Babysitting help please? -

Hi! I am a 13 year old girl, and I want to earn some money for a trip next summer to costa Rica. I only have to pay for my plane ticket, but anyway... My mom suggested I start babysitting. How do I start? INFO: I am 13 years old CPR certified (recently) I have 2 younger siblings PLZ HELP! I don t want to advertise using paper because I am very green =D How Do start? What do I charge? Previous Expirience Trustworthy Thnx!|::::|It s wonderful to have a fun goal like you have!! Keep that vision in your mind...it will happen! First..I would highly suggest taking the Babysitter s Course if you have one there. You can get lots of leads, plus learn a lot. Second: Don t downplay your good points!!! Here is what I see: A girl who is striving to reach a goal. Someone who is willing to work for it. You are not green: You have CPR Are of the right age Have years of experience with your siblings Are trustworthy Do you have any neighbors or friends of your parents who have seen you with children? Do you know anyone who has ever said..oh you are so good with children? These are the people you can ask to give you a reference. They can either say you have babysat for them or they can just give you a personal reference and say great things about you and that they have seen you with children and feel you would be excellent at babysitting. Dont worry about just starting out!!! We all have to start somewhere and no one expects a 13 year old to have years of references right? When you speak to prospective parents...even tell them you are saving for a trip to Costa Rica and you LOVE children and want to find a great family to work for. (they will love that!). I would advertise on Craigslist or Kijiji.com. BUT...you must allow your mom to go with you for the interview, make sure the mom is there and if I were your mom, I d ask for their references as well and also she could drive you and pick you up the first few times...because your safety is the most important thing. I started simply by going door to door to all my neighbors and telling them I am a babysitter and (have a business card done...easy peasy to do on a computer)...and if they even need or know of anyone..that you would love to babysit. Word of mouth is best...so just start telling everyone. Put ads in church papers..that is a good idea. Just don t say anything about your lack of experience...just focus on what a great person you are and how much you love children...and definitely go for the babysitter s course if you can. That will help a lot. Also...call your local recreation centers. Tell them how old you are and you are just starting out and if they have any suggestions. Ask for a number to child care places that need babysitters...they should have some ideas for you. Charge? Depends on where you live....$6-8/hour to start..once you get going..depending on if you live in more affluent area..you can go to $10/hour Good luck!!! Keep your eye on the prize...they will call you!!|::::|go to a local church, ask your mom s friends, mom s friends neighbors, your neighbors. my school has a day care program that runs while school is going on and students could take a class that are assigned a preschooler and sometimes at the end of semesters, they ask you to babysit, but i think its only for high school. so you just have to put yourself out there.|::::|Well i guess if your dead set on not using paper, you could always go door to door to houses that you know for sure have children. Also ask you parents if they know co-workers who have children and might be interested. Also try family, thats an easy one! Good Luck!|::::|You could ask your mom to send e-mails to all of her friends letting them know that you d love to babysit if they ever need a sitter. I always babysit my moms friends kids! Intact I m I ll be leaving in 30minutes to go babysit 3 little boys! Good Luck!(: