How A Summer Baby-Sitter Gives You the Best of Both Worlds

For the last several summers we’ve tried different types of care for my son. While I dreamt about staying home with him, that is unrealistic – so we would come up with a plan for him. He spent two summers in a structured, camp-like facility and 3 summers with a sitter. Last year he got to spend his summer at home with a part-time, teenage babysitter. He loved it so much that this summer he and his brother will spend it with the same sitter.

 

Here are our top 5 reasons why a sitter who comes to your house is the best of both summer worlds:

  1. They get to sleep in. My youngest doesn’t really give 2 flips about this one, but it is and will continue to be a huge factor for my oldest. He is busy with all the sports so he needs his rest. Plus, he just likes to sleep. #HeGetItFromHisMama
  2. They get to go out and do things. Growing up, I stayed home most summers with my older brother. We would walk to the gas station, ride our bikes to meet up with friends and go places around town. These days, I don’t really trust the world. Plus, my oldest is only 11 and my youngest is 6. I definitely wouldn’t trust them together to go anywhere. With a sitter who can drive, she can take them places that they want to go. Last year they went to the local pool, parks and bowling. This year the new Dinosaur place is opening in Derby and it looks ah-mazing. Plus several movie theaters are offering cheap summer movies and the library is always a fun place for free activities. They’re not going to know what to do with all the places they can go.
  3. They can do chores. Ok, so this may not be the best of both worlds for them, but it is the best for me. They can each do a few chores a day so when I get home the house doesn’t look like a total disaster AND I don’t have 70 billion things to do on top of getting them to where they need to go for baseball. 
  4. They don’t get the summer brain drain. Again, this one is not best for them in their eyes, but I’m sure they’ll thank me when they’re older. I ask that the sitter doesn’t allow them to spend all day on electronics and also that they read every day. I get age appropriate workbooks and have them complete a few pages a week. Last year the workbook I got included values. So each section had a different value to learn about and practice for the week. This also helps them complete the summer reading challenge at the library and walk away with some pretty awesome prizes.
  5. They have downtime. Both my kids get over-stimulated very easily. When that happens they become heathens. While I love them completely I would prefer to come home to angels and not have to deal with crankypants. If they had a late night the night before they can have a rest day. Play some board games, watch TV and chill out. Having a sitter come over gives them the option of what they’re going to do that day. It’s like when Phineas asks Ferb, what are we going to do today. They get to make that decision.

One big bonus of having a sitter come over and see your boys everyday is that she likes them as much as I do. And the boys like her as much (or more) than they like me some days. It gives them another person in their life to be able to go to with their problems.

I know that this isn’t an ideal option for everyone, but I am so glad it is for us. 


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Kendra Fernandez
Kendra lives in Derby with her husband Leonard and her two boys- Leo and Jacoby. She works in downtown Wichita but spends most of the rest of her waking hours wrangling two crazy boys. You will more than likely find them at a game or practice. Besides spending time with her family Kendra loves to read and watch Game of Thrones, HGTV marathons and the Royals! She is also very active in PTO at her sons' school and is always trying to find ways to interact with other parents.