Babysitting Guide

Professional Words for Babysitting (For Your Resume)

13 Oct 2020

Written & Illustrated by
Matthew Taylor

You've worked as a babysitter all through your teens, but now it's time to apply for a full-time job. You're probably wondering what some professional words are for babysitting to put on your resume.

What's a professional word for babysitting? Some alternative words for babysitter that sound more professional are: caregiver, governess, nanny, au pair, child-care worker, day-care provider, mother's helper, and guardian. Although it's also okay to simply put "babysitter" on your resume when applying for entry-level positions.

In this article, I'll share some professional-sounding alternative words for babysitting to put on your resume.

What's Another Word For Babysitting?

You just got out of high school or college, and now you're ready to find a more stable, full-time office job or some other work besides babysitting.

Perhaps the only work you did as a teen was babysitting. It can definitely provide enough of a steady income for a teenager that there's no need to look for other jobs!

But now that you're putting your resume together, you may feel like you're a bit short on work experience. And you worry that a prospective employer may judge you for it, or overlook you for the job entirely!

Not to worry. There are some other professional words for babysitting that you can put on your resume instead!

You also shouldn't be ashamed to simply list babysitting on your resume either. No matter what title you give yourself, chances are good that you've got some excellent skills and credentials. You supervised children, kept them safe, managed a household while parents were away, and lots more.

Still, a catchy job title on your resume can really make you stand out. So here are some other words for babysitting to consider using instead.

Are you creating your first resume? My article How to Add Babysitting to Your Resume (Sample Job Skills & Example Templates) will help to walk you through the process.

Caregiver

Caregiver can work on your resume as a good general catch-all term for the tasks that you do during babysitting.

The definition is anyone who looks after a child, or a disabled, elderly, or sick person. So it can be a more broad term than just babysitter, and an employer may look upon it as a more professional job title than just babysitter.

Nanny

A nanny is a person who provides care for children in their own home. However, they usually are employed full-time and only work for a single family.

That's a contrast to babysitters, who often work part-time hours only during evenings and weekends around their schoolwork and other duties.

Especially if you're applying for other jobs related to childcare, someone who has worked as a nanny can appear more professional than someone who was a babysitter. So if you babysat exclusively for one family full-time, it's not unreasonable to call yourself a nanny!

Governess

The term governess is mostly only used in the UK and is a bit outdated in other places. You may still want to consider putting it on your resume if it makes sense though.

A governess is less focused on caring for children like a nanny, and mostly deals with training and teaching children.

If you spent a lot of your babysitting time tutoring, then governess might be a more professional word to consider.

For example, if you picked the kids up after school each day, and then helped them work on their homework for a few hours until their parents got home. In that case, you were providing childcare but also a significant portion of your role involved education.

Au Pair

Everything sounds a bit fancier when it's french, doesn't it?

An au pair is most often a young person who moves to another country to help out with childcare and housework in exchange for a place to live.

If you've moved from another country to help a host family look after their home and babysit their kids, then you're an au pair!

Depending on where you live, being an au pair might mean different things. In Europe usually au pairs are part-time workers who are also studying abroad. In the United States, being an au pair can be more of a full-time childcare provider role.

Daycare Provider

Do you babysit kids during the day when their parents are at work? Then you can consider yourself a daycare provider!

It doesn't matter if you watch multiple kids or only one kid at a time. Although usually a daycare provider will watch kids in their own home, as opposed to at the family's house.

Read my Is Babysitting Considered Work Experience? article to learn some marketable skills that babysitters have, and how to put them on your resume.

Mother's Helper

If you don't have much other experience to put on your resume but don't like the job title of babysitter, maybe you want to call yourself a mother's helper instead.

A mother's helper is typically a young babysitter who helps parents out while the parent is still at home. For example, the parent might be working from home or studying and needs someone to keep their child occupied. But they're still around if you run into problems.

Personally I like the sound of babysitter a bit better. But if you've done both roles for different families, you could always put both on your resume as well!

Childcare Worker

This is another general term that can apply to a lot of different things.

Anybody who supervises kids and keeps them safe, prepares meals, teaches, or any other number of activities involving kids can call themselves a childcare worker.

I will caution that while this may sound more professional than babysitting, it can also throw up some red flags for a potential employer. Especially if you're 16 years old and calling yourself a childcare worker.

Expect employers to ask exactly what your role as a childcare worker involved. Only use this title if you're okay with the truth coming out that you're a "glorified babysitter" or can really talk up the childcare services that you offered!

Guardian

A guardian is someone who is responsible for another person who can't manage their own affairs. For example, children or someone who is disabled.

However, in some places this term can have some legal connotations attached to it, so I would be more cautious about using it. Even though babysitters have physical custody over the kids they watch, most are not considered legal guardians.

Parents can complete paperwork to specifically allow babysitters to make long-term decisions for their child though. See my article Can a Babysitter Take a Child to the Doctor? (How to Grant Permission) to learn more.

Include Relevant Skills In Your Job Description

When it comes to designing your resume, your description about each job role is even more important than what title you give yourself.

One person could list "babysitter" on their resume, but give a really impressive explanation of the duties they performed. Another person may write "daycare provider"instead but provide a boring, generic overview of the job.

Which one is more likely to impress a potential employer? The first one, of course!

An employer is almost always looking for specific qualities in a person that make them the right candidate for the job. Try to find those qualities in the job posting, and then customize your resume to address what they're looking for.

You need to target your resume specifically for each employer. But remember, keep it honest! You don't want to lie or exaggerate on what you've actually done.

Try to add as many action verbs like organized, maintained, etc to your job description as possible.

Time management is a good skill to highlight. As a babysitter, there are a lot of ways that you've managed your time successfully. You schedule appointments and show up on time. You prepare meals at the appropriate times. You plan activities for kids. And if you're out at the playground, you make sure to get back home before the parents arrive.

Time management is a highly valued skill that shows employers you have a lot of independence and reliability.

Have you tutored or helped kids with their homework as part of your regular babysitting duties? Then you can say that you've got training or teaching experience too.

Try to think of other babysitting skills like conflict resolution, organizational skills, or others that could relate to the job you're applying for as well.

For a complete list of skills that babysitters can learn on the job, see my article: 29 Skills You Can Learn From Babysitting (And Why They're So Valuable).

Conclusion

You may have always considered yourself as a babysitter. But there might be other job titles that could apply as well!

Calling yourself a childcare provider or caregiver can lend a more professional tone to your resume. So don't be afraid to give yourself a bit of a job title upgrade, as long as you fit the appropriate criteria!

Don't forget to include a persuasive description for your role too. Emphasize skills like time management and conflict resolution that you can learn as a babysitter, but which apply to most other jobs too.

Next:
How to Add Babysitting to Your Resume (Sample Job Skills & Example Templates)