Babysitting
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Babysitting is the practice of temporarily caring for a child on behalf of the child's guardians. Babysitting is most commonly performed as an odd job by teenagers for extra money, stereotypically girls. In general, the child being watched is of some family or social relation to the babysitter, although professional babysitting services (see Nanny) are also extant.
The term "baby-sit" (from "baby" plus the agent form of "sit") first appeared in 1937, and its short-form "sitter" is attested from 1943. The use of the word "sit" to abbreviate "to baby-sit" is recorded from 1966. The term probably originated from the action of the caretaker "sitting with" the baby in another room, whilst the parents were entertaining or busy in another.
[edit] Tending to intoxicated persons
Babysitting can also be used as a term for tending to an intoxicated person, e.g. when they are having a "bad trip" on psychoactive drugs like LSD. The term is almost always negative and used to denote the inconvenience of tending to such persons.
[edit] See also
- Day care
- Nanny
- Nursery school
- Babysitter abduction and murder case in Standard, Alberta
[edit] External links
- A Guide to the Business of babysitting
- US childcare employment analysis (includes babbysitting) from the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Quality Child Care From University of Florida/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Factors in choosing quality child care.
