Introducing yourself in the interview setting with a prospective parent can be difficult. But sometimes not as difficult as introducing yourself to a shy kid. So what can you do to make that transition easier for everyone?
Ask Questions About the Kids in Your Interview
This is a great way to bring up the topic of shy kids & meeting a new person for the first time. Find out from the parents what the kids are like, what activities they get excited about, and what their past experience is with child care providers was like.
Make a Professional Recommendation
A great resource you can recommend to parents is Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter, an Anna Dewdney Book from Penguin Young Readers. Fearful kiddos will be able to relate to Llama’s concerns and will love that everything turned out fine—like it can for them too!
“I have something new to talk about…tonight I will be going out,” Mama gently tells Llama Llama. At first, Llama feels okay with this. After all, Mama has gone out before and Gram and Grandpa have stayed with him. But this time they can’t. Someone new is coming over, and the more he thinks about it, the more he worries!
This book can be a great jumping-off point for parents to introduce the idea of a babysitter to their kids. From there, they can share more specifics about you.
Connect With the Parents/Kids Before the First Official Workday
Take the pressure off of your first day of work by connecting with the family in an informal setting. This could be going out to lunch together, meeting up at the park, or even attending one of the kid’s sporting events, like a soccer game. However you do it, it will lessen the child’s fear of the unknown because they’ll have already met you.
Break the ice of getting to know each other with this handy downloadable Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter activity kit.
Have Things They Love Handy
Ask the parents to set aside some activities their kids love. For babies, that’s lovies and pacifiers. For toddlers and older kids, it’s the activities they love to do, but don’t always get the chance to do. For the shy kids, the excitement over the activity they love will help them break through the “new person” fears and you’ll both be able to bond over something fun.
Be Yourself!
Being professional is important, but don’t forget that child care is a personal job. Kids will love you for who you are, they just might need a little time to work through the unknowns of a new person. You can shine and do your best work when you’re not trying to be someone you aren’t—and that’s what the children (and parents) will remember most.
While you can’t change the emotional reactions kids have to new situations, there are things that you can do to help ease them into it. With helpful resource recommendations like Llama Llama, you can impress parents and make your job a little easier. When you’re ready to find your next new family, Sittercity can connect you to experienced families in your neighborhood who need your support.
Enter the Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter Sweepstakes!
We’ve teamed up with Penguin Young Readers to give away three prize packs full of Llama Llama goodies! Each prize pack includes:
- 1 Copy of Llama Llama Meets the Babysitter
- 1 Quarterly Premium Membership to Sittercity
- 1 Llama Llama Jack-in-the-Box
- 1 Llama Llama Bean Bag plush
- 1 Llama Llama large plush
- 1 Llama Llama soft book
- 1 Mama Llama animated plush.
Click here to enter!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between May 4th, 2021 and June 4th, 2021. Open to US residents, 18 and older. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. See Official Rules for full details.
