It happened on a chilly night a few months back. My friend had asked me to accompany her for babysitting. Sometimes having a full-time job in college is at best hard and at worst, nearly impossible. And sometimes finding a part-time job that fits with your school schedule and also doesn’t take up too much time is impossible.
It was couples nights so the parents wanted my friend and I there at 8 and didn’t specify a time they would be back. I thought, “easy enough. Watch some kids with my best friend and get paid for it? I can do that! I’ll put on some Netflix and they’ll barely even notice me.” Isn’t it how it is in the movies where the babysitter gets to just sit on her phone all night while the child does his/her own thing? Not that I wanted to be that boring babysitter at all, but I had a pretty good sense it would be a relaxing night. I learned two things that night. 1) Boy, was I mistaken. And 2) I know nothing about children.
We walk into the house, which looks friendly and inviting from the outside. The moms have already escaped with their margarita cups and best dresses on. The dads hurriedly whispered some basic rules about electronics, but mostly gave us creative freedom when it came to their little precious demons, uh, I mean children, for the night.
Here we are, clueless, hungry and a little bit tired, but ready for a chill night in. Before I knew what was happening a nerf bullet plummeted into my right temple. Headshot. Or close to it. I look over, my face a mixture of shock and betrayal. There were three rambunctious boys and one little girl hovering near the corner. The boys had on boxing mitts and were equipped with nerf guns and toy axes and spears. Oh boy. Immediately, as if smelling our fear, they lunge at us. You would think two young adults could take on four, small children. You would think. This also made me think about my prior boasting to my friends about how I would be the sole survivor of a zombie apocalypse. Clearly, I wasn’t as tough as I liked to brag. (But ask me that and I’ll deny saying that.) Finally, after hit after hit, we managed a squeal, “you hug girls, not hit us! Let’s play a game!” Whew, fast thinking, right?
They opted for hide and seek. My friend and I found the most inventive hiding spots, granted we were separated and I immediately carried the girl with me as she was the angel of the bunch and just wanted to color and hold hands (bless her soul.)
After a few minutes and some snickers, the boys found us. And once they found us, they dragged us. Yep, that’s right. Decided to drag us by our feet out of our hiding spot, kicking and screaming. Ok, and there were some laughs involved, but mostly screams.
I would like to add in here that I had just gotten LASIK for my eyes, which was a traumatizing experience enough, and now had to worry I didn’t get punched or hit near my eye which caused my paranoia to be extra alert. That was fun.
We finally settle everyone down, we had the bumps and bruises to prove it. Now, it was dinner time. Who doesn’t like chow? Food breeds loyalty. And boy, did we need that right now. We were getting bullied by 6-12 year olds. Not cool and totally embarrassing.
Now, this house was filled with healthy food options. The only problem? No kid wants that. So here was the new problem, they weren’t agreeing on anything. After scavenging the fridge repeated times to no avail, we decided to think simpler. Bread. Cheese. What kid doesn’t like that? Hell, what adult doesn’t like that? Grilled cheese. Bingo.
Of course, that would’ve been too simple. So thing 1, 2, 3 and 4 all wanted their sandwiches cut or arranged a different way. One wanted no crusts, one wanted ham added and the sort.
So, their trusty servants (my friend and I) comply to get them to eat. Once the first sandwich is served, they all now want that one and we have to change all the orders up again.
Once they were fed, I have to admit I gave in and we all had some dessert fun. This came with table side stories about school shenanigans and sports, video games and mean girls at school. Before I knew it, we were all cuddling, laughing and after a game of dancing, the munchkins were falling asleep. I had come to have a newfound love for them, however I wasn’t won over just yet.
Putting them to sleep was a mission, because if one child heard laughter or heard another kid still up, they would complain about not wanting to sleep. I had to learn how to multi-task and grow another hand since I had to back-scratch one while keep the cup of water by the other boy’s side. Guys, never complain about screaming children because trust me, putting children to sleep is no easy task.
Then, suddenly, the twins put their hands around my neck and said “I was their favorite babysitter” (no, I haven’t told my friend this to this day) and it was worth it. I realized staying on my phone wouldn’t have let these children enjoy their night. Instead, I spent quality time with them, got to know them and thoroughly enjoyed their company towards the end of the night.
However, one word of advice: don’t let your friend fall asleep on you. Children can be scary. It was around 2 am and for some reason the heater stopped working, so it got especially chilly. The children all had blankets but my friend and I were left to to keep warm as best we could. My friend ended up passing out and suddenly the little girl, who had fallen asleep on the couch, shot up and started murmering and talking in her sleep. I nearly jumped out of my skin, I’ve seen too many horror movies. Of course, as soon as I nudge my sleepy friend awake, she had gone back to sleep so now I looked like the crazy one who had imagined the whole thing.
Yet, to this day, I have their drawings on my desk and I even keep bugging the parents to let me babysit again whenever they need a day off.
Babysitting in college is, while not always as easy as you may think, super rewarding and a great experience.
Started off rough but I have to say we nailed it. #killinthegame