How to Babysit a Toddler

Babysitting a toddler is different from taking care of children of other ages. Be ready to have fun and take care of his or her every need.

Don't leave them alone. Be alert. Keep an eye on them all the time; you never know what one may try to do, open up, dig out,... fall off or pull down. Don't even leave the room for a second. You would be surprised what kind of mess a toddler can make in the time that you take to use the bathroom.

Be kind; don't say harsh, sarcastic things, or get angry. Do show hurt feelings from a child's actions or words. Realize that though they may say anything, they usually don't mean it, and they usually get over it very quickly. Just pretend shock, giggle and chuckle at their smarting off or their cute actions, they should cooperate (better than if you were to have a war of wills and serious words).

Make a list of activities: Keep them occupied. Kids love to play. Make sure you have loads of toys, building blocks, bring crafts it depends on age, rattles, books, and even spoons. Be creative! Sometimes bringing over some of your old toys will keep them happy. The toys may be old to you, but the toddler will be excited to have toys that are new to them.

• Take them for a walk, in a stroller. Point out different things on the sidewalk or the road. Make a game out of crossing the street safely remember to say to the toddler, "Look left and right. No cars, we can cross!" Eventually, you'll have the toddler saying it with you!
• Color with crayons. Ask the kid to draw a picture of their family, pet, or their favorite toy. They will enjoy telling you about the things that they like.
• Give the child the building bricks/blocks. Help them learn to build different kinds of towers and knock them down, or he or she may act upset if it falls down, but just help them, a little, to build it again.
• Be prepared to change games multiple times. Kids at that age have a very short attention span.
• Present the toys one at a time, when playing with toys. This helps because if there are many toys to choose from at once, they'll only play with the pile for a few moments and get bored and the house will be messy. Ask the toddler to help you clean up, and make a game out of it. Thank them for helping, this will make them feel good and want to help again.
  • If there is only one toy, they'll stick with it until they get bored, and you can hand them another one, but later offer 2 or 3 related toys because sometimes they tend to play with more than one toy at a time.

Sit on the floor or couch with a book, blanket and a stuffed animal, and read with them. Put the toddler on your lap to read the story. They love cuddles!

• Sing a song. Sing a classic nursery rhyme, or something that they would know. Maybe they can even suggest one!
• Show pictures in a book that has pictures of farm or zoo animals. Say, "Do you see the doggy? I see the doggy! Where's the horse? There's the horse!" Kids love to show what they know, and will soon be pointing them out to you.
  • Make animal sounds or noises.
• Describe an animal and ask what sound it makes. Examples could be cows, horses, and pigs. Start being a little bit silly.
  • Sing Old MacDonald when all the noises are tried and learned.

Give them a drink of juice, water, or milk. Give them animal crackers and fruit snacks. Watch them when they eat. Learn how to get things out of little children's mouths if they are choking.

Teach sorting of toys by kind, size or what it does. Sort again by a different rule.

Count toys up to 5 or 6 if they seem interested in numbers. Encourage them to count even it it is mixed up. Don't make a fuss about mistakes.  

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