5 Activities Your Babysitter Can Do to Boost Your Child's Development

By Alicia Geigel on February 28, 2023

Being the parent to a toddler or young child does not come without its fair share of challenges, especially if you have to balance your time with them between work and other obligations. Having a babysitter to care for and watch your children when you are unable to can help to alleviate any burden or worry in your mind, but sometimes it can be difficult to gauge what your child needs under the specified care of a sitter.

As the toddler and adolescent years of a child are important in their cognitive development, it is important to do what you can as a parent to engage their minds and foster an environment that helps them develop and grow. While you can do your part when you’re with your kids, it isn’t always easy to determine if your babysitter knows how to best assist your child in their development. Thankfully, there are plenty of babysitter-appropriate activities you can recommend to your sitter to keep your children entertained, engaged, and developmentally/intellectually stimulated.

If you are the parent to a toddler or adolescent child that uses a babysitter, try suggesting these five mind-boosting activities to foster their cognitive development and keep them happy at the same time!

child, girl, music, xylophone, playing, nanny, babysitter, mom

Image via Pexels

1. Experiment with Music: To a grown-up, listening to music feels as natural as tying your shoes- something toddlers and adolescent children are not as familiar with. Musical activities aid your child’s development in a number of different ways, some of which include: strengthening listening skills, rhythm, memory, vocabulary, and more. There are several different kinds of musical activities your babysitter can do with your children, but simple song singing, playing with instruments like a piano keyboard or guitar, and dancing to music are all entertaining yet engaging ways to help develop your child’s cognitive abilities.

2. Get Creative with Art: Children love to get their hands on just about anything in view, which is why creating art is such a great medium to entertain them while developing certain skills. Finger painting is one of the easiest ways to get your child to focus on a singular activity while exposing them to different colors and textures. Additionally, drawing and coloring in books or on plain paper with colored pencils, crayons, markers, chalk, and other coloring mediums can help your child learn different shapes, colors,  animals, and more.

3. Try Construction Type Activities: Just as much as children enjoy coloring and getting messy, they also love building things and subsequently destroying them. These types of activities, commonly referred to as construction play, “is the type of play a child engages in when manipulating objects or toys to construct or create something,” as noted by EmpoweredParents.co. With construction play, your child becomes familiar with new materials and learns how to build a structure from various pieces. Legos, building blocks, cardboard boxes, etc., are all different mediums your babysitter can use for construction activities.

4. Break Out the Chef’s Hat: While children are limited in their ability to cut, prepare, and cook certain foods, there are a number of ways they can engage with food in a way that helps them learn. Playing with pretend food or even putting together real (but simple) meals can help your children learn to count, assemble something with a number of components, use math, and develop their senses. For example, Delish Kids has a super simple recipe for making bread in a bag that only involves a few household ingredients and is hassle-free by kneading in a bag. For a sweet treat, Delish also has a recipe for making ice cream in a bag that is even less elaborate and requires fewer ingredients. You can get more creative by adding food dye or shaped sprinkles to your food creations for more sensory fun!

5. Let Them Use Their Imagination: There is nothing better than playing pretend “house” or something else when you’re a kid, so why not have your babysitter join in on the fun of pretend play by suggesting to create a play with your kids? Not only does this type of role-playing allow your kids to have fun, but it also helps them to develop! Per Sitters.co, “[Role playing games] increases their sense of self, and self-esteem, as well as making sense of the world around them, as well as the ability to handle boredom.” Have your babysitter ask your kids what their favorite stories or movies are. From there, they can recreate the film or story by gathering props from around the house, clothes from your closet, blankets, etc. Anything that can add to the fun of the play, use it! The imagination of a kid is endless, so if you have a broom that operates as a horse, that works!

coloring, coloring book, crayons, picture, child, girl, playing

Image via Pexels

When it comes to entertaining your children after school, there are several activities your babysitter can try with your kids to help boost their development. From playing with music, coloring, and even cooking, there are plenty of options out there, and your child is destined to find something fun and engaging in the process!

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