I've always considered myself to be pretty good with kids. But I've never really had the temperament for babysitting. I babysat a neighbor a few times when I was a teenager, but found it more frustrating than fun. I'm starting to get the hang of it now, though.
One of the big impacts of coronavirus has been the need for childcare for so many people. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are both in the medical field, and have two small kids (ages 6 and 2). They understandably don't feel comfortable sending the kids to daycare. The whole family has been helping out, and the last two weeks my wife and I went up to Richmond to do our part.
It can definitely be a challenge. The kids are up early, so you have to go to bed early. They need pretty constant attention. It's hard to think of fun things to do, especially when you are constrained to the house. You've read five books to them and watched two shows and look at your watch and see it's only 10 am. What are we going to do for the rest of the day?
My wife and I got into the rhythm of having "quiet time" after lunch. The 2-year-old would take a nap while the 6-year-old had quiet time in her room for a couple hours (after I played dolls with her). That gave us a much needed break in the afternoon. That break is critical to help recharge for when they are up and running around after quiet time.
One thing I learned is that young kids have limitless stomachs. Less than an hour after eating a meal, they would ask for the next thing to eat, and that continued throughout the day. Parents better have a lot of snacks in the house (both nutritional and not), or have a riot on their hands.
Babysitting can be exhausting, but it's definitely good practice for when we have kids. Just pack some patience.
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