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I babysit for an hour and a half everyday.
Lucky me, I get the hours when the youngest baby wants to go to sleep more.
The parents keep asking me to try and keep her awake till they come home cause if not she won't sleep at night.
I always fail and she always ends up falling asleep then the parents have trouble getting her back to sleep in the middle of the night.
So I need tips on keeping her awake. She's 8 months old. Don't just say ''Play with her'' because I keep trying but she just crys then I pick her up and she falls asleep.

Oh and I also babysit her sister who is 3 years old so anything that they could both do would be good, I don't want to leave any of them out.

You've got to speak to her parents about this, because keeping a baby awake when it needs a nap is just cruel. It's hard work on you and it will just make the baby more kranky before it is allowed to go to sleep. It's a fact of life that babies sleep when THEY want to, not when you want them to. Maybe her parents should wake her up later in the day or let her sleep in more if they're so bothered. I mean...no offence to them but they shouldn't have kids if they can't handle not sleeping through the night. If she is given a lot of fuss and attention when she wakes up in the night, she will never go back to sleep - she'll wake up on purpose, thinking, 'ooh! Play time!'. I think they're the ones who need the advice, not you.
However, if they aren't the kind of people who you can suggest stuff like that to, then here are some things you could do to keep them awake -

*Try not to give the baby anything hot to eat or drink, and don't give her a bath, if you can help it. Try cold baby food if you can, and definately don't give her warm milk. It obviously can't be like, fridge-cold, but it can't be too warm either. Leave her milk out (if you give her milk) to get to room temp. if possible.
*If this isn't possible, give her high energy foods with lots of carbohydrates (like stuff with potatoes or pasta in it). Don't worry about this if you don't feed them.
*Also, try not to do anything really active with them before the time that the baby gets tired because any big activity will just tire her out more.
*If you know the time when she usually cries to go to sleep, then start doing a really fun activity ten minutes beforehand.
*You could get them drawing together. Sit baby upright on your knee, leaning back against you, and help her with the crayons (don't use felt pens...felt pens and three year olds = distaster :P).
*Start playing games with the two of them. Action games are always great, so do Simon Says with the three year old, who will understand it a little at least, and then just do silly faces at the eight month old - she should copy you and find it very funny!! The three year old could also join in pulling faces at the baby. You can also do 'round and round the garden' on baby (do you know that one?) or sing nursery rhymes with actions (like insy winsy spider).
*Play dress up. The three year old can dress her self and you can put a funny hat or something on the baby and then laugh and clap so she knows it's funny. Or you could wear the funny hat.
*Play peep-o (say 'boo' if you feel stupid otherwise :P)!! Babies love this one. Hide in all sorts of places - behind your hands, under a towel, under a hat (pull the brim over your face), or even go out of the door and then put your head round the door and go 'boo!'
*Hopefully, if you are loud and active enough she will stay awake, but if a baby wants to go to sleep, it will. The only thing you can do to stop it is to pick her up and walk around the room with her - but that won't stop the crying and she'll just be kranky for her parents and you'll probably get blamed for that too.

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