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One of the most difficult times being a stay at home parent is during the summer. For those that send their children to school, this is the time when all the children are home and it’s a disruption of the daily routine.
But even for those that homeschool their children, it can be a change of pace, and there’s definitely the desire to be outside more.
This is the perfect time to work with a teenage girl and to pass on what you’ve learned and help teach them about being a mom.
As a society, we’ve lost a lot of the cross generational training. By leaving the one-room-school-house behind, and placing children in classrooms only with people their same age, we’ve hampered their ability to associate with other ages—to learn from those that have gone before.
Having a younger teen in your home that wants to babysit, to be a nanny or do some other kind of work is beneficial to both in a number of ways:
- It’s an opportunity for the teen to get some money (unless you can get one to help you for free!)
- It’s a chance to learn how to take care of real kids in a real setting.
- It creates a bond between the mom and the teen.
- It gives the mom some support, someone to talk with, and help managing all the children.
- It builds a relationship with the kids—they begin to know and become familiar with the teen.
- You’re training a future babysitter while they’re young.
What it does not give (unless the teen is older) is the chance for the mom to walk away. In fact, it might be more work to plan and prepare for someone to come help.
But that’s where Ministering and being Ministered Unto comes into play. The reality is that any help that you can get can help keep you sane, and the teen may need experience in learning.
Of course, there are services like Care.Com that offer to help you find local babysitters. Specify your child care needs. Sort by experience, rates, and more. (If you’re so inclined to try it out, be sure to use promo code “MOM08”.) However, I’m not sure a service is your best bet.
I would start in your local church and find some young lady that could benefit from helping you and you could benefit from them helping. I would pray about making an impact in their life. I would seek someone out for what you can give.
And if you need ideas on what to do:
- Activities and Fun Things to Do with Preschoolers
- Fun Activities to Do with Toddlers
- Fun Things for City Kids
- Fun Things for Spring
Again, look to minister to other as much as you want to be ministered to. It will pay eternal dividends.
