It's so funny you made this thread yesterday - I just started a babysitting course today. One game little girls like is dress up, especially when you dress up to. Coloring is always good (especially for rainy days). Ooh, got to go, more later.

Right now, I only Baby-sit for my sisters, Autumn and Luna. The longest I've stayed with them? Two hours. Not that long. And we can't go outside, we have to keep all the doors and stuff locked. it's more like sister-sitting. And we all just stay inside the house when mom and dad aren't home. Dads at work. Moms somewhere, at a prenatal or something. I do have to brake up fights. Many. Normally, we play games or something. (A game that ALL of us like). Which that game is normally Wild Craft. Or we play Sorry or a Cranium game. (The Cranium game is easy for my sisters. They said it was easy). I also have to get them food.

Try and think of what you liked to do when you were 8-9-10. Although that doesn't always help - all I wanted to was read and (later, when I was almost 11) do Chatterbox!

My mom asked around when i first started and it seemed like the normal price was 5-6 $. I brought along a craft. Once of those cheap stained glass things that you paint. The girl who i babysat was 9 and she really enjoyed it. Books are always a good thing. If they think they are to old to be read to, challenge them into reading a paragraph then you read a paragraph. It's fun. Avoid to much TV. If sunny and safe backyard games could be fun. I haven't babysitted much so some of these i haven't tried. But my friend suggested them.

I don't babysit often, because most of

the people I know who have small kids

also have older children who can babysit

them. :\ Anyway, for whatever reason small

children think I'm fun to play with. So whenever

our neighbors have their grandkids over, I'm

usually stuck with them. They looove to play

on the trampoline and we usually have this

big exercise ball that we kick around on it,

so that could be one option. If you've got some

sidewalk chalk then you could play something

like hopscotch or four-square. We also have this

different version of four-square, where you pick

a category, like animals, for example. You might

say zebras, then you pass the ball to the next

person and they say a different animal and on and

on until someone repeats an animal someone else

already used. Then that person is out and you keep

going until someone finally wins, and then you

decide on a different category. Hee hee, you would

be surprised how much sidewalk chalk can come in

handy. XD Tag and freeze tag are always an option,

also. As for indoor activities, arts and crafts can be

a good option. You could get some construction

paper and let them make a sign for their room or

something. Especially if you have some scrapbook

scissors with different designs on the edges. Or you

could make paper snowflakes or something along

those lines. Usually when I'm babysitting one of the

neighbors grandkids or something, they like to come

in my room and play with the box full of Barbies that

I haven't played with in years (the girls, of course XD ),

and I have to be their little playmate. It's kind of

funny, actually, but my room is always a disaster

afterwards... Well, I hope that helped. XD I'll write

back if I think of more.