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[quote=Anonymous]Hi, I have a kind of odd situation and I'm hoping others can provide some insight. So I got an after-school care job with two elementary students and everyone calls me the babysitter. I uphold house rules, help with homework, make sure they're fed and drive them to after school activities almost every day. I'm underpaid for the area but it's still enough to get by and childcare jobs are very hard to come by in my area. I was actually really excited to get this job and set my expectations for myself very high in order to keep it, considering myself a nanny- a title I associate with the greater responsibility of shaping the kid's development, whereas I think of babysitters as purely supervisory/playmates.

I work for a single mom and don't think we've ever actually had a real conversation. Even during the interview; it was more like an orientation as if I'd already gotten the job, no reference checks or background questions, which I thought was a bit strange, but I knew their last babysitter had left them in the lurch and they just needed a quick replacement. Still, MB is very quiet, mostly only talks to update me on house rules or schedule changes and doesn't really respond when I tell her about the day before heading home. With so little input, I've been attempting to fill the nanny role and it's been stressing me out. I know what the kids are not allowed to do (no screen time, no junk food, etc) but am otherwise left to my own devices and I don't spend enough time with them to do the usual nanny things I'm used to, like planning outings. I also don't really have the support of MB as far as instilling discipline or structure and the kids seem to view me as more of a playmate/employee than an authority figure.

Tonight I had an epiphany. Could it be I'm trying too hard? I figured they call me a babysitter just because they don't like the word "nanny" or are uninformed of the difference... but could it be all they actually want -is- a babysitter? The kids can be a real handful and aren't easy to discipline (I use time outs and discussion). If I switch gears and go into sitter mode, I could see myself being a lot more lenient and focused more on just having fun with them while I'm there rather than worrying about shaping them into first class citizens. What would you do?[/quote]

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