5 things you should know when supervising other people’s kids

Emmanuel bouncing on a trampoline for a slam dunk - Skyzone Indoor Trampoline Park (Canton, MI)

When was the last time a parenting experience took you through unchartered territory? It just happened to me. Only this time it wasn’t my kids who had me living on the edge, it was the group of kids I chaperoned on a field trip. The adventure took place at an indoor trampoline park.

After forcing their feet into special rubber soled shoes the kids were ready to jump. There was music playing, dodge ball games going and both kids and adults jumping all around us. I was overstimulated and we hadn’t been in the place longer than fifteen minutes.

During our field trip I learned some new things about supervising other people’s children. Here is a list of five things I learned:

1.      Only believe half of what the kids tell you – eg. “Yes, my mom said I could spend all of my money, on anything I want.” What I saw was a child with a large blue slush drink, a hot dog and candy.

2.      Bring an extra tote bag – the kids didn’t realize that they couldn’t have anything in their pockets while jumping, so I held onto all of their trinkets (pocket hand sanitizers, key rings, small toys, etc.).

3.      Have patience – there may be many situations that call for patience. On this trip it was when each child wanted to go to the bathroom or the concession stand, one at a time, multiple times. I know what you’re thinking, just take them all at once; things didn’t work out that way this time.

4.      Make sure you are well rested – kids never seem to run out of energy and they don’t want you to watch them do something, they want you to engage with them.

5.      Be firm, but have fun

What have you experienced while caring for someone else’s child?