So you know the way you always vouch to help your friends and family in their time of need? And you know the way you like to think of yourself as the friend that keeps on giving? Well, your friend needs you and she needs you now.
So you know the way you always vouch to help your friends and family in their time of need? And you know the way you like to think of yourself as the friend that keeps on giving? Well, your friend needs you and she needs you now. Remember that friend who has been trying to organize a date night for the past couple of weeks but who just can’t make it happen? Or the friend who literally needs to go see that movie before it’s run is over at the cinema? What about the friend who is stressing about attending her kid’s school information evening because there is nobody to mind her children? That is where you come in my friend. You are the perfect solution to her woes. Up until now, you may not have realized it but you are actually the perfect babysitter for your friend.
Think about it – you know this friend really well right? You know how she likes things done and you absolutely know not to interrupt the routine that she has battled to create for months now. You know she’s not a fan of letting her child cry and you also know that her landing is annoyingly creaky because she’s pretty much text you to rant about every time her hubby stood on THAT floorboard and woke up the baby. The truth is you spend more time with this friend than her husband does. Like, for real. You could quite literally show up at her door and without any explanation do things her way. You might not do things the same way but you totally get her.
A major obstacle for this friend (or friends, this is a pretty general principle) is often finances. By the time you have allowed for transport, the actual occasion itself and the babysitter you’ve forked out next week’s food shopping money. Babysitters are expensive. The next obstacle is often trust. Many people don’t even trust their own families with their children and that is with no disrespect to the lovely family – they just don’t for whatever reason.
As this person’s friend, you know them inside out and you know how adorable (and crazy) her children are. You also know just how much she needs this....thing. We’ll stick with the cinema date for the purpose of this post. She hasn’t been out in weeks and she just needs to be somewhere in the evening without a baby monitor. She wants to wear boots and lipstick and just be... you know, her.
Now your kids are in a pretty good routine. They are sleeping well and yourself and your hubby are pretty lucky to be able to chill out most evenings uninterrupted. Driving a couple of minutes to your friend’s house and plonking you bum on her couch instead of yours wouldn’t be a huge deal, would it? Hubby can man the fort and play his Playstation to his heart's content.
So offer. She’ll probably get totes emosh and have a little cry but sure you guys do that most days anyway.
But that is not all – there is something in it for you. You see this launches a beautiful give-and-take relationship where you babysit for EACH OTHER (I know). You babysit for free, you don’t have to put on a show and explain seven thousand things before you leave the house and you can genuinely relax in the knowledge that your kids are being minded by a trusted friend. Think of it as a bit of a free babysitting rota. An extension of your friendship and love for each other. And I promise you’ll never really forget each other for this one.
Written by Tracey Quinn staff writer at FFHQ who also blogs at www.loveofliving.ie