Babysitting tots is easy. All they do is eat, sleep, play, and poop. Okay, not that easy, but with some instructions, it can be easily done.

However, if your friend or sibling is going away and putting their teenage kid under your care, this might be a completely different story. Unlike tots, they can speak, learn, and do things on their own.

Here are a few tips with the help of which you can babysit, and by the end of this session, you might turn to be their favorite aunt or uncle.

Get the info

Teenage kids mostly have a schedule of things and do & do-not, so when the parent is telling you all about them, listen carefully, and pay attention. If you don’t, you might regret it later, and the kids can fool you easily. A few points to remember

• What are their school timings on and off?
• What do they eat?
• What time do they sleep?
• What is their screen time, and is there a parental control app like FamiSafe or phone tracker app to monitor it?

Communicate with them

Teenagers want adults to treat them their age rather than baby them. So have a conversation with them and listen to it carefully you never know you might end up learning something you would have never thought of. Also, this communication can be useful in terms that they might let out things they have been holding form their parents, and you can help them through your wisdom.

Share experiences with them

If the parents allow, then take a day off from work and take the teenager to do something you enjoyed doing as a teenager. This will give you a good day, and the kid can learn about your hobby. It can be camping, fishing, going to a farmhouse. The chances are that after this, you might end up being their favorite aunt or uncle.

Play games with them

Rather than giving them the screen, you can encourage them to enjoy real things. One way you can do this is by playing with them. It can be as simple as playing a board game or a baseball or football game. Teenagers enjoy competing, and you can lose too – be prepared.

Be mindful

Teenagers are at the age where they are easily influenced by things. So when you are around them, try to have no drinks or smoke. Try to keep your cussing at a minimum and having your partner over is not the best choice

Be responsible

When babysitting, your priority always has to be a young one. Teenagers might be old enough, but they are also youngsters and prone to get into trouble. It is your prime duty as the uncle or godfather to keep the care of children out of trouble at all times.

Teenagers are not as bad as movies make them out to be, and once you become their friend, they will listen to you. They also might get taken by you and make you their mentor

This might be a great way to judge if you are ready for kids at this stage, or you might want to wait for it a couple of more years.

So enjoy this babysitting time, and you just might end up bonding with the mini version of your friend or sibling – cheers.