European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 20, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Haagen dazs ice Cream Reese s Peanut butter cups potato chips and diet Coke. It s something different types of foods that we Don t keep in the psychologists May talk about the fears and dependencies that bind parents and baby Sitters but parents and Sitters know that the Job is really about food and children. Parents cannot predict How their children will behave in their absence but they can control the culinary element. The right food can please the baby Sitter who can then please the children who will then behave. I leave food bribes for everyone said Kittene Kading 37, a Mother of three in Arlington Texas a suburb of fort Worth. It certainly helps. If you have lots of unlimited drinks and Popcorn and other snacks like cake or Candy or disguised health food the Sitters probably enjoy their time Here More. And it makes my children a Little better. They la sit and watch to if they have Popcorn or Orange drinks instead of hanging from the there is another Benefit of food it can keep the Sitter occupied said one Mother who was once a baby Sitter herself. You have to give the baby Sitters something to do with their hands or they la rummage through your closets said Mary Kate Krull 32. You have to eat when you re baby sitting there s nothing much to do.". She lives with her husband and their 2-year-old son in Montclair and is a merchandising director at health Tex in Manhattan. Krull gladly fills the pantry with potato chips pretzels and diet soda but withholds her own favourites. I Don t buy them chocolate because i would eat it she said. Many parents say there Are things they just cannot bring themselves to buy. I would t have bought the microwave Popcorn if i did t really want it said sue Fisher Yellen 36, who lives in Chicago with her husband and their 3-year-old daughter. But if a Sitter wants twinkies i won t get them because they re too revolting to have in the Jane d. Scott 36, of Bristol r.i., who Sells advertising for local newspapers and is the Mother of a 6-year-old boy said a is were among her own favorite snacks. But i Don t buy Candy for my Sitter because i know i would eat it she said. Other parents try to do the baby Sitter a favor he or she will appreciate when old enough to know better. I be bought Frozen Yogurt bars said Jodi Simpson 30, who lives with her husband and two daughters in Santa Barbara Calif. We also leave Granola bars which we have in the House any Simpson an assistant professor of computer technology at Santa Barbara City College offers the snacks she loved when she was a baby Sitter but gives these treats a healthful twist. When i used to baby sit i got Jiffy pop she said. I leave my Sitters Popcorn kernels to make in the air Katie Stockbridge 16, of Manhattan and most of her comrades in baby sitting probably would not enjoy working in that House. I m into in health food Stockbridge said. I love Ben & Jerry s Vanilla and oreo chunk ice Cream. I have it with diet Coke so i can feel Good about no nuts said de Roberts 13, of Auburn ind., who said he favors Pringle s potato chips and pop anything but what parents provide or do not provide can be Analysed As clues to their feelings about the baby Sitter several teen agers said. If they do buy me things i know they really care Slattery said and that they like me and my my first impressions have never been wrong said 16-year-old Helen Allen who baby sits and lives in Manhattan. I can usually Tell in the first five minutes whether it will go a Quick trip to the Kitchen can Tell even More she and others have Learned. On a recent Job for one couple the omens of an unfortunate and Brief relationship were right there miss Allen found the shelves empty but for baby food and liquor. No matter How much baby Sitters May yearn for a particular snack they say they Don t request particular foods and they try to be polite As did Lema Jones 16, of St. Louis who one evening ate All her beef and Macaroni soup which she hated because it was left for her and the children for dinner. When no snack in the House is suitable some follow Stockbridge s Lead they bring their own. The unwritten rules of etiquette forbid Sitters from devouring everything that is left for them the baby Sitters say even if it Means passing up the last thin slice of a luscious cake. It s rude to eat up other people s food said Gita teaser 14, of Santa Barbara. Some parents advise stocking up on enticing snacks even if like Shelly Lincoln of St. Louis they feel they must throw them away after the baby Sitter goes Home. I Don t want it around said the Mother of two. I Don t want the kids to eat it and i won t eat notice Progress play Down problems. While your child is learning these new skills it is extremely important to recognize her attempts to use the techniques whether she s successful. Give the child Clear feedback i noticed that you walked out of the room rather than blowing up at Joey when he would t play what you wanted. That s a Good Way to handle that play Down less successful occurrences. Remind her is Lisa Rivard that tomorrow s another Day. Model self control. When you Are upset about something vocalize it. For instance i am furious with aunt Edith. I d better wait a few minutes before i Call her about changing the dates of our summer reunion without consulting when the child sees you expressing emotions appropriately and taking time to Cool Down it sets the example. If you do lose your Cool validate your failure by acknowledging it i really blew it. I guess that i am really tired but that is no excuse. I am just going to have to try to do better in the this makes you More human and approachable without giving License to inappropriate behaviour or placing you in the position of having to defend any notion of do As i say not As i seek professional help for extreme and recurring outbursts. If Over time you find that your child is not developing better self control and is becoming More explosive even violent then her anger could be a warning sign or a cry for help. It would be Wise then for you to consider seeking professional help from a qualified child psychologist psychiatrist family therapist or other trained Counselor. Marianne and Stephen w. Garber and Robyn Freedman Spizman write a column on child behaviour for the Atlanta journal Constitution that is distributed by Cox news service. Erma Bombeck Pinetop Ariz. A funny thing happened on our Way to a two week vacation to blend with nature. We discovered a family of skunks already blending under our Cabin and my husband s foot fell through the front deck. Now these two incidents Don t seem to be related but Bear with me. Skunks do not like remodelling. The noise makes them nervous. I m not crazy about it either but i Don t go around smelling up an entire town like a Lawn Mower that just pulverized a 2-month-old boiled easter egg in the front Yard. My personal reaction to the skunks can Only be described As emotions usually reserved for a person approaching his final Days on Earth. Denial it probably was t a Skunk at All. It was probably a Panda. Yes that s it. It was one of those cute things they sent then president Nixon from China. Anger Why me god we made a Deal. You told me if i did t watch the Thorn Birds during holy week nothing bad would happen to me. Bargaining suppose i said that i would do without Creme rinse my entire two weeks give up chocolate clean the oven of this is my last offer i la watch the Morton Downeyjr. Show. Depression i saw two More skunks today. Babies. I say we sell acceptance on the other hand they re probably a Nice family passing through on their Way to Disneyland to break into show Biz. Well just keep the noise to a minimum and who knows we May get to be friends. My husband told me to relax and enjoy myself. He had seen two segments of this old House on pcs and had a feeling for Wood and besides our two sons were coming up to help construct the new deck. The first morning i awoke to sawing whirring hammering thumping drilling buzzing and a lot of ripping As the old deck fell. And there was another sound i could not put my Finger on. I had heard it Only once before. It was in Nassau i believe when i heard a concorde take off. If that did t bring up the Tail on a Skunk nothing would. I ran to the door and shouted what is that just guitar music said my swi. We re not talking Roy Clark Here Are we propped up in the Bird feeder was a cassette player. From that Day on the Hills were alive with the sounds of Van Halen megadeath kingdom come Poison Whitesnake and Iggy pop. About two Days into the new deck i saw the skunks at dusk leaving their Condo under the House and heading for the Woods. I would have Given up my Creme rinse to go with them. C 1988 Erma Bombeck saturday August 20,1988 the stars and stripes Page 17
