I'm eighteen years old and a high school graduate. I frequently help babysit my younger cousins (ages 2-12) for free or at a low price, and I am fairly used to the quirks, likes and dislikes, of behavior of my relatives.

A family friend has asked me to babysit their 7 (I think 7) year old son for about eight hours this Thursday (I write this on Sunday). I like the kid and he seems to hero-worship me, so I'm fairly certain I'm going to accept. However, he has a reputation for wild behavior, so I am going in guarded.

My problem is, while I've played with him and helped to babysit him before, I've never been the primary babysitter. While my mother will be home that day, I really want to be as self-sufficient as possible.

So, I was looking for some pointers for babysitting non-family. I'm thinking that I'll start him out on cartoons, since he'll be arriving at my house about seven, and break up the rest of the day with semi-healthy snacks every 2-3 hours, and blocks of toys, drawing, and video games. Movies if I get REALLY desperate.

If you could give me tips, crisis management techniques, and ideas for free or low-cost crafts and games, I would greatly appreciate it. Movie rental suggestions are also welcome, although my budget is very small, and my selection is limited to a single small store.

Sounds like you've got a great plan! I've never babysat by myself before so I can't help you much, but here are some craft sites just in case you need ideas for crafts. Sorry if I wasn't much of help!

- http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft
- http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts
- http://www.craftown.com/kids.htm
- http://www.crafts4kids.com/projects.htm