thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 28, 2013 12:40:23 GMT -5
I think many people have a first job of babysitting. Today, my daughter is babysitting a kid in the neighborhood whose Mom works from home. My daughter was totally excited this morning. She had a full day planned, with games, and crafts and activities. I'm super excited for her. It is so cute. I'll let you know how she did tonight. I bet she will sleep well. I think this kid will keep her hopping!
What was your first job? Do you remember who you first babysat? Was it a good experience? Did anything story-worthy happen?
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on May 28, 2013 12:44:50 GMT -5
I babysat a neighbor's kid once in awhile. Pretty much sat and watched TV a lot till the parents got home. It was all right, didn't really make all that much but I wasn't in dire need of money to pay bills or anything so $20 was fine with me.
One time I babysat him he was sick and projectile vomited all over his room. Another time I took my eyes off him and he locked himself in the bathroom and poured hair gel all over the floor.
First real job was waiting tables at 19. Yep my parents were bad YM-ers.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on May 28, 2013 12:50:09 GMT -5
First job - Working for my dad. Started out collating contract docs at age 6. My sister ran the copy machine and would give me the next sheet and I would walk around to each set of bid docs and put the next sheet on the pile. We also cleaned out dad's truck and when he moved into his office when I was 9, I then had the lovely responsibility of cleaning out that office ... there were bats that lived in that office. I babysat like twice. Everyone I knew was older than me or the same age. I hope your daughter has a great day working.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2013 12:52:02 GMT -5
I was 11 the first time I babysat for a neighbor. She wanted to know if I could watch the kids while she went grocery shopping and I told her that I would have to ask my Mom first. My Mom said that if she wanted me to watch her kids then she didn't see why not. The Mom was gone for less than 2 hours and everyone got along just fine. We were eating milk and cookies when she came back and she said to me right as I took a drink "Oh, just so you know, we mix breast milk in there". I collected my $2, told he to call me anytime and managed to get out of there without throwing up.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 28, 2013 12:53:44 GMT -5
beerwench - LOL!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2013 12:55:07 GMT -5
They were really new-agey so I should have known better.
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Rocky Mtn Saver
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Post by Rocky Mtn Saver on May 28, 2013 12:58:05 GMT -5
Aside from odds-and-ends gigs at my mom's workplace or for neighbors, my first real job was stocking shelves at a video rental store.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on May 28, 2013 12:59:19 GMT -5
I babysat for my mom's boss's kids, starting in 8th grade (13?)... it was the best job ever, I miss it! The kids were wonderful and well-behaved; they had a really nice house and a pool; I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted; and they paid me ridiculously well for the privilege. When they'd go out on Friday and Saturday nights I'd come over around 8, the girls would go to bed at 9, and I'd sit around reading Cosmo and watching cable (we didn't have it at the time) until 2 or 3 a.m. Easiest $50 I ever made. My first W2 job was at Dairy Queen when I was 16. That was also a fun one - I worked with my cousin and a bunch of friends from high school. There was almost no adult supervision, so there were many hijinks. Hope your DD's first day goes well.
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on May 28, 2013 13:04:29 GMT -5
Babysitting was my first job as well. I was 13 and had to babysit one of the hellions from town - I think he was 7. We ate dinner and then he ran around and proceeded to throw up all over the couch on my first night on the job. What a great experience! Surprisingly, I did keep babysitting after that. Not so much that kid anymore though! My first W2 jobs - there were two - occurred when I was 18 and at college. I worked in the college's Conferences and Events Office plus worked as stage crew at the theater. Besides babysitting, I never worked in high school.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on May 28, 2013 13:08:27 GMT -5
My last few years of HS, we lived on a SAC base. I had a babysitting business that kept me really busy such that I had waaay more expendable income while I babysat than once I got out and started working a real job. I always had at least $50 in my wallet (and this was back in the 1970s) during this time.
During college, I tried to work in a lab during the summer. But one year I got called out to the front in my first organic chemistry class of the year. Turns out, the professor was the head official for swimming in the area and he needed officials to judge HS swim meets and was I interested? I got paid $20/hour for 3-4 hours work each Saturday morning for officiating. I did that for the next few years, until I graduated.
First real job started the week I graduated from college. Local research facility needed help for about 3 months. I used that time to find a permanent position.
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on May 28, 2013 13:08:42 GMT -5
I would be scared to death to take care of the someone elses child. What if? I would never be able to live with myself... You guys are heroes!
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greeniis10
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Post by greeniis10 on May 28, 2013 13:16:25 GMT -5
I hope she does well and enjoys it! Good for her. How old is the child she's babysitting?
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 28, 2013 13:21:41 GMT -5
He is 4. He's a good kid. An active kid, but a good kid. I'm glad she had a plan, and the ability to be flexible. I hope they can stay on the same track for most of the time.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on May 28, 2013 15:40:00 GMT -5
One summer when I was 14 I babysat for 5 kids in my mom's house. One was my brother who was 8 and then 4 other kids from the neighborhood that were 5-8.
