Thanksgiving Weekend Special!

We are all very thankful for our families and the little one's who brighten up our lives every day.  BUT, there is a place and a time to cherish these people and special moments.  Holiday shopping and parties are NOT one of them.  This Thanksgiving catch something (and not the flu) that you don't want to miss! 


Purchase your 6-month OR 1-year TBC Membership for 50% off!!  The 6-month membership will be reduced to $100 and the 1-year will be reduced to $200.


No need to worry about your babysitter cancelling, finding a sitter last minute, and you can skip the interviewing process.  We will match a babysitter to your families needs who is CPR certified, background checked, personally interviewed, reference checked, and drug tested.


What a TBC Membership includes:

•Hourly savings

• Three-hour minimum instead of a four-hour minimum

• $25 discount on last-minute bookings

• 10% discounted membership renewal

This purchase can be purchased November 25th- 27th ONLY, so don't miss out! Check us out at www.thebabysittingcompany.com for the full scoop and e-mail Rachel@thebabysittingcompany.com or Elyssa@thebabysittingcompany.com to purchase or if you have any questions at all. 


Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I tried to find a good Thanksgiving joke to start out this blog. However, they were all too incredibly corny, even for me! So let's start this one off with what we are thankful for this year (from those who responded to my facebook status). Genevieve, age 8, claims she is thankful that her father doesn't like country music. However, I have a feeling someone else said these words (cough, cough Genevieve's father)! I am thankful that Genevieve's father does not like country music, because I was able to use his pre-sale code to purchase my Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw tickets early! Brady, age 9, told his mother that he is thankful that I (Elyssa) take care of him!! How sweet is that?!

Jake, age 4, told us he is thankful for America! Oh the naive innocence of children, just joking! America IS something to be thankful for, Jake! Ann, age (won't say), responded that she is thankful for her healthy, beautiful, and smart children. She has to say this, that's my mom! Bryce, age 5 told his mother that he is thankful for his Mom-mom and Daddy, but failed to mention her. I think she was a little offended. What are you thankful for? Please share!

As a child, I was a very picky eater (kinda wish I still was) and never looked forward to Thanksgiving the way other people did. So if your child is a mac n' cheese, chicken finger type of kid too, here are some great recipes from www.parenting.com you can try!

Dinner: Turkey Nuggets

Side Dish 1: Kid-Friendly Mashed Potato Scoops (let me know how these are)

Side Dish 2: Apple Stuffing

Dessert: Muffins

Now, on to my favorite portion of the holiday blogs, the arts and crafts! I think we all know how to make a paper chain by now. With rectangular pieces of construction paper, roll them into a circle, and loop them together. Eventually creating a long chain to hang on your walls, banisters, doors, etc. for decoration. BUT, for Thanksgiving, you and the children will write on each loop what you are thankful for, creating a thankful chain!

And of course, there is always the turkey hand. Trace your child's hand, making the thumb the head of the turkey, and the other fingers the feathers. If your feeling a little more creative and artsy check out some of these Thanksgiving Crafts from Kaboose. 

Now seriously, what are your plans for Black Friday? Personally, I'm intimidated by this day. However, to get the best out of this once-a-year shopping spree, I suggest that you leave the children at home (especially if you're shopping for them)! Whether you start your shopping at midnight or at noon, let The Babysitting Company know and we will be there!

I hope you all have a very happy, festive, delicious and special Thanksgiving this year!

Love,
Elyssa and The Babysitting Company

How Should The Babysitter Discipline Children?

**TBC never uses physical discipline.

"What are your weaknesses?" The dreaded interview question, that I didn't even prepare myself for when I applied to the daycare six years ago. However, I didn't hesitate to answer, "I have no idea how to discipline children!" I knew, from babysitting since I was 12-years-old, that the time-out method was effective. But what if the children never heard of time-out? Some parents have told me I just need to stand my ground and make sure they don't walk all over me. How do I do that? I can't yell at your child!

Julie Pron from Just Precious told us, "I recommend that they [babysitters]separate the kids when they are misbehaving. Most of the time, they misbehave when they're interacting with each other. They always have a choice, sit on different couches for a bit, away from each other, or go rest in their rooms."

Check out this post from Smartbabysitting.com How Smart Babysitters Discipline Children.  It states, "The behavior that receives the most attention, is the behavior that will happen the most." I once had an 11-year-old girl tell me to stop reacting to her 8-year-old brothers acting out, because he liked it. You know what, she was right. Once I stopped giving him the attention he stopped misbehaving.

Geri Fisher told us, "I want the babysitters to be firm and not be a "pushover" and not to get taken advantage of. They should be positive toward the kids and consistent." Nobody wants to be the mean babysitter.  Meanwhile, parents want their children to like their babysitter, so they can enjoy their time out.  I think Geri is right, staying positive is very important.

So whether you use a time out, reward good behavior, or take the older siblings advice, there IS something you can do as a babysitter to discipline the children.

So now, parents we want to know what you suggest your babysitters doing when the children misbehave? And babysitters, do you have any techniques that work well for you?

TBC Philly: November Interviews

Upcoming Interviews:

November 12Fieldhouse Wellness Center -
255 Great Valley Parkway #140
Malvern, PA 19355
10am: Interview/Information Session
11am-1pm: CPR Class 

November 14
Starbucks- 100 S. State Street, Newtown (Bucks County)
4pm-7pm

November 16
Starbucks- 4040 City Avenue, Philadelphia
The Starbucks is ON City Avenue, between California Pizza Kitchen and Pei Wei, BEHIND target. The parking garage is FREE.
4pm-6pm

November 22
Starbucks- 4040 City Avenue, Philadelphia
The Starbucks is ON City Avenue, between California Pizza Kitchen and Pei Wei, BEHIND target. The parking garage is FREE.
10am-12pm
November 27
Starbucks- 1301 Chestnut Street, Center City (Philadelphia)
11am-2pm
November 28
Panera- 1115 West Chester Pike (West Chester)
12pm-2:30pm

November 30
Starbucks- 4040 City Avenue, Philadelphia PA
The Starbucks is ON City Avenue, between California Pizza Kitchen and Pei Wei, BEHIND target. The parking garage is FREE.
1pm-4pm

December 1
Starbucks- 100 S. State Street, Newtown (Bucks County)
9am-12pm

*The interviews run every 30 minutes, so you can pick your time slot

*Check out Interview FAQ's

*If you sign up for a time slot and cannot attend please let me know ASAP. It is not fair to me, or someone else who wants the time slot.
*Some of these times are flexible (give or take 1 hour), so just ask.

*There will be less interviews starting in December (about one per month) so please try to attend one in November. Also, if you have any friends that are thinking about joining please let them know as well.

*If you cannot attend any of these dates, we can try to figure something out, please do not hesitate to contact me.As always, if you have any questions you can call or email me at anytime. Thank you and I look forward to meeting you!