it forward before I could even bat an eye. I couldn’t believe an eight-year-old could hit like that.”
There you have it! Working with kids provides you with some stories that you’ll be sure to talk (and laugh) about years after the job ends.
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