I also did records management filing for my Mom when I was a teenager. She would bring home a large box of medical records and I would review and only keep certain critical information. Do to patient privacy (HIPPA), you probably can't put a box of medical records in your personal car or have a teenager go throgh them and throw some in the trash anymore....
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on May 28, 2013 17:26:12 GMT -5
Hmmm, I can't remember which one was first...
I had a "job" of cleaning someone's house - I only did it once - they never called me again
I had a "job" of babysitting this little kid - again, only once - they never called me again...
I am seeing a pattern here....
But my "official" first job I guess was at a summer camp - Arts and Crafts Assistant - I was there for 8 wks, got paid $400 and they DID hire me back for two more summers...
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on May 28, 2013 17:30:59 GMT -5
Babysitting was my first job - and I think I was probably 12 or 13. My first W2 job was working at Kmart - tons of other high schoolers worked there, and as long as I wasn't working a checkout register, it was pretty fun.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on May 28, 2013 17:39:23 GMT -5
No babysitting for me. I did have a paper route for a few months though.
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Formerly SK
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Post by Formerly SK on May 28, 2013 19:15:44 GMT -5
I was the oldest of four - I babysat every day for free. First job with income was delivering newsletters in our neighborhood during middle school. First "official" job (ie paying taxes) was at 13 for a mom and pop fast food place. I worked at least one job from age 13 until I became a SAHM at 31. Now I shove bon bons in my face all day.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2013 7:47:41 GMT -5
I think I was a "mother's helper" once for a lady with a toddler when I was like 11-12. She was cooking dinner and cleaning up and I was running around with the little boy. I think I had to change a diaper too! Good thing I helped care for my little cousins or else I'd have been lost. My first W-2 job was grocery bagger at age 16.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 29, 2013 7:53:04 GMT -5
My daughter did great. By all accounts everything was wonderful. The original agreement was she would be done somewhere between 2 and 3, but she ended up staying until 4 because she was having so much fun. She might have stayed longer, but she had to go to her dance class. I didn't get a chance to talk to the boy's mom - just got a couple of texts that was praising her. My daughter can't wait to go back today.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on May 29, 2013 7:56:00 GMT -5
That's great thyme!
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 29, 2013 7:59:44 GMT -5
I'm super happy it went well. Sometimes kids have a single bad experience and write off the activity forever. So we got that first one out of the way. I told her next summer she could start babysitting solo, in the neighborhood, when I'm home. Might be too helicopter-ish, but that is the most likely scenario anyway. Most of the people we know with younger kids live within a one-mile radius and we don't usually have big plans on Friday or Saturday nights.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 29, 2013 9:01:31 GMT -5
I told her I was going to sign her up for a babysitting class. She laughed. I guess she is such a natural, she couldn't imagine what anyone could teach her. Anyone have experience with the Red Cross class? Is it worth it? What do they teach?
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on May 29, 2013 9:05:44 GMT -5
I did the red cross class, but over 20 years ago.... I liked it that it gave me a way to structure babysitting tasks and I did the CPR class too.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on May 29, 2013 9:12:23 GMT -5
A first aid class is always useful. I took one in college and the information has come in handy several times since.
Gwen got ahold of DH's pita chips and couldn't chew them enough so she started choking. DH was running around freaking out. I flipped her over and performed the hemlich without thinking and I took that class nine years ago.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2013 7:37:26 GMT -5
I never babysat, which is maybe why I feel like I don't really know how to interact with kids and babies (since I now have my own, I guess I'm going to learn!). My first job was working for my dad stuffing and stamping envelopes. My first W2 job was working at one of those UPS store type places. And then my first real post college job was working in customer service for an engineering sales company.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on May 30, 2013 9:24:40 GMT -5
I've never babysat, it never held any appeal to me. My first job was being a Carryout for Menards (it's like a Lowes). Basically that meant I walked around the parking lot and brought the carts in, and if they called me on the radio I had to go help people load crap in their car. Everything from Salt to bird baths to lumber and more. It was okay I guess. Definitely not something I'd want to do long term. I don't recall anything particularly noteworthy happening. Except that once both my parents were working and I was too young to drive so I had to ride my bike to work, in a thunderstorm. But that's about it. My first "real job" out of college was being a technician trainee for the Navy. I did lock my keys in my car over lunch on Day 1. I had ate lunch in my car and was juggling all the paperwork they had given me and I left my keys behind when I locked the car . Also, I was a bit late because I got lost, even though I had done a "dry run" on the day before.
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greeniis10
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Post by greeniis10 on May 30, 2013 10:28:04 GMT -5
Good to hear the update! I, too, was concerned that maybe the 4 year-old would be a handful and she'd hate it, but I'm SO glad she did well!
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on May 30, 2013 12:01:59 GMT -5
I didn't do the Red Cross class, but several teens at my church have done it. If I were hiring a teen to babysit solo, I would want them to have the class. JMO. Glad it went well for her.
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mrsdutt
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Post by mrsdutt on May 30, 2013 12:06:51 GMT -5
I once babysat for a couple who was going to the drive in. I fell asleep after midnight and was shaken awake when police knocked on the door in the morning. They went out to do a few robberies and were caught.
That was it for me.
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