As an au pair/babysitter, you will be expected to entertain and stimulate children and give them good care. One way to become a special au pair/babysitter is to make a babysitting kit. Your babysitting kit can be a bag of games, books, and toys that you take to each babysitting job. Interesting games arouse children’s curiosity, and playing with something new can divert their attention if they become upset when the parents are leaving.

Use the following suggestions to create a babysitting kit. Be sure you know what age each activity is suited for. Present the activities one at a time, and have hours of fun on the job! Then collect your items and replace them in the kit for the next babysitting job.

Suggestions for Your Kit

Small paper bags and coloured paper or crayons for making hand puppets
Old magazines, glue, and paper for making scrapbooks
Flannel board with shapes, colours, or characters to tell a story
Small books to read or a book made by you
Play dough
Soap bubbles for outside play
Homemade jigsaw puzzles
A book of pictures to feel (use fur, satin, velvet, sandpaper, and other interesting textures)
A dress-up kit containing old hats, scarves, belts, jewellery, and so forth
Homemade paper dolls and scraps of fabric for making clothes
Homemade card games using index cards and washable markers
Collection of balloons, pipe cleaners, clothespins, and assorted items
Soft bean bags and a decorated bag for playing toss games
Lacing cards made with colourful decorations and shoestrings
Old socks or paper for making hand and finger puppets
Mobiles made from clothes hangers, string, bits of coloured paper, and similar materials
Nested cans for stacking and rolling
Brightly painted, empty thread spools for stacking or stringing together
Smelling box containing familiar, pleasant smells that children can guess
Stuffed toys

Items Best Suited for Ages 2 to 3 and 4 to 5

Hand puppets
Stacking blocks
Playing cards
Measuring cups
Stuffed toys
Stacking cups
Measuring spoons
Play dough

Items Better for Older Children
Board games
Construction paper
Puzzle
Playing cards