Hello!

I’m just curious but does anyone do magic when they baby-sit? I don't know how many teens are on this board, assuming that teens are the ones who do the babysitting.

I always do a few tricks for the kids I baby-sit for. In fact, I am sometimes known as
"Joe The Magic Babysitter." It's kind of fun and gets them to bed easier. lol The parents always like to see some tricks as well and when the kids have parties... well it's showtime.

Does anyone else do this or anything similar? If so, please post your experiences and ideas, I'd love to read them. You can of course PM me as well. I'd love to exchange ideas with another "magic babysitter."

er, sorry Joe . . . thought you were referring to doing under 4s Birthdays!!!

I don't babysit. But, I definitely would do magic for them, like you said, when their birthday comes around your probably going to be there! lol But yeah, I would, if I babysat. Josh

Joe,
Never heard of it before, but it certainly sounds like a wonderful idea.
What a selling point, too!
You may have opened up a whole new area of performing.

It sounds good to me also. But think about the disavantage. You might entertain for 1 hour, but the kids want to see more. They might want to wear you out. They might want you to repeat the same ones, if you don't they might cry because they might be spoiled. They might be so curious how you did the trick, since you refuse to tell them, they might get frustrated and take your props or throw things at you. If you try to grab your prop back from them while they are runing away from you, they might tell their mother, "Mommy, _______ hit me."

I'm not saying don't do it. I'm letting you know to be aware of when the bad kids will try to challenge you. Remember, the kids will want to be in control of their own house. Good luck.

Yea, Peter, wouldn’t that be interesting? U never know- one day magic babysitting may be a new section here! lol

I’ve done this for a bit and so far I’ve had very few problems. I get exactly what ur saying mike, and I have thought about this a lot.

That is why I always let the parents tell their kids the basic rules of magic (I never repeat tricks, ill never tell secrets, etc.) and it usually works. I never bring props that I can't put in my pocket when I babysit, so that they don't grab them when I’m away. In addition, I usually don’t do routines when I babysit. I will usually just show them a trick or two every half hour or so until their bedtime.

Well, that's what I do anyway, and it has so far seemed to work.

I do something to that effect Joe, when I babysit. Normally it might be to test out a new trick, or to practice an old one. I haven't had trouble, but that's because those that I preform for are really good kids, and I don't do alot of babysitting. It's a good idea and definetly helps to get the kids to respect you!

-Brad

I used to babysit, years ago...and I ALWAYS did magic for the children. And I always got repeat requests to babysit. The children demanded that I be hired. Keep the children happy and your client is happy!

Steven

I don't babysit exactly, but whenever I'm around kids I don't mind *watching* them to keep them out of the way of others. The only reason I don't mind is that it gives me a chance to test out my new tricks, and learn how to be better at performing. Most people don't know what to do with kids to keep them occupied, but magic is a great activity to fill that hole.

I've felt like a Baby sitter sometimes when i've turned up to a Birthday Party and discovered the vast majority of 4yo lLittle Sammy's friends seem to be under the age of three!

I babysit for some kids up the street and all they ever want is magic! I will a do a trick for the parents before the leave and when they come home. Also Joe, yes it does get them to bed easier! I will do some basic sleight of hand before they go to sleep and tell them to think hard about how it works...and they do. They go right to bed at the time their parents wanted and it all works out great.