Because of food allergies, only give food provided by the employer (the child's parent). Be sure you and the child wash your hands before eating or preparing food. Here are ideas for 10 snacks to make with the children while you are babysitting:

1. Ants on a Log
   Spread peanut butter on celery sticks. Top the peanut butter with raisons lined up. (To prevent choking, do not give peanut butter to a child under age 5.)
2. Sandwich Shapes
   Let the children use cookie cutters, such as a star, heart, circle, etc., to cut whole-grain bread into shapes.  Spread peanut butter or softened cream cheese on the bread to make fun shapes before eating. (To prevent choking, do not give peanut butter to a child under age 5.)  
3. Marshmallow and Cheese Robots
   Create "robots" out of large and small marshmallows or different sizes of cheese chunks using pretzel sticks to hold the cheese chunks or marshmallows together. Use the pretzels to also make arms and legs. (To prevent choking, do not give marshmallows to a child under age 5.) 
4. Funny Faces
   Spread softened cream cheese or peanut butter on a rice cake or bagel half. Using raisons or dried cranberries (or other fruits or vegetable chunks), make a nose, mouth, eyes, hair, ears, etc. (To prevent choking, do not give peanut butter to a child under age 5.)  
5. Popsicles 
   Use low-fat fruit yogurt or mix plain, low-fat yogurt with concentrated fruit juice. Put in an ice cube tray, popsicle mold, or several small paper cups. Stand a wooden craft stick upright in each popsicle. Freeze.
6. Snow Cones
   Put crushed ice into small paper cups.  our concentrated fruit juice over the ice and eat with a spoon.
7. Cracker Sandwiches
   Using whole-grain crackers, make sandwiches by putting cheese, peanut butter, softened cream cheese, chicken salad, or tuna salad between 2 crackers.
8. Fruit Faces
   Cut fruit, such as melon, strawberries, grapes, bananas, pineapple, apples, oranges, etc. into chunks or slices.  Make a face with the fruit pieces on a plate. Then dip the fruit into low-fat fruit yogurt.
9. Roll-ups
   Spread softened cream cheese or peanut butter on a whole-grain tortilla shell.  Add fruit jam, such as strawberry jam, over the cream cheese or peanut butter.  Roll the tortilla shell.  (To prevent choking, do not give peanut butter to a child under age 5.)   
10. Crunchy Munchies
    Dip baked tortilla chips, whole-wheat pretzels, or whole-grain pita chips into salsa. 

Even though you may cook in a microwave at home, there are risks that you don't need to take when babysitting:

• Burns caused by "hot spots"
• Burns caused by escaping steam 
• Burns caused when reaching for foods from an overhead microwave

There are lots of room temperature or cold foods you can make (and kids like):

• Cheese sandwich
• Lunchmeat sandwich
• Cereal
• Fruit
• Yogurt

Squirming, wiggly babies are a diaper-changing challenge.  Here are 3 tips:

1. Make it safe!
   • Prevent falls - change diapers on a diaper pad or towel placed on the floor.
   • Prevent spread of germs - wear disposable gloves. Remove and dispose afterwards and then wash your hands.
2. Make it quick!
   • Be prepared - put the supplies you need (a clean diaper, wet wipes, safe toys, etc.) within reach.
3. Make it fun!
   • Be entertaining - sing a song (such as Itsy, Bitsy Spider), whisper a nursery rhyme, play "Where is your mouth, eyes, nose, etc.?"
   • Use toys - keep little hands busy with soft, easy-to-clean toys.  (You may need one toy for each hand!)

Infants (under 1 year) have short attention spans and are frequently interested in a toy or activity for only a few minutes. Be patient with infants. Do not expect more than they are capable of. Here are 10 ideas for entertaining an infant while you are babysitting: 

1. Sitting on the floor, roll a ball to the infant.  Ask her to roll it back to you. Then roll it back to her again.
2. Play nursery games such as peek-a-boo and patty-cake.
3. Walk around the house, carrying the infant, and name things, such as photos, a clock, plants, furniture, etc. You can also look out the window and name things, such as trees, flowers, a swing set, etc. Another version of this game is to count objects in the room, such as "One chair, two chairs, three chairs" while you are pointing out each of the 3 chairs.  
4. Play hide-and-seek with toys or objects. You hide the toys or objects and help the infant find them.  
5. When the infant drops a toy or object, pick it up and hand it back to him. (Make sure the object is not breakable.) You and the infant drop and pick-up the toy or object over and over.
6. If the weather is nice, take the infant outside for a stroller ride. (Be sure to ask the employer's permission first.)
7. After putting a toy in one of your hands, hide your hands behind your back. Then ask the infant to point to the hand that has the hidden toy.
8. Put on some music and dance with the infant. You'll need to hold a younger infant in your arms but you can hold hands with an older infant.  
9. Sing children's songs or sing while playing finger games, such as Itsy-Bitsy Spider, I'm a Little Teapot, etc.
10. Look in a mirror and show her the infant in the mirror. You can also play peek-a-boo by momentarily moving in front of and away from the mirror.

The key to removing gloves is, "Dirty touches dirty and clean touches clean."

The outer surface of your gloves is considered dirty. The inner surface of your gloves and your hands (which have been protected inside the gloves) are considered clean.

• Grasping the outside of the dirty glove just below the cuff, slowly pull the glove off your hand. The glove will turn inside out as it is pulled off.
• Ball up the glove and place it in the palm of your other dirty glove as you continue.
• Using your clean hand (that had been protected inside the glove), take off the second glove by slipping your clean fingers inside the glove. Without letting your clean fingers touch the dirty outer surface of the glove, peel the glove off from the inside.
• The glove will turn inside out as it comes off and the balled-up glove that you have been holding in the palm of your other hand will be trapped inside the glove.
• Wash your hands as soon as you have disposed of the gloves.